Chapter 72 (2/3): Qingqiu Locked Down, Permanently Closed

In the valley, Bai Yu and Chris finally shook off the pursuing candidates.  

Chris leaned against the stone wall, gasping, his legs trembling.  

“Lady…” he looked at Bai Yu and asked, “What do we do now?”  

He suddenly felt drained, a deep helplessness.

Su Fu’s image appeared in his mind again—too strong.

How could they fight such an enemy?  

Their carefully designed Confine Array had failed to trap Su Fu and instead brought down Olympus.  

They had been utterly defeated.  

Bai Yu should have been angry or fearful, but she didn’t feel either as much as expected.  

There was even a sense of inevitability.  

Because it was Su Fu?  

Honestly, when she saw Su Fu break out of the array, she wasn’t that surprised.  

She suddenly spoke, “Actually, there’s a backup plan.”  

Chris was stunned, “What?”  

Bai Yu smiled slightly, “If you steal from others, you should be prepared for your own home to be stolen.”  

Chris froze for a few seconds, then his eyes widened, “Wait… Lady, you mean… Qingqiu?!”  

His heartbeat quickened.

That actually sounded feasible.  

Su Fu was busy harvesting anomalies at Olympus; Qingqiu was empty.

It was the perfect opportunity to strike.  

He suddenly had a thought: ‘isn’t this Exam essentially candidates stealing from each other?’

You steal my home; I steal yours.  

The words sounded rough, but on reflection, it seemed accurate.  

No, no, that was too crude.

He quickly shook his head to rid himself of this absurd idea.  

Bai Yu ignored his ramblings and said, “Let’s go!”  

At the same time, Xiao Chen looked at two messages he had sent.  

The first, posted in the group:  

[Everyone, Qingqiu is the safest place now. Su Fu won’t bomb her own territory.]  

The second, a private message to Bai Yu:  

[Plan’s on track. Other candidates from different pantheons are heading to Qingqiu. You should hurry too.]  

Bai Yu quickly replied:  [Got it. Stay safe.]  

Xiao Chen glanced behind him at the vast group of Paradise Pantheon candidates rushing toward Qingqiu.

They didn’t even need urging.  

He watched this scene with mixed feelings.

They feared Su Fu and feared suffering the same fate as the Giant King’s Court and Olympus.  

In truth, he and Bai Yu had already been collaborating secretly—the eastern and western stars joining forces.  

Originally, their plan was to deal with Odinson of the Antarctic Star, but unexpectedly, Su Fu of the North Star appeared mid-way, overturning the Giant King’s Court and eliminating Odinson, their strong rival.  

Still… Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes.

The plan had changed, but the essence remained.  

They had just shifted the final battleground from the Giant Kingdom to Qingqiu—a better opportunity, perhaps.  

“Xiao Chen?!” A surprised voice came from behind.  

He turned to see candidates from the Indian and Egyptian Pantheons catching up.  

“You Paradise Pantheon people too?” one said bitterly.

“Never thought we’d be driven to this by the Chinese Pantheon.”  

“Yeah,” Xiao Chen agreed.

“Have your pantheon’s candidates all arrived?”  

“Yes. At this point, who dares stay outside?”  

“Makes sense. Let’s hurry then.”  

“All right, all right…”  

***

As they entered the Qingqiu map, everyone was stunned by the scenery.  

“Is this… Peach Trees?”  

Indeed, peach trees covered the hillsides in a vast expanse of pink and white blossoms.

Petals floated in the breeze, creating a breathtaking sight.  

But no one cared to enjoy the view.  

“Something’s wrong…” someone frowned and asked, “Where are the anomalies in the Chinese map?”  

The Amaterasu Pantheon candidates were calm.  

“I told you, Qingqiu has no anomalies. Odinson tricked us.”  

They had explored Qingqiu thoroughly, finding nothing, but others doubted it.  

The group advanced cautiously, but the scenery remained unchanged.  

More and more peach trees stretched out—no sign of any anomaly.  

“Could it be the entire map is like this?”  

Suddenly, noises came from ahead.  

They hurried toward it, relieved to find another group of candidates from other pantheons.  

Now candidates from Mayan, Indian, Paradise, Egyptian, and Amaterasu Pantheons had all gathered.  

Though more people didn’t guarantee strength, it was somewhat reassuring.  

At least they would die together.

Scores were equally bad, and in a way, that was a kind of passing.  

Soon, the crowd formed a temporary camp.  

“Where did Su Fu come from?” someone asked.

“She wiped out Odinson, now she’s driven Bai Yu into a rout. It’s ridiculous—invincible!”  

“The problem is her divine skill is too hard to deal with.”  

“We thought she could only blow up buildings, but now she can blow up mountains. What can we do?”  

“Exactly,” someone laughed bitterly.

“There’s no safe place now.”  

“But she probably didn’t expect us to come to Qingqiu, hahaha.”  

“Because the most dangerous place is the safest place. She won’t bomb her own territory, right?”  

“She can’t. That’s her weakness.”  

Everyone thought whoever suggested this spot was a genius.  

Then someone asked, “Don’t you think Su Fu’s Divine Power should be almost gone? After all, she’s been fighting since the start…”  

Another added, “First the Giant King’s Court, then Olympus—both high difficulty. How much power does she have left?”  

“Right!” someone brightened.

“If that’s true, she’ll probably return to Qingqiu to rest, right?”  

If so, they might have a chance to score some points.  

If they could take down Su Fu, they could turn the tide.  

Just the thought made everyone eager.  

“I wonder when she’ll come back.”  

“Wait and see. This scenery isn’t bad.”  

