Chapter 204

Chapter 203: Fear of Punishment

At the Royal Sacred Crown University, King Campus.

Inside a small meeting point of the Secret Knowledge Society, there was a narrow room. Nephnis was sitting on a chair in this room, with a table in front of her. Across from her, sitting at the same table, was a young man.

The man appeared to be around twenty years old, with short golden hair and glasses. He was intently looking at the papers on the table in front of him. These papers were filled with questions from the novel “The Queue of the Queen Bee,” and each question had been answered below them.

After thoroughly reading through all the questions and answers, the young man nodded and then looked at Nephnis.

“Very well, Miss Boyle, you answered perfectly. I assume you have carefully studied Mr. Thistle’s books.” The young man smiled as he spoke to Nephnis, who responded earnestly by placing her hand over her heart.

“Of course. If one wishes to understand Mr. Thistle better and get closer to him, they must seek his wisdom from these books. Reading Mr. Thistle’s books is our duty as members of the society, Mr. Eli.”

Nephnis spoke to the young man, who was named Eli and was also a member of the Secret Knowledge Society. He was one of the most fervent followers of Mr. Thistle from the very beginning, considering him a revered figure. He was the first member to finish reading “The Queue of the Queen Bee.”

Initially, Mr. Thistle managed the society himself. However, after he began some work in the inner area, he delegated most of the management responsibilities to the most loyal Eli. Eli relayed Mr. Thistle’s orders to the society and assessed the members who could enter the inner area. Now, he was assessing Nephnis.

After completing the written test, Eli questioned Nephnis face-to-face. The questions naturally covered various details from the first four volumes of “The Queue of the Queen Bee.” Having read all four volumes, Nephnis answered fluently and perfectly handled Eli’s inquiries.

“Very good, Miss Boyle. You passed the test. It seems you have grasped the essence of Mr. Thistle’s books. You have earned the right to get closer to Mr. Thistle…”

Looking at Nephnis, Eli smiled and said. Nephnis sincerely replied:

“It is an honor to get closer to Mr. Thistle.”

Seeing Nephnis’ attitude, Eli nodded and then said to her:

“Come with me now.”

As he spoke, Eli left the room and entered the hall of the meeting point. Nephnis followed behind him. They soon arrived at the end of the hall, where a long corridor filled with fine spider webs lay ahead.

This was the Spider Web Corridor, which led to what was known as the inner area of the Eight Pinnacle Nest.

Eli stopped in front of the Spider Web Corridor and took out a small, exquisite box from his clothes. Inside the box was a small bottle, from which he poured out a transparent little pill and handed it to Nephnis.

“Take this and imagine yourself as one of the bugs in the book. Mutter their lines, and you will be able to pass through here.”

Eli explained to Nephnis. After receiving the pill, Nephnis hesitated for a moment before swallowing it.

Seeing that Nephnis had taken the pill, Eli stepped forward and walked into the depths of the Spider Web Corridor. Nephnis immediately followed, silently reciting the lines of the bugs from “The Queue of the Queen Bee” and imagining herself as one of them.

Thus, Eli led Nephnis forward, eventually crossing the Spider Web Corridor. They arrived at the end of a corridor, where a toppled stone statue lay shattered into several pieces. Beside the statue, there was a staircase leading downward.

It was clear that the statue was originally used to block the staircase, but it had been moved, broken, and now revealed the hidden staircase below.

“This is…”

“This is a secret we discovered when the Secret Knowledge Society was first established. Beneath this school lies an ancient ruin. The Secret Knowledge Society was founded around this secret, but it was later sealed off due to interference from the school. Many of us forgot about this secret until Mr. Thistle came and reopened it.”

Eli explained to Nephnis and then descended the staircase first. Nephnis quickly followed.

Afterward, Nephnis followed Eli down the stairs. Under the illumination of the gas lamps, they descended a considerable distance. Just as Nephnis felt tense about the narrow space, a horrifying scream echoed ahead of them, startling her.

“What… What happened up ahead?”

“Hehe, don’t panic. Let’s continue forward. You’ll find out soon enough.”

Eli chuckled and continued walking forward. Nephnis swallowed hard and followed.

As they walked further, the screams became clearer and more frequent, both male and female. The screams originated from the front of the path and seemed to come from multiple sources. Echoing through the dark tunnel, they made Nephnis shudder.

Finally, Eli led Nephnis to the end of the passage. After passing through a stone door, they entered a spacious underground chamber.

This underground chamber was about three to four meters high and ten meters wide, supported by several round stone pillars. The lanterns hanging from the pillars cast bright orange light, illuminating the entire dark space.

Around the edges of the underground hall, many damaged statues lay scattered, unrecognizable. Underneath the stone pillars, wooden partitions formed makeshift cells. Within these cells, tormentors and prisoners could be seen.

These prisoners were both men and women, dressed in bl**d-stained rags. Most were bound to torture racks, being whipped until bl**d oozed from their flesh. Others were beaten with sticks, their bodies bruised and swollen, while some were tied to chairs and pierced with needles or had their fingernails torn off…

Groans, screams, pleas… Various sounds echoed throughout the underground space, mingling with the laughter and curses of the tormentors. bl**d stains splattered across the floor and walls. Nephnis stared in horror at the scene before her eyes.

This place was essentially an underground torture chamber. Although Nephnis had never seen the abused prisoners before, many of the tormentors were members of the society—those who had completed the secret transmission of the four hidden books and become loyal followers of Mr. Thistle. At this moment, they were all madly torturing the prisoners in front of them, covered in bl**d, completely devoid of their scholarly demeanor.

The cruel scene before her struck Nephnis deeply. She never imagined that within the inner area, there would be such a specialized torture site.

“What is this? Aima, Bernie… They are torturing others. Why are they doing this?”

Looking at the scene, Nephnis muttered. Eli calmly replied:

“They are practicing. To walk the extraordinary path and become true extraordinary beings, they must practice diligently. Mr. Thistle said that for us, the loyal members of the society, he is willing to guide us onto this extraordinary path.”

“Does becoming an extraordinary being really require such torture?”

Hearing Eli’s words, Nephnis muttered incredulously. Eli continued to answer easily:

“Yes. According to Mr. Thistle, to become an extraordinary being, one must accumulate something called spirituality. This ‘Fear of Punishment’ can accumulate a type of spirituality called ‘Shadow.’

“After mastering this method, one should inflict punishment on others, making them fear and dread you. According to Mr. Thistle, fear is one of the most important spiritual manifestations of ‘Shadow.’ Thus, after mastering this method, whenever you are feared or scared, you can accumulate ‘Shadow’ spirituality within your body. The higher and deeper the level of fear, the more ‘Shadow’ can grow. When ‘Shadow’ accumulates to a certain extent, one can advance to become an extraordinary being of ‘Shadow.'”

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