Chapter 65: Form Is Emptiness

The following day, at noon.

All the students gathered before the Sphere of Evolution in the stadium. For the past month, their routines had revolved between two points—the stadium and the library—so this scene felt entirely familiar.

Yet now, the stadium was silent, as desolate as a wilderness. Upon this wilderness, however, stood two thousand saplings.

Moon Fox's face was expressionless, her eyes cold, and for the first time, she showed anger. "Good! Very good! Last night I received countless messages, full of useless chatter. Yet the one who possesses the A-grade equipment didn't send a single one—excellent! Since that's how it is, don't blame me for taking drastic measures. After today's challenge, I'll conduct a thorough investigation, one by one, until I uncover the A-grade equipment!"

A wave of unrest swept through the field. Many students who didn't possess A-grade equipment still had B or C-grade items, all hidden away in their storage spaces, undetected by the instructor. If today's data was scrutinized, all those hidden items would be revealed.

"Who is it? Who on earth is it? Will you come forward already?"

"Yeah! Why should one person drag everyone down?"

Many students began stirring up the crowd, hoping to create pressure and force the owner of the A-grade equipment to reveal themselves.

Chen Mo smirked with disdain, calm and unmoved. All his equipment was hidden under the Demon King's ID, making it impossible for Moon Fox to trace.

Moon Fox waited ten minutes, but no one confessed. She gave a bitter smile and nodded. "Very well, then we proceed. Everyone, enter the Sphere of Evolution."

In the Chinese region, the only one with A-grade equipment was Long Tian, who had founded the Haotian Guild, a thorn in the side of the authorities. So when they learned that Pingli Middle School might have produced another A-grade item, they were ecstatic, even approving a special promotion for the student who possessed it—appointing them as a general in the Shadow Legion to counter Long Tian.

This was why Moon Fox was so eager to find the student with the A-grade equipment.

They entered the Sphere of Evolution, and the challenge began.

Chen Mo arrived at the hell difficulty—seven thousand meters!

At this level, all progress was automatically recorded; even if you pleaded with the elf to reset your distance and start from zero, it was impossible. Hell was designed to torment—one could choose not to attempt it, but once you did, there was no turning back.

Roar! Roar!

Blood surged, bones shattered!

The Hell Cerberus, towering a hundred meters high, slowly rose from the blood pool, dominating most of the view. Its three pairs of blood-red eyes glowed with a mysterious power—anyone who glanced at them would feel their spirit shaken, their body weakened.

Chen Mo sneered, "Hell Cerberus! I'm here! This time, I've brought something new!"

Role switch! Bard!

A melodious sound of bamboo flute echoed as Chen Mo transformed into the Bard—complete with his own background music.

His clothes and gear changed entirely: a medieval emerald welcoming cap atop his head, a loose emerald cloak across his shoulders, a simple longbow strapped to his back, a plain dagger at his waist, and a basic flute. With his sharp, cold features, he looked as if he'd stepped out of a graphic novel.

Amid the role-switch, Chen Mo discovered something crucial: the Demon King's ID's main role remained an ordinary person, even after purchasing the Bard. The Bard was just a secondary role pack, and he still had to switch from the ordinary character to the Bard.

Chen Mo shook his head with a wry smile; it seemed the Demon King ID was permanently locked to the ordinary person. But that was fine—it gave him another hidden identity.

Roar!

The Hell Cerberus's roar cut through Chen Mo's background music, its flaming claws swirling with vortexes, striking toward him.

The Bard's hallmark was agility—his body light and quick.

As an ordinary person, facing those demonic claws, movement was arduous—even stepping back was nearly impossible.

But as a Bard, Chen Mo easily escaped the vortexes—whoosh!

He leapt high, dodging the Hell Cerberus's claws.

Yet, how could a mere mortal escape the Hell Cerberus? Another claw awaited, intercepting him midair with a swirling vortex!

Previously, Chen Mo would have lost control of his body midair, unable to maneuver.

But the Bard was different—special movement skill: double jump!

Boom!

A surge beneath his feet propelled him, allowing a second jump in midair. Two flawless 360-degree flips—he narrowly evaded the Cerberus's attack again!

Roar!

The Cerberus finally erupted in fury, three heads spewing massive fireballs that covered half the map. Chen Mo struggled to find an opening through the flames, but the monster's tail—a venomous serpent—was already poised, hissing.

The snake, agile and deadly, coiled around Chen Mo with ease. It opened its bloody maw, venom dripping thickly from its fangs, making Chen Mo nauseous.

Switch to a Zhi—!

He quickly swapped to a Shadow Warrior Zhi; but as soon as the transformation completed, the snake bit him, ending his life. Hell difficulty meant fifty percent pain perception—it was agony, almost unbearable. Fortunately, Chen Mo's powerful mental strength kept him calm, lessening the torment.

Still, he had improved greatly since before—at least now he'd seen other tactics from the Cerberus, especially its terrifying tail.

Again! I have plenty of backup accounts!

This time, Chen Mo brought out his strongest equipment—the Devil's Wind Chime.

The A-grade item Moon Fox was desperate to find was now in Chen Mo's hand.

The Devil's Wind Chime could summon a demon at random. Chen Mo was both excited and nervous—what kind of demon would he summon for the first time?

Tinkling, tinkling—

He gently shook the Devil's Wind Chime, hoping it would call forth a mighty demon to counter the Hell Cerberus.

Buzz!

A magic array, inscribed with mysterious runes, appeared beneath his feet and spun rapidly.

Rip!

Above his head, space twisted, splitting open—a rift to Hell.

Whether the Cerberus was intimidated by the magic array or simply didn't want to interrupt, it didn't attack. Instead, it stared wide-eyed at Chen Mo.

In this moment, Chen Mo, feeling inexplicably dramatic, shouted, "Come forth, demon!"

A shadowy figure squeezed out of the Hell gate. Perhaps because it was its first time entering this world, it misstepped, falling from midair to land at Chen Mo's feet.

Buzz—

The Hell gate closed, the magic array faded.

Chen Mo swallowed, stunned as he stared at the demon at his feet.

What the hell!

What was this thing?

The demon he'd summoned looked exactly like the hundred-meter-tall Hell Cerberus before him, except this one was less than half a meter tall.

"Woof woof woof!" The three-headed pup at his feet was fearless, barking furiously at the giant Cerberus.

The Hell Cerberus was momentarily taken aback, then, feeling its dignity insulted, swiped a paw down, instantly crushing Chen Mo's summoned pup.

Gone? Just like that?

What a scam of a demon!