Chapter 21 Time Reset

The dream time within the Sands of Time is only ten minutes.

After ten minutes, the world resets.

This is the real reason why Gu Shen would always return to the same spot no matter which direction he started from… even if he was swallowed by quicksand, he would return to the original place once the time reset was triggered.

If someone entered this dream alone, they might mistakenly believe they had arrived in a desert with no end.

In fact, no matter how far one walks, they will be pulled back to the starting point by "time reset."

"The reset time for the Sands of Time is ten minutes… is it because the hourglass in reality was made to measure ten minutes?" Gu Shen thought of Chu Ling's initial words.

If he went all out, he could complete the dream analysis of the Sands of Time in ten minutes.

"I see… so the key to cracking the Sands of Time isn't space… but time."

"So, where is the exit from the Sands of Time?"

Gu Shen squatted down again.

He pinched the sand and stared deeply at the sandpit beneath his feet.

"600… 599…"

Gu Shen began to silently count down once again.

…

…

"The Sands of Time and the Azure Dice are completely different types of sealed items."

Wu Mengbai, the chief judge of the Redwood District, asked worriedly, "If you can't find the 'pattern,' you won't be able to get out of the Sands of Time even if you wander for ten thousand years. It's been almost an hour… Lin Beizhu, how many times has the dream of the Sands of Time been inverted?"

This elderly man named "Lin Beizhu," who was in charge of the review team for the Sands of Time sealed item, had a youthful face despite his white hair, and looked full of vigor.

He stared at the hourglass in Gu Shen's hand, his eyes gleaming as if he could penetrate the sealed item and look directly into the dream.

"Old Wu, you seem very concerned about Gu Shen ever since he solved the 'Azure Dice'," Lin Beizhu said with a smile. "The ratio of time flow in the Sands of Time to reality is one-to-one. This little guy is indeed extraordinarily talented and quickly discovered the 'reset' characteristic. He's now trying to solve the dream… he should be able to complete it soon. At this rate, he's about an hour ahead of the fastest record."

Hearing this reply, Wu Mengbai breathed a sigh of relief.

He was indeed very concerned about Gu Shen.

The fastest record for the Azure Dice was three hours and one minute.

The record for the Sands of Time was two hours and eighteen minutes.

It wasn't that these two sealed items had a significant difference in difficulty… The characteristics of the Sands of Time were gentler compared to the Azure Dice, more like a chronic "torture." The faster one could grasp the pattern, the easier it was to solve the Sands of Time.

The Azure Dice was different. Even if one knew the twisting trajectory, they needed to muster their spirits to complete each necessary rotation!

"This result is very good… another new record…"

Wu Mengbai looked at the Grand Justice and said solemnly, "I believe that solving the Azure Dice consumed a lot of Gu Shen's mental energy, otherwise, this record could have been even faster. Given his outstanding performance, I think the assessment can be stopped after he solves the 'Sands of Time.' If you're worried about the negative impact of that whistleblower report, we can wait for Han Dang's investigation results before giving the assessment rating."

"…"

Tang Qingquan showed no sign of backing down in the face of the Redwood Judge's proposal. "I understand your proposal, but… I don't agree. I stick to my original view that Gu Shen should complete the dream analysis of three sealed items. If he can't complete the 'Cage of the Ghoul' test, I won't give him an 'S' grade."

Wu Mengbai's face looked very unpleasant.

"The characteristics of the Cage of the Ghoul are too intense…"

Lin Beizhu, the master of the Sands of Time, began to smooth things over. He said seriously, "Gu Shen's spirit must be very tired after solving two nightmare sealed items in a row. Touching the Cage of the Ghoul again may cause him a great deal of stimulation and he might get hurt."

"The Azure Dice and the Sands of Time are both dream sealed items that are biased towards 'discerning patterns'," the Grand Justice said seriously. "Since Gu Shen has already demonstrated unparalleled mental potential, our assessment should be more comprehensive…"

The Redwood Judge wanted to say something more.

At this moment, Gu Shen woke up from the "Sands of Time" dream.

All the sounds of argument from the assessment team disappeared at this moment…

"One hour and three minutes."

Lin Beizhu smiled and said, "Congratulations. The dream analysis result is very good. How did you discover the final 'exit'?"

The young man presented the hourglass back to the old man with both hands. He politely nodded and smiled, but the color of his face was visibly paler… Even with Chu Ling's assistance, he still consumed a lot of mental energy during the dream analysis of the Sands of Time.

"Just lucky."

Gu Shen smiled modestly, "I accidentally fell into quicksand… and thought I was done for, but it triggered the 'time reset.' Otherwise, it would have taken longer. As for the final 'exit'… I thought that since this world wasn't as big as I imagined, then direction didn't matter. So I started looking for clues from the sealed item itself. I guessed that the characteristic of time reset corresponded to the narrow opening where the hourglass resets the sand grains. So I got stuck at the last second of the time reset and dived into the deepest part of the sand. Sure enough, that was the exit for the final dream analysis."

"Indeed, you were lucky to find the pattern through 'drowning in the sand'," the old man nodded in appreciation. "If you were even luckier, you could have completed the dream analysis with the first 'drowning,' and it might not have been impossible."

The key point to completing this sealed item was to reach the deepest part of the Sands of Time at the moment of time reset.

The hourglass is inverted.

The deepest end becomes the initial exit.

Gu Shen scratched his head, "Good luck, good luck. Just a fluke."

Compared to the Azure Dice, the dream analysis of the Sands of Time did have an element of luck. Moreover, without Chu Ling's help in alleviating the pressure of drowning in the sand, he wouldn't have dared to easily try such a suicidal act.

A normal dream analysis would take longer than this.

But it should still be faster than the previous fastest record.

After completing two dream analyses in a row, Gu Shen felt a sense of "palpitations" emerging in his chest. This was an emotion beyond his control, and his body was reminding him that it was time to rest and not continue.

His mental strength was still weak.

Touching too many of these nightmare-level sealed items in one go was not a good thing.

As for that third sealed item… which also seemed to be the most dangerous sealed item, Gu Shen knew that he might not be able to complete the dream analysis as he had before by relying on his own strength alone.

"Gu Shen."

The Redwood Judge spoke. He had faced a moral condemnation when Gu Shen chose to touch the Sands of Time.

Now he chose to stand up.

Wu Mengbai said in a deep voice, "Listen to me, let's end the assessment here. You don't need to continue. I will try to get you an 'S' grade."

Gu Shen was a little surprised. He saw the eyes of the other big figures on the assessment team, mostly with encouragement and appreciation.

Only one person's eyes were an exception.

"No… the assessment is not over yet."

Grand Justice Tang Qingquan stared at the young man and said calmly, "Gu Shen, I am the chief examiner for this assessment exam. The final grade evaluation will be guided by my opinion."

"You only have two choices now—"

"One, choose to touch the third sealed item, complete the dream analysis, and end the assessment!"

"Two, choose to give up, the assessment ends, and you will not pass!"

Tang Qingquan's face was without joy or sorrow, as if he was talking about something unrelated to himself, "You have one minute to rest, think about it."

"No need to think about it."

Gu Shen's answer was quick, without even a second of hesitation.

He bowed deeply to the assessment examiners who showed goodwill, then straightened his spine, looked directly at the Grand Justice without any expression, and said, "I choose to continue."