“True. Compared to the icy Giant King’s Court and the daunting Olympus, this is a paradise.”  

“I thought the Chinese Pantheon map would be strange, but it’s surprisingly peaceful.”  

Around the camp, candidates from various pantheons sat in small groups.

Some began chopping peach trees to build makeshift shelters.  

As the camp grew, more peach trees fell.  

Some even made sunshades from peach branches, clearly preparing to settle for a while.  

Beyond the illusions invisible to others, a snowy white Nine-tailed Fox squinted at the crowd.  

The Fox King watched his painstakingly tended peach forest being chopped down, heart aching.  

“Damn humans! I’ll tell the Fox Lord right away!”  

He darted deep into the illusion array, urgently contacting Su Fu.  

The Fox King’s voice trembled with grievance: “Lord Nine-tailed Fox, these outsiders are chopping down our peach trees—so many we worked so hard to plant. They’re snapping them down!”  

Su Fu was harvesting anomalies in the canyon.

Hearing this, she raised an eyebrow and casually asked, “How many?”  

“Dozens!” the Fox King huffed.

“They treat this place like their own home! But so far, they’re still trapped in the outer layer of the illusion array, clueless.”  

“Don’t worry. I’ll guard our home.”  

Su Fu smiled lightly and said, “Good. Keep watch. Protect yourself and your people. If anyone detects the illusion array…”  

She paused then said, “Then activate the Killing Formation immediately.”  

The Fox King nodded eagerly.

“Rest assured, Lord. Under your glorious leadership, our killing formation is stronger than ever. Anyone who dares cause trouble will be utterly destroyed!”  

After ending the call, the Fox King returned near the candidates.  

He watched them wander the illusion array obliviously—chopping trees, playing, even starting fires on Qingqiu’s land.

Their claws itched for more.  

The Fox King murmured, “Come on, hurry and discover this is an illusion…”  

Behind him, countless pairs of fox eyes glowed, ready to strike.  

***

Olympus, Third Gorge.  

Su Fu stood on a cliff, overlooking the dense mass of anomalies trapped in the canyon below.  

“Not bad,” she nodded with satisfaction.

“Bai Yu’s Confine Array is really useful. It keeps all the anomalies well contained. No more chasing after them everywhere—saves a lot of trouble.”  

“Absolutely!” Pi Chu Xi standing beside her sighed, “The Greek Pantheon’s anomalies are the hardest to deal with—they depend on the divine mountain map, with complex terrain and even more complicated rules. It took the Greek candidates a long time to understand and herd them all together. Bai Yu was just about to harvest them, but they got intercepted.”  

“Then…”  

Su Fu smiled faintly, “We can’t waste their goodwill.”  

She gathered Divine Power and summoned Gonggong’s divine shadow.  

“[Mountain Collapse]!”

“Boom—!”

Another towering divine mountain collapsed with a deafening roar, countless boulders falling like heavenly punishment, crashing down onto the anomalies scattered throughout the canyon.

Immediately, all the anomalies trapped within let out piercing screams, but they were quickly drowned beneath the relentless avalanche of falling stones.

These anomalies had formed relying on the divine mountain itself, and now they perished with its collapse.

In a way, it was a cycle of retribution.

“Rumble rumble—”

As the dust gradually settled, the entire canyon had crumbled into a pile of rubble.

Not a single anomaly had escaped.

Pi Chu Xi and Fang Bo Han watched from the side, stunned.

They had never imagined that eradicating anomalies could be this easy—not by following their rules, but by breaking out of them entirely and destroying the very foundation of their existence.

In other words, they had simply shattered the map itself, crushing it with brute force.

After all, if the map no longer existed, neither would the anomalies.

Brutal, but incredibly satisfying.

Su Fu watched her Contribution Points soar and smiled with satisfaction—this was solid progress.

She silently thanked Bai Yu for sending over so many points; it had been well worth her arduous journey here, even at the expense of tending to her own home.

The sun dipped low in the west.

As the last divine mountain toppled, all the anomalies within the Fifth Canyon vanished completely.

Su Fu noticed her points had reached a terrifying 500,000.

She recalled that when Odinson had been eliminated, he had only managed about 50,000 points.

By comparison, Su Fu was very pleased.

“Not bad, not bad. This is a solid feast right here.”

Then, there was just one final task left.

She turned and passed through the infinite space, her gaze fixed on the direction of the Giant Nation in the distance.

The setting sun cast shadows across her face, making her expression dark and unreadable.

Just as Wang Zaizai had chosen to sleep… no longer to be the executioner in the anomalies’ hands, she would never allow the ruins of Qingqiu to be occupied by those anomalies.

“Pi Chu Xi, Fang Bo Han,” she suddenly spoke, her tone calm, “go assist Lin Mingxi and Jiang Qingyu, then collect points from other maps.”

She paused and said, “Do not return to Qingqiu.”

Pi Chu Xi instantly understood, his face paling.

“Boss, are you going to face it alone?”

“All the other Divine Pantheon candidates have fled to Qingqiu. With so many attacking, how could we…”

“I’m going back,” Su Fu interrupted, “not to fight them.”

Upon hearing this, both men froze, each thinking the same terrifying possibility.

He struggled to speak, “Boss, you mean…”

In the distance, the sky had darkened completely.

The last ray of sunlight vanished below the horizon.

Twilight had come.

A cold breeze swept across the ruins, stirring fine dust.

The desolation was palpable.

Su Fu nodded quietly. “Yes.”

Neither of them could say another word.

They knew their leader had made her decision—she was going to blow up Qingqiu.

***