All Things Are Contracts

“The Fear Beast’s ability is to trap you in your most terrifying situation, imprisoning you in a nightmare of fear. You just need to realize this and have the courage to face it. It’s not difficult – that Sword of Courage is indeed a divine artifact. Without it, we probably wouldn’t even have had the courage to turn back and confront it,” Zhanyue said with a smile. His Eye of Avarice had reached the second level after absorbing the Eye of Fear – the first level being Indulgence, and the second being Fear. In other words, he now possessed part of the Fear Beast’s abilities. He had to admit, the Book World truly understood what trial-takers needed.

“It seems that Yunyao and I being assigned the same trial task wasn’t just random chance, but because this trial was the optimal choice for both of us. Both her Eye of Dominion and my Eye of Avarice need the eyes of the seven Disaster Beasts as mediums for advancement. But… how exactly does this Book World, which is both real and illusory, operate?” Zhanyue now had a deeper understanding of the Book Trial.

“I see. So the Seven Divine Artifacts may not necessarily refer to seven physical treasures, but perhaps to some kind of spirit. Since the seven Disaster Beasts represent humanity’s seven great weaknesses, the Seven Divine Artifacts must be methods to overcome these weaknesses. In this world where humanity hasn’t yet been born, some ‘paths’ have already begun to operate,” Yunyao said.

The two wanted to continue discussing their insights, but they both fell silent at the same time. The forest was quiet, the light dim, with only the sound of their footsteps on dry branches and fallen leaves.

Sure enough, a volley of arrows came whistling towards them.

Both were no ordinary individuals. These arrows couldn’t harm them at all. Even in the dense forest where movement was restricted, they twisted and turned, either dodging or blocking with their swords. Not a single scratch appeared on their bodies.

“Just defend, don’t attack. Don’t hurt them,” Zhanyue reminded. He had already guessed who was attacking them, but they couldn’t retaliate, otherwise what came next would be difficult to explain.

Another wave of arrows came, and the two skillfully avoided them all. Then, small snakes began emerging from the fallen leaves, trying to bite their legs.

Yunyao’s face paled in fright. She was about to use her sword to cut the snakes in half when Zhanyue stopped her.

“Don’t kill them!” Zhanyue said. Seeing Yunyao’s reaction, he realized it was worse than when she faced the Fear Beast. “Are you afraid of snakes?”

“Who… who’s afraid of these things?” Yunyao stuttered.

Zhanyue laughed, “Oh my, I’ve discovered quite a secret.”

Yunyao frowned, “You’re laughing. I’ll cut you down too.” She was indeed afraid of snakes. Legend had it that snakes were the natural enemies of the Bird Clan, a fear ingrained in their very souls. Yunyao could easily kill these snakes, but her fear was genuine.

“So the legend about the Bird Clan fearing snakes is true. Leave them to me. If you’re scared, just close your eyes,” Zhanyue said. It wasn’t just one snake coming at him, but dozens.

Zhanyue opened his mouth and used an ability he hadn’t used in a long time – the Soul-Shaking Roar!

The terrifying mental shock instantly knocked out all the snakes. This move might not work on strong enemies, but against these small snakes, it had the effect of Conqueror’s Haki.

“If you don’t come out now, I’ll take all these little snakes to make snake soup,” Zhanyue said, pointing at the snakes on the ground. Even he felt a bit sick looking at so many of them. It seemed fear of snakes was also encoded in human genes, although Zhanyue could easily deal with them.

Zhanyue sensed a familiar fragrance. Yunyao had moved closer to him, the first time she had ever voluntarily come so near. These snakes were no match for her, but she instinctively disliked them.

“Don’t kill them!” a voice came from nearby.

Figures appeared on the ancient trees in the forest. They were about the same size as the Mountain Demon Clan, a head or two shorter than humans, with thin bodies. They wore coarse cloth and leaves to cover crucial parts, revealing green skin. Most striking were their heads – they had no hair, with long elf-like ears on their faces. Most notably, they had no eyebrows, just a single giant eye in the center of their faces. They looked like legendary mountain spirits.

