Only Through Suffering Can One Walk This Place

The other players watched with increasingly complicated expressions.

From her kneeling position, the nun raised her left leg. As she pushed herself up, her bent knee rose almost to her chest.

Then, she twisted her head a full three hundred and sixty degrees, completing a full circle to stare at the group.

Her hands drooped so low that her fingernails scraped the floor. Her arm span was great enough to wrap around a large tree, a sight that made everyone's scalp tingle.

With every movement, her limbs produced an unbearable kaka sound. The creak and pop of her twisting joints was a painful noise that sent shivers down their spines. It gave them the jarring sensation that the parts of her body didn't belong to her at all, but had been crudely pieced together.

With a mechanical, stuttering motion, she slowly rose to her full, terrifying height of over two meters.

A hint of joy appeared in her eyes as she looked at them.

"Do you also believe that Suffering…"

"…is happiness?"

Her voice was filled with delight, like a little girl who had just gotten a beloved toy and was showing it off to an admiring friend. A ripple of pride and validation went through her.

Swoosh!

In the blink of an eye, the players were stunned to find they were no longer at the entrance. They now stood less than a meter away from the nun.

From this close, her oppressive presence was even more palpable. Her towering height and unnaturally twisted limbs made everyone afraid to even breathe. They could faintly feel the warmth of her rapid breaths on their skin.

Weng!

All the corpses in the church began to tremble. They were cheering for Suffering. They were praising the idea that suffering was happiness.

But not one of the players could bring themselves to smile.

"Do you want to see the real Aiguyi? This town filled with miracles!" the nun's voice grew more rapid, her tone more agitated.

Wu Wang took a deep breath.

"I do," he answered calmly. "How might I see it?"

Are you crazy!? the other five thought, a wave of regret washing over them. If they had known, they never would have followed this guy inside.

Who the hell knew he would provoke the nun, causing her to go berserk? How were they supposed to escape now?

They silently glanced back toward the entrance. A row of corpses lay splayed across the threshold. Their legs looked as if they had been gnawed on by wild beasts, the stumps gruesome and terrifying.

Gulp.

Yun Ze swallowed hard. Those bodies looked like the remains of people who had tried to escape, only to be dragged back.

With their levels, items, equipment, and even skills sealed, they were lambs to the slaughter.

This was it. They were truly done for.

"Suffering! Only through Suffering can the truth be seen!" the nun shrieked. "O lost Outlanders! Show My Lord your Suffering, and He will lead you to the true Aiguyi Town!"

She paused, her head swiveling to face Wu Wang directly.

"Do you require assistance?"

She had directed her first two sentences at all the players, but she smiled at Wu Wang alone for the last one. The sight of her neck stretching half a meter from beneath her black habit made the others break out in a cold sweat.

It was clear she had taken a liking to Wu Wang. She even wanted to help him bring forth suffering.

"Does any kind of suffering work?" Wu Wang asked, his tone as casual as if they were discussing what to have for dinner. "Are there requirements for its degree or type? For example, physical suffering versus mental suffering? The pain of a severed finger or the grief of losing one's mother?"

Yun Ze, who stood closest to him, didn't sense the slightest change in the man's breathing or tone.

Damn it! Does this guy not know the meaning of fear? We're Level 1 commoners right now! Do you even understand what that means? There's no way you were this calm when you were a commoner!

Kekeke…

The nun's twisted limbs trembled with a dry, rattling sound. It had been many years since she had been this excited.

She couldn't help but stick out her forked tongue, split like a snake's, and lightly lick Wu Wang's cheek.

Suppressing her joy, she spoke.

"Either is fine. Suffering has no requirements, but you are absolutely right."

She continued, "Those ignorant believers only know how to use blades to cut their flesh. Their understanding is not as profound as yours, an Outlander."

"Mental Suffering… oh… oh! That's simply wonderful! Are you My Lord's mercy, bestowed upon Aiguyi?"

While the nun trembled and twisted her body into a pretzel, Wu Wang patted Yun Ze's arm.

Using ventriloquism, he whispered, "Quick, break your little finger. If you want to continue in this scramble war, do as I say."

Yun Ze could only stare back in confusion.

Seriously? Why don't you break your own?

He assessed the situation. The chances of escaping were lower than winning the lottery. This nun was clearly not human, and she would never let them leave this church. Now he understood why the town was so dark at night, without a single decent light source. The residents were probably terrified of being targeted by this… thing.

Damn it! I'll risk it! I'll do it!

Yun Ze gritted his teeth. He grabbed his left pinky with his right hand and bent it sharply in the opposite direction.

