Mumbling Along

Like a back-row student caught sleeping in class, he had been singled out by the teacher as a negative example.

Bai Xiaodu stretched and rubbed his eyes.

He walked forward alongside the monk with easy grace, his steps firm and every movement radiating absolute confidence.

This display seemed to make even the black-robed monk lose his confidence, causing him to glance back repeatedly.

The center of the second floor was also a hall, though there were fewer books here, with an open area in the middle occupying about forty percent of the space.

Amidst the bustling figures, a short individual clad in a black robe adorned with gold patterns sat upright in the very center.

This was likely the so-called supervisor.

Seats had already been neatly arranged, forming several massive concentric circles.

The monks who had been brought here sat facing the center in an orderly fashion, the entire hall so silent that not a single sound could be heard.

Bai Xiaodu was the last to arrive, and only the innermost circle closest to the center still had empty seats.

Noticing this, his lips twitched. So these monks aren't proficient either, and they're all terrified of being put on the spot, huh?

But that was the only place left with open seats.

Left with no choice, Bai Xiaodu had to sit all by himself in the smallest circle.

He quietly pulled down his black robe, completely concealing his face.

The entire hall fell into absolute silence.

Seeing this, the black-and-gold-robed monk nodded and spoke.

His voice was calm, carrying an air of old age.

“All of you who pledge your loyalty to the great, eternal, omniscient, and omnipotent Dragon God, we gather here today to sing praises to the divine messenger, the revered and noble gold dragon.”

Biting his lip, Bai Xiaodu nearly burst out laughing.

If Lingxin hadn't told him beforehand that the boss of this stage was a gold dragon beast, he might have actually been fooled.

What was a dragon beast?

Dragons were inherently lustful, and the offspring they produced from indulging their desires with all sorts of bizarre creatures were collectively referred to as dragon beasts.

Dragon beasts were half-bloods of half-bloods of half-bloods. Basically, they grew a single scale on their bodies and insisted they belonged to the dragon race.

Speaking of this dungeon boss, if it were a pure-blood dragon, it might truly be purely curious about the new path pioneered by the Mage Emperor.

As for a dragon beast...

They were genuinely shunned, unable to chant much Dragon Tongue magic, forced to use the Mage Emperor's spell-rune-type spells just like the human species.

He patiently listened to the supervisor finish his rambling.

Seeing that the atmosphere was sufficiently set, the supervisor nodded with satisfaction and suddenly raised his hands.

All the monks stared at him in unison.

“Now... begin!”

Led by the supervisor, they chanted the first line in unison, and the hall instantly erupted into a clamor of voices.

Pricking up his ears to catch the syllables coming from all directions, Bai Xiaodu mumbled along, babbling random sounds.

It was clear that everyone had memorized the first few sections of the text quite well.

This continued for about ten minutes.

Not everyone had such a great memory, and by this point, noticeable stutters and pauses began to crop up.

Right then, the monk responsible for passing messages and leading the way stepped forward, pacing along the edge of the circle where the supervisor sat.

Holding a pen and paper, he stared at the numbers on the chairs. The moment he detected even the slightest discordance in tone, he would immediately look down to note it.

Wherever he appeared, the voices in that area would suddenly surge in volume.

Bai Xiaodu cursed inwardly.

Beneath the black hood, a fierce gaze repeatedly swept over Bai Xiaodu.

There was no helping it; he stood out too much.

Naturally, Bai Xiaodu didn't know the chant by heart. Hell, he couldn't even read it.

From the very beginning of the hymn, he had just been babbling along blindly with everyone else.

This scene made him slightly nostalgic for his school days. During morning reading sessions when everyone was reciting their own materials, he would use the noise to mindlessly babble, daydream, or hum songs.

Who knew what was wrong with this hymn, but it became increasingly complex toward the end, as if demanding one to spit out a dozen different tones in a single second.

Bai Xiaodu simply couldn't keep up anymore. He decided to just give up entirely and began to mumble blatantly, making bubbling noises with his mouth.

That damn lackey kept his eyes glued to him, scribbling away non-stop.

But Bai Xiaodu didn't care in the slightest.

The chanting echoed in the hall for a full half-hour. It had to be said, leaving aside any blasphemous elements, the combination of these written tones was actually quite beautiful.

Once it ended, not a single person in the hall moved, silently waiting for the supervisor's orders.

The lackey monk glared at Bai Xiaodu, raising the notepad in his left hand, which was filled with the number of Bai Xiaodu's seat.

Standing up straight, he began to read aloud in a booming voice.

Every person whose seat number was called shuddered without exception. Some let out low sobs from beneath their black robes, while others simply collapsed, fainting right in their seats.

Several tall, burly black-robed monks slowly approached. Starting from the outermost circle, they began dragging people away according to their numbers.

A few pleaded in low voices along the way, but it earned them nothing but a crisp, resounding slap across the face.

Obviously, they would drag him away last.

Seeing that there was still some time, Bai Xiaodu leisurely crossed his legs.

Ignoring the black-robed monk beside him, he stared straight at the supervisor.

Bai Xiaodu spoke, his voice calm and steady.

“Supervisor, this is a very low-level hymn. I believe our Lord deserves a far more pure and sacred chant.”

Upon hearing this, the supervisor, who seemed to have been resting, slowly straightened up and turned his head toward him.

Seeing this, the lackey monk hurriedly stepped forward to stop him.

“Supervisor, you saw it yourself. This guy is completely loafing around. He couldn't even recite a single line of prayer. There's no need to listen to his nonsense. Just throw him straight into the meat grinder.”

Bai Xiaodu slammed his hand onto his seat and snapped angrily, “Impudent! Who the hell do you think you are? I have learned something far superior, which should naturally be offered to our Lord at the very first opportunity. But since everyone was in the middle of chanting praises, I truly couldn't bear to interrupt, which is why I waited until now. Yet you repeatedly cause trouble and force your way to stop me—what exactly are your intentions?!”

The monk flew into a rage and practically lunged forward, looking as though he wanted to get physical.

The supervisor cleared his throat softly.

He waved his hand. Seeing this, the monk's breathing grew ragged with anger, but he was powerless to do anything. He could only back down in frustration.

Propping his head up with one hand, the supervisor's aged voice sounded utterly indifferent.

“Speak.”