After drinking the bitter tea, Cha Cha finally, albeit reluctantly, displayed all the challengers’ footage in mid-air.
Initially, Dox didn’t comprehend why Angel was so interested in these images, but after watching for a while, he found them quite entertaining.
Unlike the two of them, who cheated their way through, these challengers had to answer questions correctly to earn rewards for moving to the next zodiac palace.
But if they got the answers wrong more than three times, they failed the challenge.
After failing the challenge, they would go through a "difficult trial" in the respective zodiac palace, and only after this trial could they proceed to the next zodiac palace.
At this moment, in the midair images appearing, those truly answering questions are few and far between, and the rest are... failing and undergoing trials.
The question-answering scenes aren’t much to watch, but these trial scenes are quite interesting.
For instance, there are three Talented Ones simultaneously undergoing the trial of the Fresh Milk Constellation Palace. These three Talented Ones are Siber, Bruiser, and a fat man.
The trial of the Fresh Milk Constellation Palace is divided into several stages: the first stage is the pursuit by the Cheese Soldiers, the second stage is the Butter Bombardment, and the third stage is the Fresh Milk Waterfall.
The Cheese Soldiers chasing them down involve soldiers made of cheese hunting the Talented Ones. Because the grounds of the Constellation Palace are complicated, if you use the terrain advantage reasonably, you can hold them off until the Cheese Soldiers disappear.
Siber managed to hold them off with her agility.
But Bruiser was different; he ambushed a Cheese Soldier, snatched a spear, and then began laughing wildly: "You rookie soldiers, even without unsealing my right hand, I can still defeat you completely!"
Then Bruiser charged forward.
The result was Bruiser being beaten thoroughly instead.
As for the fat man, let’s not mention him. He just laid flat from the start, letting them do as they pleased. Although the Cheese Soldiers wouldn’t kill him, he ended up with bruises all over.
The second stage, the Butter Bombardment, entails butter bombs raining down from the sky. When the bombs fall, shadows on the ground provide warnings, so you just need to avoid them. But as it progresses, the frequency of butter bombs increases, with shadows all over the ground, testing the sequence of dodging.
Siber again performed the best, only being hit by butter bombs twice. However, Bruiser and the fat man were covered in butter, indicating how touching their performance was.
The final stage, the Fresh Milk Waterfall. As the name suggests, a torrent of fresh milk falls from the sky, completely flooding the Constellation Palace. The only exit is the skylight at the very top of the Constellation Palace.
Which means, no matter what, the fresh milk has to fill every space in the Constellation Palace, or else you can’t reach that skylight.
The three had different strategies. Bruiser somehow found a shield, used it as a small boat, and the spear he grabbed before became an oar to paddle on the milk. Although he occasionally capsized, he tenaciously reached the skylight.
The fat man reused his strategy from the first stage: laying flat and letting himself be toyed with. Surprisingly, his luck was quite good, as laying flat actually allowed him to float up and successfully escape the trial.
Siber, who performed the best in the previous two stages, suffered a harsh setback.
Siber clung to a column in the Constellation Palace, breathing non-stop, continuously suggesting to herself: This is an illusion, this is an illusion, this is an illusion...
Just like back in the Princess Castle, as long as she could escape the illusion, everything would disappear.
Siber’s idea was good because these trials are indeed illusions. As long as she could crack the illusion, the issue would be resolved from the root.
But Siber underestimated the strength of the Constellation Palace’s illusion; this was not the trash illusions from the Rainbow House in the Princess Castle.
The illusion arranged by Angel, very few in the Southern Domain could break it. Now, this illusion was paired with a Magical Energy Array and had some "minor hiccups."
In such a case, even Sanders might have a chance of defeat. For a Talented One like Siber to rely on breaking the illusion to pass this stage was simply naive.
In the end, Siber was "drowned."
Of course, this "death" was fake, but for Siber, it was real beyond measure, possibly becoming a shadow over her for a long time.
Though experiencing death, Siber barely counts as having passed the trial. Now, facing her is a new Constellation Palace, new questions, and new... trials.
...
"Ahahaha, look at Siber, her legs are trembling, yet she still needs to walk to the next Constellation Palace. That expression, those pitiful little eyes, it’s so amusing!"
Dox, who had regained his ability to speak normally, laughed and slapped his leg, snacking on the treats on the table.
"No wonder you said at first that the body wouldn’t be injured. I reckon Siber’s mind has definitely taken a serious hit. It might take months or even years to recover."
Listening to the chattering Dox, Angel silently threw a glance at Cha Cha the rabbit.
Cha Cha immediately understood, and another green hat fell onto Dox’s head.
"Arba Arba Arba?!" Dox slammed the table, shocked, pointing at Angel and Cha Cha.
Angel: "Here, Cha Cha is the rule, and it doesn’t like noise. So, better keep your voice down. Let’s talk in ten minutes."
Dox angrily dipped some tea and wrote on the table: "You were quite loud when you spoke before too!"
Angel: "Who’s the maker here?"
Dox: "...You’re ruthless!"
...
Putting aside the painful experiences of the Talented Ones, the performance of Old Porter and Mrs. Melo truly impressed Angel.
They too initially entered trials due to incorrect answers. But they quickly adjusted their mindset, starting from the details, piecing together the general silhouette of the "civilization" from the questions asked by each examiner.
Once they had an idea in mind, answering became relatively easier thereafter. Despite occasional blunders, they could handle them with ease because they are pinnacle apprentices.
Their answering styles were also very distinct. Old Porter emphasized analysis more, while Mrs. Melo was similar to Dox, weighing more on spiritual perception.
No judgments on which is better, but their progress was nearly at the same pace. At this time, they both arrived at the tenth Constellation Palace.
Among the challengers present, besides Old Porter and Mrs. Melo, there was another Advanced Apprentice, which was Abulei.
Her performance was rather mediocre.
She got all the answers wrong, even the multiple-choice ones, not a single correct pick. However, she managed herself quite well in the various trials being a Wizard Apprentice after all.
Though this was just her performance in the first half of the journey.
When Abulei reached the sixth Constellation Palace, her Summoned Creature awoke.
The Crowned Parrot, although incomparable to Angel’s cheat-like existence, had analytical and observational skills far surpassing Old Porter. After inquiring about Abulei’s previous questions, the Crowned Parrot embarked on a "path to godhood."
Smoothly sailing all the way.
Though not every question was answered correctly, starting from the sixth Constellation Palace, the basic rewards of each Constellation Palace were obtained. Clearly, the Crowned Parrot was quite a significant asset.
If only the Crowned Parrot could tone down its snide remarks and foul language a bit, it would be even better.
Basically, that’s the status of the three Wizard Apprentices, barring any accidents, Abulei will probably reach the end first with the Crowned Parrot.
As for the Talented Ones, there are noteworthy points too.
Among them, Little Tom’s performance was very eye-catching.