When talking about the highly suspicious figure Long Ming had in mind, the one he was almost certain of—it had to be her. Without a doubt, it was that creature from his past life.

That creature had a beautiful yet terrifying name: Medusa.

Just thinking about this being brought back memories of Long Ming’s youthful days, ones he didn’t particularly want to revisit.

Back then, he had just ascended to the rank of Mage and was in high spirits. In order to appear more awe-inspiring and untouchable, he specifically went to the Magic Beast Forest, hoping to tame a few beasts from the Holy Domain for fun.

But instead of encountering his destined magic beast, he stumbled upon something he’d never forget: a breathtakingly beautiful woman giving birth. Except, this woman had the body of a snake and a human face. The scene was drenched in blood and agony, as if he had walked into a live murder scene. How grotesque.

Back then, Long Ming was a bit of an innocent soul. At most, he had only exchanged a few shy glances with some female mages, maybe caught a wink here and there. To witness something so intense all of a sudden left him breathless—literally. He fainted on the spot.

It was the shame of his life. When he woke up, he had been falsely identified as the father of a snake-human baby, and he almost lost his century-old virginity.

He found out later that if you angered these women, just one look from their eyes could turn you into stone!

Now, this Medusa? She was, without a doubt, a descendant of the one from back then. Her aura was unmistakably similar, her scent tempting in the most dangerous way, as if not being seduced by her would be an insult to her allure.

Hmph, did she really think he was still the naïve mage from his past life? Medusa might be as eternal as ever, but he had reached the peak of the Trickster’s path. This time, if he didn’t make her spin in circles, how could he ever forgive himself for nearly falling for her trap in the past?

Besides, the big shots watching the live broadcast were surely waiting to see how he’d deal with this seductive snake. If he didn’t put on a good show, it would be a waste of their efforts in torturing the contestants.

Unbeknownst to Long Ming, his earlier stellar performance and his being the first to reach the second stage had caught the attention of Sha Yu. He had specifically ordered the Flowing Light Stone to be aimed at Long Ming, ensuring every angle was captured.

Just as Sha Yu predicted, Long Ming’s entry stirred an unprecedented debate in the Boundless Realm.

“Look, that’s Queen Medusa, a C-ranked criminal from the Dimensional Prison. Hahaha, that kid’s doomed!”

“I believe in him. There’s no way he’d fall for that fox spirit’s tricks. I’ll bet 100,000 gold coins on this… white-clad handsome man!” Clearly, this was one of Long Ming’s female supporters. Since his contestant name hadn’t been revealed yet, and his mysterious background couldn’t be traced, they had temporarily dubbed him “white-clad handsome man.”

“A no-name kid from the human race? He’s still a baby who hasn’t learned how to walk. I’ll bet 200,000 gold coins on King Lewis!”

“I’m adding another 150,000 on the white-clad handsome man!”

“I can’t wait to see how Medusa drains that little human dry! Hahaha!”

“You! You! You!”

The stakes grew higher and higher, and the bets more extravagant.

Sha Yu nodded in satisfaction. It seemed that this time, the prison’s financial deficit might just be covered.

At that moment, a report was handed to Sha Yu. It contained information about the white-clad man on the screen.

“Hm?” Sha Yu looked puzzled and surprised.

The mysterious figure beside him also glanced at the report.

The data was incredibly sparse—probably filled out carelessly by the contestant, or maybe the review officer hadn’t bothered to check.

[Name: Long Ming]

[Plane: Lower Plane, Ao Miao Continent]

As for his magic level, combat power, family background, age, race… all blank.

“How could he come from a lower plane?” Sha Yu muttered to himself, chewing on the name “Long Ming,” which sounded oddly familiar. “Wait a second… Long Ming… Isn’t that the name of the former Crown Prince?!”

He slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering.

The mysterious figure didn’t respond, merely lifting his pale, refined chin slightly from beneath his black robe, as if watching the white-clad man on the screen—though perhaps he was lost in thought.

And as for Long Ming, who many were eagerly waiting to see fail?

Amid the mist, before Medusa could even get close, he calmly closed his eyes.

As long as he didn’t open them, there was no chance of being affected by her abilities. Although this was just a stage in the competition, and Medusa couldn’t break the rules of the Dimensional Prison by unleashing her ultimate moves, Long Ming had always been cautious. He never forgot that, at his core, he was just a fragile trickster with the appearance of a strong man.

Playing dumb to outwit a tiger requires self-awareness, and underestimating one’s opponent could lead to becoming the pig in the equation.

But simply closing his eyes wasn’t enough. Having spent time with the original Medusa, he had unintentionally learned a few secrets unknown to the outside world.

Everything had a weakness, even Medusa. For instance, they were afraid of fire and repelled by strong, pungent smells.

But for Long Ming, these were hardly problems. Fire? He could easily replicate the flawless aura of a fire-element Holy Domain. As for strong smells, those were a breeze—he had spent the past five years brewing all sorts of magical potions for just such occasions.

Since entering the Dimensional Prison, Queen Medusa had tried her seductive charms on countless men. Some she avoided outright, as they were too dangerous. Over the centuries, she had grown bored of it all.

What she didn’t know was that this condition had a name: aesthetic fatigue.

Now, finally, someone from outside the prison had arrived, giving her a legitimate chance to showcase her skills! Excited didn’t even begin to describe her feelings.

