From Prisoner to Si Chen

Chapter 259 Assessment

"Um?"

Ji Lan looked at the woman with some confusion.

"To be honest, I have seen a lot of self-disciplined men, but few can compare with you."

Maiev bit into the kebab in her hand and spoke calmly while chewing the food.

"Besides practicing every day, there are basically no entertainment activities...I didn't even find out what your hobbies are."

"This is really a puzzling thing, Mr. Gillan... Don't you have any desires?"

Maiev glanced at the blond young man beside her and asked curiously.

Hearing this, Jilan fell silent.

Doesn't he like entertainment?

No, of course he does...

No one doesn’t like entertainment, and Gillan is no exception.

"You may have misunderstood, Miss Maiev."

Jilan looked at the Baiwei River. The afterglow of the setting sun swayed on the water, as if it had sprinkled a shining golden powder.

He said calmly:

"Self-discipline does not mean the absence of desire. On the contrary, it is precisely because the desire is too big that one will be self-disciplined... Because human nature alone cannot defeat desire. The only thing that can defeat desire is greater desire."

When he said this, Gillan thought of the "Ascetic Sect". Their seven major precepts are to suppress human nature and make themselves stronger by imitating the divinity that has no sorrow or joy.

But Gillan begs to differ.

He believes that a truly strong person does not suppress human nature, but allows, accepts, and uses human nature.

"People who are not self-disciplined are either ignorant of greater desires or lack strong inner motivation."

"The essence of self-discipline is a kind of persistence towards deep desires... because self-discipline is not a means or a personal trait, but an external manifestation of the pursuit of desires."

"I just used my greater desire to defeat the small desire for entertainment."

Gilan said slowly and began to examine himself.

It can be said that his self-discipline and elegance are the result of the quality of the "anchor", giving people a perfect personality.

But in fact, he didn't lie.

Because he does have a higher-level desire in his heart - the desire to become stronger.

"Oh?" Maiev looked surprised. "It's a really different view, but I agree."

She swallowed the food in her mouth and said curiously:

"So, what is the greater 'desire' in Mr. Gillan's words...can you tell me?"

"If you have not experienced the pain of disability, you will not cherish your healthy body, let alone regard health as a desire."

Gilan did not answer Maiev's question directly, but whispered in a daze.

“If you have not experienced captivity, you will not have the desire for freedom.”

"If you haven't been hunted, you haven't experienced war, and you won't understand how rare it is to survive."

“Only by clearly understanding what the greater desire is and what it can bring to oneself, can one achieve true self-discipline...”

"I just want to live, well, freely, and live in this world as I want."

Gilan turned his head and looked at Maiev quietly.

"This is what I want."

His tone was calm, but it made the woman with long black hair stop eating and felt a wave of emotion in her heart.

Both sides were silent for a while.

Maiev looked back at the river and whispered:

"I think I understand."

"I had just turned eighteen when I was brought back to the capital by Chairman Parra... There was only one thing in my mind, and that was to gain powerful power and one day be able to personally destroy the 'Heavenly Evil Cult'."

Maiev murmured.

"Later, I followed the Chairman to study mysticism in depth and embarked on the 'Path of the Fire Sword'. I climbed hard and performed my tasks conscientiously... But I feel that compared to Mr. Gillan, I can't speak of self-discipline. ”

"This is just your subjective feeling, Miss Maiev."

Jilan said calmly.

"Perhaps in the eyes of others, you are an extremely self-disciplined woman... but opinions are not important. Just like me, I never think of myself as self-disciplined."

"I'm just trying to satisfy my own desires. Nothing else matters. I should give in to this desire."

"Thank you." Maiev smiled. "Chatting with you gives me more motivation."

Her beautiful eyes sparkled.

"If... I mean if, we all successfully pass tonight's assessment, then we will be partners fighting side by side from now on."

"I would be honored by that."

…

night.

The cool moonlight falls on the capital city cluster.

The Baiwei River and the Xixikeli River intersect in an "X" shape. The moonlight is bright and they move with the waves.

The central point where the rivers meet, the Triumph District.

Imperial Plaza.

This place has long been blocked off by dense white security tapes, and there are patrol teams everywhere, strictly guarding it.

The personnel of the balance and purification department holding submachine guns and wearing white uniforms had stern expressions and piercing eyes.

There was an unspeakable solemn atmosphere surrounding the place.

At 8:40, Maiev drove Jilan and stopped at the square.

As soon as they got out of the car, the two were surrounded by an entire balance team. Even after recognizing Maiev and Gilan, the team still did not relax their vigilance.

It wasn't until the two men showed the identification of the committee leader that the team members put down their submachine guns.

Uh-huh!

They all crossed their arms towards the two men and made a solemn imperial salute.

