Chapter 1048: Chapter 1046: Blind Eye (12) Chapter 1048: Chapter 1046: Blind Eye (12) Being valued feels great!

Fu Qian deeply felt his worth was affirmed by being treated the same as the Sage Old Master.

Indeed, charisma cannot be concealed, for a man as outstanding as myself is targeted wherever he goes.

Of course, Charlotte and Shi Gaozhi, who were looked down upon, did not show excessive pride this time; instead, they wore expressions that seemed to question life itself.

Were they genuinely surprised to survive?

The torrent of information in his mind quickly receded, and Fu Qian savored their peculiar reaction.

It wasn’t that petty malice of “why isn’t he dead yet”; they seemed genuinely shocked.

Did they judge that I could not possibly have escaped?

Interesting.

It’s a shame that although the two resisted the impact just now, their awareness was clearly stretched to the limit.

In their stuttering state, their ability to speak had yet to return, obviously leaving no way to solve their doubt.

“There’s no danger now.”

In the end, it was the Sage Old Master’s voice that came first, his tone both lamenting and sighing.

“They… they were alive?”

At this moment, Ice, still shaken, finally managed to speak with difficulty, her gaze still unfocused.

“They’re dead now.”

The voice of the Sage Old Master had almost returned to normal.

“They chose the wrong path, became filthy reptiles, and deserved to die long ago.”

“But the Holy Grail made the most of their value, using stealth attacks, knowledge infusion to delay reaction after being discovered, and replicating abilities for a decisive blow.”

“Unfortunately, not everything needs to be experienced once before you can respond, which is why we let you feel the ‘knowledge’ wash over you previously.”

After speaking, the Sage Old Master’s gaze finally fell on Fu Qian’s face, emotionless.

He must have undergone resistance training in advance.

Fu Qian internally admired, as the Sage’s words undoubtedly confirmed his guess.

At the same time, he also understood why they were so focused on him–he was likely not the only one to have resistance training, perhaps a special treatment for Study VIP members.

Fu Qian even understood why it was done.

It wasn’t that the lives of others didn’t matter; rather, in such exploration, if everyone had too strong dull senses, perhaps they couldn’t optimally handle some special situations.

In their estimation, I should have been slow to react and ended up as roast pork.

The evidence of this non-malicious conjecture was even right before his eyes–Brother TP, who had been diligently standing since earlier, had not moved at all since.

Fu Qian did not speak but walked forward two steps and patted Brother TP’s shoulder.

The Gold Shield that the latter had been holding in front of his chest finally dropped, as his body slowly turned around.

Unfortunately, his face, which could have been considered resolute, was now completely slack.

Overload is not something that everyone can withstand.

Shaking his head, under the watchful eyes of the four behind him, Fu Qian removed the Gold Shield from the arm of Brother TP.

It’s quite heavy!

After silently examining it, Fu Qian slipped the Gold Shield onto his arm, then turned his head, his voice devoid of emotion.

“The Sage won’t blame me for peeking at some things I shouldn’t have, will he?”

…
The amount of information in these words was undoubtedly huge, although entirely misleading.

Ice and the others listened, conjectures stirring within them, as they looked towards the Sage.

His implication was clear; he had anticipated his disposable status and, begrudgingly, made thorough preparations, including resistance against this knowledge infusion.

But without the Sage’s help, where did he undergo the advance adaptation?

…
As the Sage Old Master, the Sage had not rushed to make a statement, but the spinning wing on the Golden Staff undoubtedly demonstrated he was giving Fu Qian a comprehensive assessment.

“The performance of your left hand is a pleasant surprise, and we’re going to rely on you in the future.”

Amid the suffocating silence, the Sage finally made his position clear.

It appeared that after gaining Insight, he held an optimistic view of my potential danger and the need for earlier handling.

“As it should be.”

Commenting on the Sage’s evaluation, Fu Qian’s face showed a special smile.

“Nothing is more enchanting than the pursuit of knowledge.”

This rather fervent statement actually fleshed out his character further.

An individual fully aware of being a second-class citizen but unconcerned in the quest for knowledge.

Beyond their instinctive wariness of mental instability, the teammates’ doubts about Fu Qian’s earlier actions momentarily eased.

Even his act of donning a second piece of equipment did not evoke much thought.

“So with all this happening, does it mean the Holy Grail is not far off?”

After a short silence and a rapid recovery of spirit, Ice was the first to shift their focus back to the matter at hand.

“Not just close.”

At Ice’s words, the Sage let out a dark chuckle but annoyingly abstained from continuing and stepped forward.

Fortunately, after escaping death in the previous overstimulating ordeal, no one voiced a complaint about this poor behavior.

In silence, the group entered the hall, walking toward the foot of the statue.

However, just as the Sage Old Master reached out to touch the statue, his movements suddenly stalled, his gaze drawn upwards.

The formerly quiet eyes on the dome were now flickering like waves, each and every one of them.

“Retreat–”
At that moment, a hint of astonishment that seemed foreign to the Sage Old Master colored his voice.

And with the warning, he did not hesitate to turn and run towards the entrance.

Only then did Charlotte and the others awaken as if from a dream, realizing that an unexpected situation had arisen, and they too began to retreat.

But the chamber was not small enough for a quick exit.

Right as the group raced toward the entrance, a network resembling interwoven lasers instantly enveloped everyone.

In a breath’s time, no whole limb could be found among the Sage’s group.

Is the devil always one step ahead?

Witnessing this scene, Fu Qian, resisting the heavy strikes upon his will, saw ripples spread across the Gold Shield in front of him.

Yes, the Gold Shield he had removed from Brother TP was not for remembrance.

After equipping the Gold Shield, Fu Qian did two things.

First, he quietly removed his gloves to avoid power conflict.

Second, he comprehensively processed the Gold Shield’s pattern which he had repeatedly observed, brainstorming at full power as he’d done before to grasp the “knowledge” quickly and establish a connection.

Indeed, although the Sage Old Master acted so professionally and even their goal, the Holy Grail, was within reach, Fu Qian still didn’t entirely trust him and had not assumed they were safe.

The reason, aside from a professional skepticism of everything, was straightforward.

A level-one task that I can win by lying down? I don’t believe it.