The information contained in Shah's words could not be more serious.
But for him, it was an overwhelmingly positive development.
If this Witch's Night held secrets about the Eternal Beast beyond the Ranch Owner, then no matter what, it was worth an Alchemist gambling their life to seek out.
It was a profit. Simply being there was profit, and even just getting a glimpse before exiting was not a loss.
But the issue was that the more Elements of Destruction involved, the more dangerous the situation inside the Witch's Night would become. In just eight short hours, a vast passage of time had undoubtedly occurred within. Even if Gru had sailed through smoothly, he still faced many dangers, let alone the others.
And it might even be possible to get contaminated...
If the depth kept increasing endlessly, even Gru was not sure he had the courage to hold out to the end.
"If you ask me, you need to step it up a notch," Shah said. "If I'm not mistaken, the test has only just begun... The time before this was just the last act of kindness left by that Predecessor for us to seize the chance to flip through the pages."
Gru didn't say anything.
As Shah said, if this Witch's Night was a test, then the questioner was without a doubt that departed Creator.
Creators primarily coming to reclaim the inheritance of that Predecessor were the candidates sitting for the exam.
And Explorers, who seemed to be the main attraction on stage... were just the answers written by the Creators.
There could be many answers.
But in the end, there could only be one correct one.
Even now, Gru still didn't understand what the actual question was.
Shah seemed to have a vague clue.
But he said nothing.
This guy appeared casual, but in reality, he was the tightest-lipped among all participating Creators. No matter how unreliable he seemed, as the youngest Creator in nearly a century, he couldn't be without cunning.
"Don't worry, I have full confidence in you—after all, you are my creation. You can't be too far behind Niflheim's 'Six Winged Immortal Bird,' Qinger Tai's 'Taurus,' or Nakajima's 'Wilderness Guard'... Our progress is among the furthest ahead of everyone's."
"What about your 'Eternal Titan Empire' you mentioned the other day?"
"Ah, such a foolish name... Besides, individual and group categories are two different things, with different members. They're not comparable."
Shah shook his head with a sigh. "However, compared to powerful individuals, how a group survives in Hell seems to be even more challenging. If I'd known about this fun stuff beforehand, I might have joined in the fray. Unfortunately, I drew my lot too late... and also missed three good Cards in a row. I'm so mad."
"Three Cards?" Gru asked.
He wasn't so furious at being a replacement; rather, it would be strange if a Creator sought out an Alchemist like him right from the start.
He was just curious who his competitors were.
Shah admitted this quite frankly.
"Apart from the Eternal Titan Empire, there are two other people I have high hopes for...
"The first is an ordinary person who got in by accident and should have been weeded out quickly. I originally wanted to lend a hand, but after another Creator chose her first, she displayed an aptitude in some areas that took even me by surprise.
"It's so frustrating, especially since I've always been quite confident in my abilities as a teacher. I truly misjudged."
"And the other?"
Shah's expression suddenly turned strange. "The other... is an S-level Gold Medal Military Officer, rated as such by the Jurisdiction Bureau. Although a bit weaker now, he definitely lacks neither character nor Ability. He also seems to have the support of some old Predecessors from Utopia behind him, giving him a truly promising future.
"And his performance in the early stages was just amazing, so fresh!"
Shah clucked his tongue in admiration. "We nearly fought over this experienced contender; all of us nearly came to blows.
"And then, during his Relic Bone Metamorphosis, he went straight to another Creator, and it was someone none of us knew, hahaha, you wouldn't know, Niflheim turned green with envy! Want to see? I took a photo... Come on, have a look!"
He was eager to show Gru his trophy but was coldly rejected.
Some jokes Shah could tell, but whether others had the right or dared to laugh was another matter.
Gru was well aware of this and had no desire to get entangled in the mess of the Existence Institute.
"Anyway, congratulations on completing your God Transformation," Shah said, discarding the tablet in his hand and smiling as he congratulated him. "You've become the second Explorer to obtain an entry ticket."
Gru was stunned for a moment, his nine enormous heads lifting incredulously.
He finally felt a sense of loss and anger.
Unacceptable.
As an irrepressible chill spread, Hydra widened its crimson pupils. "What's going on? How could anyone be faster than me?"
Shah spread his hands regretfully. "Probably because there's someone even crazier than you. Even though you started your God Transformation earlier, you were half an hour behind him... missing out on first place. That's just so unfortunate."
Instinctively, Shah looked back at the shattered land thousands of miles behind him.
He couldn't help but murmur softly.
"I told you... That was one hell of a Card..."
Forty-five minutes earlier, at the instant Huai Shi was swallowed by the blood light.
In all of the five cities, every Giant Beast felt an intense panic from within, a primal fear, akin to a horde of rats scurrying restlessly before an earthquake.
As if there were needles at their backs.
Disbelieving, they turned around and saw a blood-red tornado slowly ascending against the Sky Dome.