At the top of Xiler Thinking Hall, the towering Khonsu sat cross-legged on the edge of the highest tower, a freshly repaired magic wand on his lap, and the enormous snake head of Ye Meng Jia De resting nearby. Both of them were fixedly gazing at a room in the tower.
Their current posture was remarkably similar to a group of old men lounging under a big tree after a meal, only missing little stools. It would be even more vivid if there was a bag of sunflower seeds.
However, the situation for Lex in the room they were watching was the stark contrast to their relaxed demeanour.
It should be remembered, the test content for Batman was to identify one of the instigators behind the murder case in Gotham University, while Lex's opponent was Shiller himself.
Of course, it wasn't DC Schiller in person. DC wouldn't stoop so low as to personally attack a youthful Luther; he delegated that task to Moonlight Shiller.
However, there was ample reason for this. Firstly, Lex was different from Batman; what he had to confront wasn't a group of villains who only had a bark but no bite, nor was it the Joker who specializes in kidnapping and forcing Batman into dilemmas every day. What he faced was Superman, the embodiment of justice.
If Lex was meant to face Superman in future, the first lesson he needed to learn was not how to play the villain well, but how to preserve his life and reduce damage at the same time.
Even though Superman would be unlikely to strike a fatal blow to Lex, it was akin to a grown elephant telling you it means no harm and just wants to play with you. If Lex wanted to stir up trouble in Metropolis, the first thing he needed to learn was how to dance with the elephant without being trampled to death.
In terms of sheer power, Moonlight Shiller definitely wasn't as strong as Superman. Yet, if they really brought in a Superman, the cost of Lex's test would be overly excessive. The tuition paid for donating two lab buildings couldn't repair the damage caused by a nuclear bomb explosion in the Xiler Thinking Hall.
Moreover, getting blown away wouldn't provide any experience to Lex. On the contrary, being chased and slashed by Moonlight Shiller could hone his skill in finding an escape route as quickly as possible.
At present, Shiller, wielding an umbrella knife, was hovering around the entrance of a back alley. To make the test fair, this room imposed some restrictions on both parties.
Firstly, Moonlight Shiller could only see objects illuminated by the moonlight. Anything hidden in the shadows was invisible and untouchable to him.
As for Lex, he could only move in areas where there was moonlight; he couldn't budge in the dark.
As a result, we have a deadlock: with Lex hiding motionlessly in the shadows, Moonlight Shiller couldn't see him, couldn't locate him, and couldn't touch him even if he guessed where Lex was hiding. He could only wait at the entrance of the alley.
Although the situation had reached a standoff, it was something DC Schiller had calculated beforehand. At that moment, Khonsu, who was sitting at the top of the tower, figured the time was ripe. He flicked his magic wand, and in an instant, the moon in the room began to move slowly.
As the moon moved, the positions of the moonlight and shadows also changed. Lex, who was hiding in the shadows at the end of the alley, was now illuminated by the moonlight. In that instant, he surged out, with a flash of cold light from his umbrella knife, followed by a "Zi La" sound and a spurt of blood.
A wound was left on Lex's back, but simultaneously, he managed to sprint out of the alley. Upon reaching the street, he found his luck was particularly bad; the moon was directly above, reducing the shadows from the buildings to thin strips.
There was insufficient room there for him to stand, but he didn't have much time to contemplate. He dashed straight towards the staircase of the nearest building.
While the buildings were inaccessible, these external staircases were climbable. The shadows at the corners of the stairs provided enough shelter for Lex.
This duel in the dreamland was not about honing his combat skills or physical strength, the only aspect that could be improved was his mental strength.
Through numerous occasions of running, making choices, and hiding, his mental strength would intensify, his reactions would become more alert, and his willpower would also grow stronger.
Against Superman, elevating one's martial prowess would do no good, because according to the universal definition of strength, nobody could possibly be stronger than Superman. Mental strength and stability were all the more important. Even using an agile mind to develop equipment would be a better choice than honing physical strength to withstand Superman's fists.
The battle did not lack an endpoint; all Lex had to do was to resist for half an hour in every scenario. Technically, it wasn't too difficult, because in this room Moonlight Shiller was just a bit stronger than Lex, due to his advantage of a regular teenager's physical condition. The only significant advantage he had in the room was that umbrella knife in his hand.
What vexed Lex the most was the omnipresent oppressive feeling given by Moonlight Shiller.
Even though he knew for sure that as long as he stood in the shadows, Shiller couldn't touch him, whenever Shiller approached the shadows, Lex's heart would still race and his body would break out in a cold sweat.
It seemed like an inherent aura, like a hunter specifically preying on the human race. During his constant evasion and hiding, Lex started to carefully observe and understand this temperament, and figure out how he could use his own posture to exert pressure on his opponent.
At this moment, in the Kingdom of Dreams, Shiller turned his head and told Constantine, "You head back to the ship first. Look for Captain Shiller and tell him to set sail to take you back. I am going to give Morpheus a tour of my home. We'll catch up later... Oh, remember to bring Clark with you."