"Team leader Maiev, team leader Jilan."

Everyone said respectfully.

Maiev waved her hand, and she and Jilan strode up the stairs to the square.

At this moment, Chairman Parra is already waiting here with seven or eight committee members.

Seeing Maiev and Gilan coming hand in hand, the men and women of the committee members saluted one after another.

"You are here."

The white-haired old gentleman held a white cane, raised his hand and glanced at his watch, and smiled:

“Exactly on time.”

"Chairman Parra."

Maiev and Gilan saluted.

Ji Lan turned his head and looked at the square black cube in front of everyone. It is the "Dai Pavilion" that blocks the Monument of Manolan Golden Nightmare.

"Chairman, is tonight's 'Grave Digger' assessment related to this nightmare monument?"

Maiev asked.

Parra hummed and nodded.

"To become a 'gravedigger', strength alone is not enough. You need some outstanding characteristics... Only actual combat can highlight these characteristics, so I plan to use this nightmare monument as your assessment."

The old gentleman smiled.

"But don't worry, there will be several serving imperial 'gravediggers' coming in person later to explain to you the specific content of the assessment and some precautions."

"Yes, Chairman."

Hearing this, Maiev looked stern and said in a deep voice.

Ji Lan, who was standing aside, was also looking forward to it.

Are you serving as a "gravedigger"...

A long while.

Nine o'clock sharp.

Two black cars parked at the edge of the square, and with the clang of the car doors, five men and women, all wearing black turtleneck trench coats, strode forward.

"Teresa, long time no see."

With a smile on his face, Chairman Parra greeted the older lady at the head.

"It's been a long time indeed, Para."

The lady narrowed her smile and responded.

Her hair was gray and tied up, and she looked to be in her fifties. A pair of dark green eyes concealed vicissitudes of life and perseverance, but the smile hanging on the corner of her mouth added a touch of softness and kindness to her.

Gillan noticed that there was a white rose stuck in the chest of this lady's windbreaker... No, it should be said that the five people who came had a white rose stuck in the chest.

He secretly guessed that this might be a status symbol of the "gravedigger".

"These two young people are the candidates who will take part in the assessment tonight, Miss Maiev and Mr. Gillan, right?"

The woman named Teresa looked over.

Parra nodded and introduced Mawei and Jilan:

"This is Ms. Teresa Corou, the leader of the second 'Gravedigger' team, a fourth-level long-timer."

"What she is walking on is the path leading to the Holy Grail Spiral, the 'Noon Dawn' in July, and the fourth-level primeval 'Sunflower'."

Hearing this, Gilan and Maiev looked at each other.

Those who have lived for a long time...

They greeted Ms. Teresa one after another, who nodded kindly and said softly:

"I'm really looking forward to your performance, and I hope you can successfully pass the exam and become a glorious 'gravedigger'."

"Yes, Ms. Teresa."

Maiev and Gillan said.

Teresa nodded and introduced the remaining four "gravediggers" in service to the two of them.

"They are all members of my second group..."

After introduction, Gilan and Maiev learned about the other four people.

Three men and one woman.

Two of the men have very special appearances. One of them is a thin and short dwarf, and the other is a tall and strong "giant".

The dwarf sat directly on the head of the strong man.

The short man's name is Renault, a level 3 "journalist", and the burly man's name is Mugur, a level 3 "artisan".

They are close friends and often act together.

The other man is much more normal, 1.8 meters tall and standing straight. He has medium-long light brown hair combed back, handsome features, and stubble. He looks like a elegant gentleman.

His name is Garnaud Neto, a level 3 "Hunter".

On its shoulder, there is a cute meerkat standing, looking up at the surroundings, seemingly always on alert.

"Good evening, you two. This is my partner, Robin."

Garnold chuckled and whistled.

call out!

The meerkat named Robin immediately turned his head and stared at Maiev and Jilan with a pair of black eyes. He crossed his little paws at them humanely and made an imperial salute.

Maiev raised her eyebrows, looking surprised.

She also said hello:

"Hello Mr. Garnold, hello little Robin."

However, when he heard the name "Little Robin", the gray-white meerkat was a little dissatisfied. He put his paws on his hips and squeaked at Maiev.

Like he was cursing.

This scene made everyone chuckle.

As for the last female "gravedigger", her name is Kaya Grando.

She is less than 1.5 meters tall, with long, light blond hair that reaches her waist and is slightly curly, tied into a double ponytail.

She doesn't look like an elite member of the special department at all, but like a delicate and cute little aristocratic girl.

"Hehe, sister Mawei, brother Jilan, you have to work hard!"

Kaya squeezed her little pink fist and cheered the two of them.

"Thank you." Maiev responded with a smile.