All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 186: Trial Identities

Twelve beams of light simultaneously landed in a void space, a vast expanse of white nothingness. Everyone looked at each other, not daring to speak loudly, knowing they were now inside the Heaven Book.

“Alright, twelve trial participants, you’re very fortunate. I hope you don’t waste this fortune. Next, I will send down twelve identity tokens. They will show the roles you’ll play in the Heaven Book world. You twelve will appear in twelve different worlds in different time-spaces, with no intersection between you. Remember your identities well; acting in accordance with your roles is key to passing the trial,” the mysterious and charming female voice sounded again. Then, twelve tokens appeared, floating in front of the twelve people.

They each took their jade tokens, and text appeared on the previously blank surfaces:

Meng Xiaodie, Princess;

MuMu Lixi, Holy Maiden;

Liu Zhaoran, Warrior;

Baizhi, Witch;

Huang Xueqing, Divine Doctor;

Fan Longyu, Dragon Descendant;

Yunyao, Angel;

Nangong Weilai, Witch;

Feng Bulang, Ranger;

Tai’e, General;

Zhanyue, Saint of Thieves;

Everyone frowned at their identity tokens, unsure what these identities meant. Especially Zhanyue, seeing his identity as the Saint of Thieves. Had he ever stolen anything? How did this fit his identity? This was slander! Absolute slander. Not giving him a Divine Son identity was one thing, but couldn’t they at least give him a hero or brave warrior role? How could it be Saint of Thieves?

“You will each be transported to trial worlds suitable for you. You can treat that world as real. At different times, different tasks will be assigned to you. The more tasks you complete, the richer the rewards. Of course, you can die in that world, but don’t worry. You each have 3 lives. If you exhaust all 3 lives or fail the same task three times, your trial will end, and you’ll be transported out of the Heaven Book world. So, cherish each life and chance to reset tasks. If you can’t force your way through, use wisdom to solve the challenges before you.”

The woman’s words left everyone more confused. This Heaven Book world trial was indeed unique, more like… a game? Zhanyue’s frown deepened. The Emperor Lord who set up this Heaven Book trial really had a childish heart.

“Go now, hope you can reach the final step.” As the woman finished speaking, eleven light pillars enveloped eleven people, instantly transporting them away. Why eleven light pillars? Naturally, because Zhanyue was still standing there.

Seeing everyone sent away except himself, Zhanyue’s heart skipped a beat, forming some judgments.

“Hehehe.” From the white void, a figure slowly emerged.

Zhanyue saw clearly, it was a white fox about the size of a small horse. The fox was beautiful, with a pure white coat, but more terrifyingly, it had nine tails behind it, each tail a full hundred meters long, swaying behind its small body, quite spectacular. Then the fox transformed before Zhanyue’s eyes into a beautiful woman. The woman stroked her tails, which slowly shrank to about a meter long.

The woman had a graceful figure with curves in all the right places, especially her impressive chest, unlike anything Zhanyue had seen before. Yet despite this, she didn’t look unnatural at all, due to her tall stature and long legs. She wore a white fox fur robe, her hair in a butterfly-shaped bun, exuding the air of a traditional Chinese woman. Unfortunately, she wore a half-mask with a fox face pattern, revealing only alluring red lips and lively eyes. Under her robe, a jade pendant hung at her waist, half of her jade-like legs exposed. Below her legs, the woman wore no shoes, her perfect jade feet bare. This woman was perfect and alluring in every way.

The woman approached, scrutinizing Zhanyue, making him nervous.

“You… you’re a demon… no, you’re the Heaven Book Spirit?” Zhanyue asked.

The woman nodded, “I’m a demon, and also the Heaven Book Spirit. Little brother, are you the one who wants to contract the Heaven Book?”

The woman was half a head taller than Zhanyue. She lowered herself slightly, using a finger to lift Zhanyue’s chin, breathing out a fragrant breath, infinitely alluring.

Zhanyue inhaled the woman’s fragrance, feeling his soul drift, wanting to sleep. Then, he shook his head vigorously, clearing his mind.

“The Heaven Book is my contract object, why can’t I contract it?” Zhanyue asked.

“Oh?” The woman was puzzled. Her charm technique was ineffective on Zhanyue. Why? This boy had already lost his yang essence, he didn’t seem the type to avoid women, so why was it ineffective? The woman didn’t know that Zhanyue’s soul was connected to the Goddess. Even though the Goddess had fallen asleep and become a star, with her power, it was still impossible to charm Zhanyue.

“You don’t need to charm me. If you have questions, just ask directly. I’ll answer truthfully,” Zhanyue seemed to see through the woman’s confusion.

“Giggle.” The woman laughed coyly. “You’re really interesting. You are indeed the Heaven Book’s contractor, but without my consent, you can’t contract the Heaven Book. The Heaven Book trial is in progress, and a sudden contract would disrupt the trial, so you can’t contract it for now. We’ll talk after everyone completes the trial. Even if you’re the Heaven Book’s master, you still must follow the trial rules, understand? This is an iron law set by the Void Heaven Emperor. I won’t let you control the Heaven Book to cheat.”

Zhanyue finally understood. Although he was the Heaven Book’s contract master, this Heaven Book Spirit’s control over the book was still above his. He needed her approval to successfully contract, and once contracted, he would inevitably influence the Heaven Book trial. For the trial to proceed normally, the woman refused Zhanyue’s contract.

“So, sister doesn’t object to me contracting the Heaven Book? Just need to wait until the trial ends?” Zhanyue asked.

The woman nodded again, “Why not? You don’t know how long I’ve been here. I’ve wanted to go out for a breath of fresh air for so long, but the prerequisite for going out is the Heaven Book recognizing a master. Only then will I, the Heaven Book Spirit, have some freedom. Funny, isn’t it? I think it’s funny too. I want freedom, yet I have to first acknowledge someone as master. How sad, how sad.”

Zhanyue frowned. This fox demon seemed completely different from the artifact spirits he understood. She seemed no different from a living person.

“Sister, you…” Zhanyue was about to ask about the fox demon’s background, but she interrupted him.

“Some questions you’d better not ask, because I’m not in a good mood and don’t want to talk about it,” the fox demon seemed to see through his intentions.

“Uh, okay, then at least let me know your name, sister,” Zhanyue felt he should try to get on her good side. If the Heaven Book could become his contract object, his strength would surely skyrocket, and the attitude of this spirit before him was crucial.

“Name? Let me think. I haven’t mentioned it for many years, I’ve forgotten. I’ll tell you when I remember,” the woman looked puzzled, not seeming to be pretending.

“You’ve even forgotten your name?” Zhanyue could hardly believe it.

“Yes, yes, people always forget some things. Why can’t it be a name?” The woman looked at Zhanyue with a smile.

“Wu… Yun… Meng? Is that your name?” Zhanyue stared at the jade pendant at the woman’s waist.

The woman’s expression changed. She hid the jade pendant and looked at Zhanyue angrily, “Is it so great to recognize these characters? You think you’re so clever? I want to see how many trial levels you can pass. Go!”

The woman waved her hand, transporting Zhanyue away. Before sending him off, she snatched away Zhanyue’s identity token.

“Saint of Thieves? Hmph, turns out he’s just a petty thief. I want to see what kind of waves you can make,” the woman said disdainfully.