“Are you the Spirit Eye Clan?” Zhanyue asked.

“And who are you? Why have you trespassed into our Spirit Eye Clan territory?” asked one who seemed to be the leader, slightly larger than the others. Though alert, his tone had softened considerably. These two were clearly powerful, yet they had only defended without harming anyone, showing a friendly attitude.

“We have urgent business and need to see the Spirit Eye Clan’s ancestor,” Zhanyue said straightforwardly.

“See the ancestor?” The Spirit Eye Clan members looked at each other.

“What do you want with our ancestor?” the leader asked again.

“We have some questions we’d like to consult with him about,” Zhanyue said politely, but he had a bad feeling.

“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to turn back. The ancestor went mad long ago. I fear you won’t be able to get any answers from him.”

“Mad?” Zhanyue was shocked. Yunyao also stood stunned.

Just then, the group of Spirit Eye Clan members parted, and a giant snake slithered over from not far away. The snake was enormous, entirely green, flicking its red tongue. Most importantly, it had no eyes. But Zhanyue sensed danger – this giant snake was terrifyingly powerful. Crucially, there was a person standing on the snake. He was also of the Spirit Eye Clan, but looked much older than the others, with wrinkles visible on his face.

Yunyao instinctively took a step back, equally alarmed by the giant snake.

“I am Ming Guang, chief of the Spirit Eye Clan. What business do you have with our ancestor?” As the clan chief, he appeared more cautious and humble.

“Greetings, Chief Ming Guang. We two have urgent matters to discuss with the Spirit Eye ancestor. This is a letter of introduction from the Mountain Demon Clan ancestor,” Zhanyue took out the token given to them by the Mountain Demon ancestor – a turtle shell with some inscriptions.

After reading it, Chief Ming Guang’s expression changed dramatically.

“Please, honored guests, come up. We’ll discuss this further in the village,” Ming Guang invited.

Seeing Yunyao’s embarrassed expression, Zhanyue grabbed her arm and leapt onto the giant snake’s head with her.

Yunyao shook off Zhanyue’s “dirty hand”. If anyone else had dared to do this, she would have cut off their hand long ago.

“Do that again, and see if I don’t cut you down!” Yunyao snorted coldly, then fell silent. Being in such close proximity to the giant snake made her very uneasy.

The giant snake had no eyes, yet it could move freely through the forest, skillfully avoiding every tree, and at great speed.

Seeing Zhanyue’s curiosity, Chief Ming Guang explained, “This snake is called a Blind Snake. It has no eyes and no venom, relying entirely on its tongue to sense the outside world. They secrete an anesthetic substance. After biting their target, it quickly numbs them before being swallowed. Thus, our Spirit Eye Clan ancestors tamed the Blind Snakes long ago as hunting companions. Our clan’s divine ability is precisely vision sharing. Through our ability, the Blind Snakes can clearly see the world. Therefore, Blind Snakes have always been partners of our Spirit Eye Clan. The one beneath my feet is the Blind Snake King, already a thousand years old and immensely powerful.”

“I see,” Zhanyue marveled at the diversity of the hundred clans’ ecology. The Spirit Eye Clan was said to have the ability to see a thousand miles and clearly discern targets in dim environments. He hadn’t expected them to also have a racial divine ability like vision sharing, similar to how he could share vision with the Illumination Goddess. Looking back, he saw that indeed, each Spirit Eye Clan member wore a Blind Snake around their neck.

Yunyao now felt grateful that Zhanyue had stopped her from harming these Blind Snakes earlier. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to have such a peaceful and friendly exchange now.

Zhanyue looked at Yunyao with a smile, as if to say, “See? Trusting my judgment wasn’t wrong, was it?”

Yunyao snorted coldly and turned her head away, too lazy to bother with him.

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