The Soul Warrior's glossy body quickly faded, and his orange-red eyes, like a receding tide, turned pitch black, as if all his inner being had flowed out from the cracks on his skull, leaving only a shell.
Simon gently pried off the bright spot on the opponent's forehead, which had shattered into two halves, and held it in his hand, feeling like crystal.
With Simon's spectacular battle as a prelude, the subsequent slaughter was exceptionally brutal, like a fully operational meat grinder. To ensure combat density within the time limit, the ground mechanisms opened multiple times, and numerous cages rose, continuously sending up Fools and beasts.
No matter how conspicuous Simon's performance was, he was swept into the frenzy of battle, becoming a consumable item that could die at any moment. What he had to do was not to savor the sweetness of victory, but to strive to survive!
...
In the resting area, Simon soaked in the hot spring, silently gazing at the shattered crystal in his hand.
By the light of the spring water, the patterns inside the crystal could be faintly seen.
They resembled abstract ghosts, silently wailing.
Simon observed these patterns with his whole heart and soul, gradually feeling as if his soul had left his body, or as if he had fallen into the deep sea. In short, he was no longer in his original shell. He journeyed in a vast, white world, but he was not sure if he was moving. There were no coordinates around him, and the world was unnaturally bright, like a curtain obscuring a rare treasure.
With this thought, Simon's mind became chaotic, and he began to imagine the reality of the world, then he detached himself from this vast, white world.
Simon, as if waking from a dream, felt a sense of loss.
He wanted to try to enter that pure white world again, but his hungry stomach simply wouldn't allow him to do so.
Simon ate a big meal, then sat in a corner, staring blankly at the crystal.
Leaving the body, passing through the pure white barrier, constantly ascending, or constantly falling.
The soul enters the Soul World.
Before Simon's eyes, the light faded, and everything in his vision was black and white—black and white buildings, black and white bugs, just like entering an old movie.
But some things had color.
Souls had color, these dreamlike phantoms, floating freely in the air, like colorful butterflies, like the trails of flowing clouds, like stars transformed into humans.
They were the lingering dreams of dead bugs, their obsessions.
The dead in the Colosseum of Fools included Fools, Soul Warriors, and other insects. They seemed to see Simon's soul and surged towards him, like hungry ghosts pouncing on food, or like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.
Simon could not dodge; he was engulfed in the torrent of the dead's memories.
"Kill!"
"I want to live!"
"Fool King!"
"Why am I here?"
"What is the secret to eternal life? Is it more Soul Energy?"
"What are we fighting for?"
...
The tidal wave of memories made Simon feel as if he were in a dream. In an instant, his consciousness shifted to the Dream World, while the lingering dreams from the Soul World continued to flood his mind.
Simon immediately realized that this was an excellent opportunity to expand the Dream World!
His primary consciousness began to split with full force, like a flashing sun, its light falling to the ground, transforming into a sub-consciousness.
The memories and power of the dead, combined with the imagination of the living, gave Simon a continuous impetus for splitting his consciousness.
The number of sub-consciousnesses quickly exceeded a thousand, and the group leaders, overwhelmed, had to subdivide the ranks again.
Below the primary consciousness, there were about a dozen levels with fancy names such as Grand Overseer, High Commander, and Overseer.
The number of sub-consciousnesses was still rising, and Simon could not stop; if he didn't, he would be driven mad by the chaotic memories.
Only Simon's personal experiences remained in the primary consciousness.
The number of sub-consciousnesses was about to break ten thousand when the influx of souls finally decreased.
At this moment, Simon, who had absorbed an unknown amount of power from the dead, felt a surging energy reverberating in his mind. Every thought was like a tide, stirring up a storm.
At this point, he finally detached himself from the Dream World and returned to the Soul World.
Possessing great power, he easily stopped the remaining few dead souls from continuing to pour in, then leaped with force, escaping the Soul World.
In reality, a chaotic airflow inexplicably rose around Simon's body, with great momentum. The numb Fools around him were also startled and gathered in a circle, witnessing the terrifying changes in Simon.
Soul Energy surged from Simon's soul, permeating his body. His blue carapace gradually faded until it became pure white and faintly glowed.
Outside the crowd of onlookers, a large number of Soul Warriors, Soul Twisters, and Lightning Twisters appeared by teleportation. They were silent like ghosts, their dull orange-red eyes fixed on the pure white Simon.
Under everyone's gaze, Simon opened his eyes, pulled out the largest Nail from his back, and a pure white airflow, visible to the naked eye, flowed from his hand, covering the Nail.
This was swordsmanship imbued with the meaning of death.
The Fools retreated.
Simon gently swung his Nail, and a pure white sword light remained in the air, like a tangible sword body, forming a lotus flower.
"How beautiful!" Simon chuckled. The lotus seemed to be blown away by the airflow from his words, floating upward, adhering to the ceiling without any obstruction, continuing upward, obliterating the flesh and souls of those in its path, floating, flying out of the Colosseum's roof, and drifting into the clear air of Kingdom's Edge.
Through the hole made by the lotus, the bright scenery outside came into view.
Outside, countless pale roots intertwined in the air, emitting a gentle light, illuminating the Underground. From beneath that high, distant dome, countless pure white, feather-like ashes gently drifted down, making the world seem like a dream.
At this moment, Simon realized that his goal had been achieved, the art of gathering energy had been comprehended. So now, it was time to challenge the three trials and become the true Fool King.
He stepped towards the surrounding swarm of insects, like a giant ship breaking through ice.
Arriving at the Colosseum's front hall, before the upside-down swarm of insects, he found the little Fool and said, "I want to begin the trials!"
The three trials were "Trial of the Warrior," "Trial of the Conqueror," and "Trial of the Fool." The number and density of opponents steadily increased, and the difficulty escalated.
But Simon solved everything with great ease.
The end of the first trial required facing two Gruz Mothers, which Simon easily cut down.
The end of the second trial required facing a pair of giant spherical flying insects named Oblobbles. They had many ducts all over their bodies that sprayed acidic liquid, with great density and range. When one died, the other would become enraged, its attacks extremely frantic. Additionally, their thick hides made them highly resistant to damage, making them very difficult opponents.
Simon gathered his energy and unleashed a slash that covered the entire battle arena, instantly like the bright moon falling to the earth, with brilliant radiance. The Oblobbles died without a complete corpse.
The end of the third trial required facing the God Tamer, a beast tamer. His own strength was average, but the insects he tamed were exceptionally powerful. If Simon hadn't been mistaken, this God Tamer had trained one of Hallownest's most common and lowest-grade small crawlers into a tank-like behemoth!
There were no twists in the outcome, but Simon showed mercy to the beast tamer.
Having cleared all three trials in one go, a new Fool King had appeared!
"Fool!"
"Fool!"
"Fool!"
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