But something was wrong. This man had closed his eyes!

Could it be… he knew about her race? No way. Right now, she had a human face and legs, just like any other woman from the human race.

And besides, this was an ancient secret. Medusa’s strongest weapon wasn’t her charm—it was her petrifying gaze. If it wasn’t for the fact that their most powerful skill drained half their life force, they wouldn’t be ranked as mere C-level criminals. When angered, they could turn any living being to stone, at the cost of half their own vitality.

But this man… did he know the secret of her race? Was it a coincidence, or deliberate?

For the first time, Queen Medusa felt uncertain, even fearful. Her charm spell began to waver.

Suddenly, a powerful aura burst from the man—it was fire element… damn it, why fire?!

Normal fire wouldn’t scare her, but the aura emanating from this man was undeniably strong. It didn’t even seem like he was consciously releasing it—it was as if it was a natural part of him.

On the screen, the white-clad man appeared to be casually walking, more relaxed than when he passed through the first gate. Queen Medusa, however, neither attacked nor charmed him. Instead, she paled and retreated in fear.

It was as if the man were some kind of terrifying beast.

What was going on?

As if that weren’t enough, Long Ming discreetly scattered a bit of his most potent magical stimulant potion along the path he walked.

It wasn’t much, but Queen Medusa soon collapsed in agony, unable to summon any will to resist.

Trembling as she felt the white-clad man walk past her, she heard him say, “A secret will always remain a secret.”

His meaning was clear. He knew the secret of the Medusa clan, but he hadn’t revealed it before, and he wouldn’t now or in the future.

Queen Medusa looked up at the towering figure of the man, her face drenched in cold sweat.

It was only then that she noticed how astonishingly handsome this man was. Even among the beautiful Medusa clan, few could rival this level of appearance.

Under the sunlight, his face gleamed like polished porcelain, otherworldly.

In that instant, the fire aura vanished, replaced by a soothing warmth of light magic. Light elements danced in the air, easing her pain and fear.

Light magic—the only type that could heal.

With gratitude and awe, she watched the man’s figure walk away. A dual-element mage! And one this powerful at such a young age—that was monstrous talent!

Long Ming continued to calculate his pace and movements, feeling the intense gaze from behind him as Queen Medusa stared. Finally, he sighed in relief.

He had just barely gotten through!

While Queen Medusa was only a C-ranked monster, as part of the demon race, her natural strength was formidable. Among humans, demons, and beasts of the same level, humans would always be the weakest. That was an unchangeable fact of nature.

And right now, Long Ming was merely a Grand Mage. If any random criminal from the Dimensional Prison decided to come at him, they could probably crush him with ease.

Compared to Queen Medusa, he was definitely the more nervous one!

The Medusa race was far too proud. They were used to having every man fawn over them, submitting to their will. So, when he started by unleashing the Holy Domain aura and then followed it with a pungent potion, this was what they called “knocking them down a peg.” And then, by calming her with a free light magic spell, it was the classic “sweet after the sour.”

The combination of a harsh blow and a gentle reward had left Queen Medusa grateful.

“He cleared it!” someone shouted from Nine-Prong Plaza.

Some young ladies from various noble families clasped their hands together, silently praying for the cold-faced man on the screen.

“What? How did he clear it?”

“He just strolled through to the third stage without being enchanted by the Queen? How is that possible?”

“What’s so strange about it? Just look at my white-clad handsome man. He’s no ordinary person, not one of those cowards who’d go weak in the knees at the sight of a little demon!” a young girl argued back.

“Miss Third from the Mott family, are you talking about me?”

“What if I am?”

“It’s just a fledgling human, and you’re all bickering over him like this? Doesn’t it lower your status? Take a look at his score!”

The so-called “clearance score” was a special feature of the second round. Each of the eight guardian races at the Nine-Tiered Gate would give the contestants a score based on their performance, with a maximum score of 80 points. This score would influence their ranking in the third round.

Each guardian had a different personality, and their scoring was inconsistent. Someone like Queen Medusa, such a picky beast, was definitely not going to give a high score.

“There’s no way Queen Medusa will give a high score. She always discards men once she’s done with them, and this guy embarrassed her right to her face.”

“Yeah, I agree. Five points would be generous.”

“Look, there it is!”

Suddenly, a screen displayed the contestant’s name and score.

[Name: Long Ming]

[Second Round Score: 10 points.]

“What?! How is that possible?! Ten points!! A perfect score?!”

“What the hell! Did she fall for his looks or something?” Upon closer inspection, wasn’t that white-clad man indeed a pretty boy?

Years later, someone would ask Queen Medusa why she gave Long Ming a perfect score when all he did was casually walk past her. She only smiled and said nothing, leaving it as their little secret.

“You guys are missing the bigger picture—his name is way too eerie!”

By this time, Long Ming had already entered the third gate.

Meanwhile, more contestants were slowly making their way through the first gate, but most of the attention in Nine-Prong Plaza was still focused on Long Ming, watching to see how he would fare in the third stage.

“Although I selected all the guardians for this trial, as the designer of these three rounds, how long do you think he’ll take to clear the third gate?” Sha Yu asked the mysterious figure.

“Ten seconds,” the mysterious figure answered simply.

“That’s quite the high praise!”

The mysterious figure remained silent. After all, the third gate hardly required any hesitation.

And indeed, when Long Ming saw the scene behind the gate, he froze for a moment.