Crack!

As the crisp sound of breaking bone rang out, Yun Ze's face turned deathly pale. His whole body trembled in pain. Staring at his now bruised and swollen finger, his breathing grew ragged, but he clenched his jaw and refused to cry out.

He snapped his head up to look at Wu Wang, his eyes bloodshot.

I broke it! Now what? You'd better have a plan!

But when he turned, he was met with the nun's holy, flawless face. A hint of gratification appeared in her expression.

"O lost Outlander," she said softly. "I have received your yearning for Suffering. Although the pain of a single finger has not truly moved My Lord, I see that your faith is new. I am willing to open the gates to Aiguyi Town for you."

She smiled. "I hope you find your own steadfast belief in the holy land."

Whoosh!

The moment her voice fell, Yun Ze vanished.

The other players weren't fools. On the contrary, they were elites who had survived countless trials. The temporary handicap of being commoners made every step a long-forgotten difficulty, but it didn't affect their judgment.

Wu Wang's method was correct!

This town wasn't what it seemed. It had another side, another entrance! That was probably the true battleground for the Instance Scramble.

It all made sense. Being trapped in the house, the door opening only after they endured torment, the bloody figures outside… it had all been a hint.

Offering suffering was the key!

Crack! Crack!

Jinxiu and Tangqian Yan immediately broke their own little fingers.

The nun merely looked at them without a word. They didn't disappear.

Crack!

Without hesitation, Tangqian Yan broke another one of her fingers. The pain from two broken digits made her wish she could lose all feeling in her left hand.

This time, the nun smiled.

Whoosh!

Tangqian Yan vanished.

Everyone else was shocked. Was breaking one finger not enough? Or… was it not enough now?

It only took them a moment to figure it out. The earlier one offered their suffering, the smaller the price. The very first person might have been able to pass just by tearing a bit of skin.

They looked at each other, then immediately began to self-mutilate. A moment later, all four had vanished one by one.

The last to go was the Poet of the Myriad Springs Division. By then, the price had escalated. He had to break his entire left hand to satisfy the nun.

As he disappeared, he shot Wu Wang a look full of pity.

How tragic. This kid still isn't leaving. I wonder what kind of price he'll have to pay.

The nun was also curious.

"Why don't you offer your suffering with them?" she asked. "Having witnessed their pain, ordinary suffering will no longer catch my eye."

Wu Wang raised an eyebrow.

"Then let's look at it from another angle," he said dismissively. "Doesn't this mean that by staying until the end, I can enjoy the most blissful Suffering?"

The nun's eyes widened. A tingling numbness spread through her entire body, as if a bolt of electricity had coursed through her.

Your words are more enlightening than a decade of study! This is the true pursuit of Suffering!

"Then what kind of suffering do you plan to offer?" the nun asked, her voice trembling with anticipation.

Wu Wang pondered for a moment. He looked out at the dark night beyond the church.

"Let's wait a little longer," he said. "After all the other Outlanders have entered Aiguyi Town, I will tell you."

Her twisted body went still. His meaning was clear. He intended to be the very last person to enter Aiguyi Town.

He wanted the ultimate suffering.

"As you wish," the nun breathed, her gaze turning to the entrance. "Before then, please come over here and appreciate the suffering of others."

Just then, another team of players walked in.

She carefully moved a chair covered in iron thorns and placed it before Wu Wang, at a position almost level with her own. It was a clear sign of her high regard.

Wu Wang sat down without a moment's hesitation, not caring that the thorns were piercing his skin, causing blood to drip to the floor. He knew that to gain her trust, he had to go all in.

Because the only title that appeared on the nun's forehead was 【High Priest of Suffering】.

She was his side quest target.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

He couldn't risk leaving. What if he couldn't find her on the other side? Wu Wang decided to stay until the very end. He had to find a way to kill the nun here. Or, failing that, bring her along to the so-called real Aiguyi Town.

Either way, he needed the nun to favor him greatly.

"Ahhh! No! No!"

A woman from the newly arrived team let out a pained, miserable scream. The nun was inserting bamboo skewers into her ten fingers, one by one. It was a piercing pain that few could endure.

Seeing this, the other players in her group tried to flee, only to find that the large church door had, at some point, been restored and was now shut tight. Despair washed over them. With the resolve to die, they began the ritual of suffering, their screams growing more horrifying by the second.

Wu Wang sat on his throne of iron thorns.

"Alas," he said, like an emperor pronouncing death, gazing down with contempt upon the squabbles of his subjects. "It seems tonight will be a long one."