After Constatine, Clark, Batman, Victor, and the others who came to watch, left, Shiller extended his hand to Morpheus and said, "Please."
The two traveled through the Kingdom of Dreams to the base of Shiller's Tower of Thought, then ascended through the hole that was previously created, reaching the ground level of the Tower of Thought. This was Morpheus's first time entering this tower, previously, he had only viewed it from afar.
"It's a little quieter here than you might expect, isn't it? But actually, that's because many parts of me are still on that ship. It will be a lot more lively once they return," Shiller explained.
"But no worries, I assume you're not here to meet my other personalities. Where's Ye Meng Jia De, though? Ye Meng Jia De? Weren't you excited to be the tour guide as we were expecting guests today?"
After Shiller called for a while, the giant python slowly descended along the interior wall of the tower, accompanied by Khonsu.
The main reason why Khonsu lingered in Shiller's Thought Palace was because Moonlight Shiller had declared an onslaught, making him a wanted figure in the Egyptian Pantheon. Shiller's ship had also caused utter chaos in the Celestial Realm, so Khonsu couldn't return to his home and was forced to stay.
When Khonsu saw Morpheus, it seemed that they sensed something familiar in each other, but instinctively chose not to discuss it. Instead, the fearless Ye Meng Jia De circled Morpheus a few times, clicking his tongue, saying, "Look, another victim. Has your body been tampered with too?"
Morpheus looked up at Ye Meng Jia De's huge snake head, seemingly deep in thought. At this point, Ye Meng Jia De pronounced, "I am the magnificent Mundane Python Ye Meng Jia De! The first deity to arrive here! As your senior, it is my duty to explain the rules here. I prefer sleeping at the highest point of the tower, so you'd better not..."
Right as Ye Meng Jia De got to this point, he noticed a greyish-black Siamese cat appearing in Morpheus's arms. Ye Meng Jia De was taken aback. He knew what cats were, but couldn't understand why Morpheus suddenly conjured up one.
But he soon found out, because as soon as the cat opened its eyes, it started to grow, and grow, until it pushed Ye Meng Jia De to the ground with a single paw.
Shiller looked up at the giant Siamese cat and said, "So this is the Dream of the Thousand Cats? I thought there would be many cats."
"There are many. It is the incarnation of collective consciousness of cats. Perhaps you didn't know, the world was originally ruled by cats. However, since the human race collectively dreamt, collective consciousness changed reality, turning humans into masters and cats into pets."
"And the Dream of the Thousand Cats is the collective consciousness of cats. But now, what you are seeing is an entity that inherits the collective consciousness of cats, called the Dream of the Thousand Cats. Of course, you can also call him Little Black."
Shiller looked up and saw a giant cat immobilizing Ye Meng Jia De with one paw, feeling that the adjective "little" might not be quite accurate.
Just as Morpheus, Shiller, and Khonsu were standing side by side, watching the drama of the cat catching the snake, the room where Moonlight Shiller and Lex were was not changing due to Khonsu leaving his post of controlling the moon's position. Lex hid in the shadows of the stairs, barely daring to move, while Moonlight Shiller stood at the foot of the stairs, lying in wait.
As soon as he realized that the moon's position hadn't moved for a while, Lex let out a breath of relief, believing he could hold out until the next scene switch. However, after a long half an hour, the scene hadn't moved, just like a stuck game.
Moonlight Shiller wasn't much for doing nothing, either. Patience was never his strong suit. Realizing that Khonsu wasn't doing his job, he became impatient and started attempting to break the room's constraints and directly communicate with Khonsu.
But Khonsu was already conversing with Morpheus. The two seemed to have a lot in common, being the god of sleep and the moon god. The changing phases of the moon have a connection with different dream realms.
Such divine communication is not just simple speaking. When Khonsu was fully immersed in the exploration of the connection between moon phases and dreamscapes, he didn't realize that the energetic Pope he once chose had already lost his patience.
Just as the battle between the cat and the snake was nearing its end, and Ye Meng Jia De was unsurprisingly trying to escape, there was a loud "boom" from a room upstairs, followed by shooting fragments of the building. The moment Khonsu connected with the force, a giant blade of light flew down the stairs.
It's widely known that no matter the type or state of the cat, they all share one feature – they're easily startled.
The Dream of the Thousand Cats, who had been engrossed in playing with the snake, hadn't noticed what was happening above his head. Then he felt a "whoosh", a chill on his forehead, and the giant blade of light brushed past his right ear, cutting off a chunk of his fur.
"Meow!!!!"
The startled scream of the cat was heard, and the Dream of the Thousand Cats instantly exploded into full fur mode. Arching its back, puffing its tail, even its claws sprung out.
"Bang!" Suddenly, the giant cat separated into hundreds of little cats and instantly overwhelmed Shiller's Tower of Thought.
Just then, the ominous sounds of horns rang out. The Ship of the Underworld that had just returned slowly pulled into the parking space next to the tower.
Marvel Shiller, standing at the front of the ship, stared in disbelief as the tower was swarmed by cats.
He watched as his home blinked twice, then disappeared without a trace.