The next second, the compressed steam’s temperature surged sharply, colliding violently.
“Boom, boom—boom!”
A series of deafening explosions followed one after another, shaking the entire valley.
The steam exploded, unleashing staggering energy that formed a chain of blasts like fireworks bursting in the sky, with dazzling white light illuminating dozens of miles around.
The enormous shockwave spread outward from Su Fu in all directions.
The towering wave was like paper before the explosion, instantly vaporized without a trace, and the golden fish illusions didn’t even have time to scream as they were obliterated in the terrifying blast.
The Linggan Great King itself bore the brunt.
Its massive body was tossed about by the continuous explosions, golden scales falling off in patches, and its flesh charred black.
Accompanied by the final wave of explosions, the Linggan Great King let out a last, desperate wail before breaking apart into countless flying fragments.
When the explosions subsided and the smoke cleared, the valley finally returned to peace.
The gigantic fish shadows were gone, leaving only countless dead fish floating on the river’s surface.
Su Fu looked at the scene with some surprise.
This combo’s power far exceeded expectations.
The water domain trapped the enemies with nowhere to flee; lightning paralysis further restricted their movement; the flame’s intense heat produced massive steam; finally, the Wind Fire Wheels compressed and detonated the steam, creating a devastating explosion.
This chained combo, step by step, formed a perfect, unbeatable sequence.
Most importantly, the enemy had no chance to retaliate.
Once caught in the water, no matter where they hid, they couldn’t escape this overwhelming assault.
And from lightning entering the water to the final explosion, the entire process was area-of-effect.
Although the Linggan Great King had home-field advantage underwater, the water environment ultimately became its grave.
The Tongtian River had become her battlefield.
Truly turning the tables.
“Not bad, not bad,” Su Fu was satisfied.
With the Purifying Nectar of the Vase, she could create water environments anywhere to unleash this deadly combo.
Not enough Divine Skill level?
Then chain skills to make up for it!
Who dares say her damage can’t reach B+ rank?
Su Fu sighed, ‘Proud of the Chinese Pantheon. Just a few Divine Skills combined could unleash such terrifying power.’
At that moment, the Shen Yan AI’s voice sounded:
[“Abnormality Clearance Progress: 100%”]
[“Completion Time: 1 minute 52 seconds”]
[“New Record Achieved”]
[“Total Abnormalities Eliminated: 1,421 (Fish Soldiers x1420, Linggan Great King x1)”]
[“This Examination Ends.”]
As the Shen Yan AI’s voice faded, everything before Su Fu slowly vanished—the Tongtian River, the charred fish corpses, the valley, and even the distant village seemed wiped away by some unseen hand.
When she opened her eyes again, she was back inside the sanctuary.
The main combo test was complete, and she turned her gaze to the second D-Class Instance she had reserved.
In the end, she still didn’t choose a skill related to the environment, because she couldn’t predict what the upcoming exam’s setting would be.
Moreover, as Teacher Zhuge Yan had said, the aristocratic descendants of the Second Star Ring had one huge advantage: abundant resources.
For example, the Divine Artifacts in their hands were not only numerous but of high quality and diverse.
She estimated they probably each had at least three A-grade Divine Artifacts.
Under such circumstances, after much thought, she finally came up with a possible countermeasure.
‘Lots of Divine Artifacts, huh? Well’, she happened to want some too.
And, indeed, there was a Chinese God who could do this—Caishen Zhao Gongming.
It was said that he wielded a treasure called the Treasure Basin, which could gather all wealth under heaven, endlessly multiplying it.
No matter what valuables were placed inside—gold, silver, jewels, coins—it would continuously increase the wealth, never running dry.
That raised the question:
“Given the Treasure Basin’s nature of gathering wealth, could it also gather Divine Artifacts? Or even replicate and grow them?”
Just imagining this possibility thrilled her.
Besides, even if it couldn’t do that so extravagantly, it could at least help her gather resources and accumulate wealth, solving economic problems and allowing her to buy more powerful Divine Artifacts.
Definitely a win!
Of course, the Treasure Basin might be too hard to obtain, and she might not get it.
But even if she couldn’t get the Treasure Basin, Caishen’s other Divine Skills were still useful.
Zhencai Jinbao, Wujin Tiebians, Wugu Fengteng… any one of these would be fine.
In other words, none of the Chinese Gods appeared for nothing; they all had their roles.
Poverty? Then pray to Caishen, one of her favorite gods… at least one of them!
Su Fu looked at her reserved Instance: [At the Foot of Zhongnanshan – Golden Toad’s Mischief].
Legend had it Zhao Gongming was born and ascended on Zhongnanshan, and that he had a Golden Toad under him symbolizing wealth and prosperity.
With these two elements together, she guessed this Instance would very likely summon Caishen Zhao Gongming.
“No matter, I’ll take a gamble!”
If it was Zhao Gongming, she definitely wouldn’t lose out.
Soon, Su Fu entered the exam space.
[“Your current exam paper: At the Foot of Zhongnanshan – Golden Toad’s Mischief. Randomly selecting from the (Chinese Pantheon) pool…”]
[“Chinese Pantheon Pool matched”]
[“Randomly drawn result: Fengshen Yanyi”]
The next moment, a pillar of Divine Power light appeared, revealing a dazzling golden figure.
It was a majestic general clad in purple-gold armor, wearing a golden crown, with a face like purple copper and eyes bright as stars, wielding a Wujin Tiebian in one hand.
Behind him, golden light radiated brilliantly.
Most importantly, he held a shining Treasure Basin, from which gold, silver, and jewels continually appeared and vanished, surrounded by swirling waves of wealth aura.
Su Fu beamed with joy—it really was Caishen Zhao Gongming, her bet paid off.
‘Look at that Treasure Basin—so beautiful and smooth, the color and shape perfect.’
The Shen Yan AI quickly prompted her to summon the deity.
Su Fu took a deep breath, straightened her posture, and solemnly declared loudly:
“Zhengyi Caishen, Mysterious Caishen Heavenly Venerable, Northern Caishen Zhao Gongming!”
Instantly, five-colored auspicious clouds gathered around Zhao Gongming, and the Treasure Basin radiated dazzling wealth aura.
[“Congratulations to candidate Su Fu on successfully summoning the deity!”]
[“Randomly selecting deity skills…”]
[Yucai Guiku (Wealth)]
[Jubaotiangong (Creation)]
Su Fu silently pleaded, “Please, Caishen, grant me the Treasure Basin! For wealth, I’m willing to do anything.”
Perhaps her desire to get rich was so strong that Zhao Gongming’s gaze really landed on her.
The next moment, the Shen Yan AI announced:
[“You have obtained the Divine Skill: Treasure Basin (Basic)”]
Su Fu: “!!!”
“Oh my god,” she nearly cried tears of joy.
Could it be that one day she would finally be rich?
“General Caishen Zhao Gongming, I will worship you forever!”
Soon, the information on the Treasure Basin Divine Skill appeared in her mind:
It could gather all wealth under heaven endlessly, summoning a virtual Treasure Basin capable of attracting surrounding valuables.
Every day, it could replicate one Divine Artifact within a grade range fluctuating one level up or down from the current Divine Power level.
The duration depended on the Divine Power level.
Su Fu understood: at her current B+ Divine Power level, the replicable artifact grades would range from A to C
However, the higher the artifact’s grade, the shorter the replicated one’s duration; the lower the grade, the longer it lasted.
“Good, good,” she was very satisfied.
“For a basic Divine Skill, this is already excellent!”
To use powerful Divine Artifacts for free, this was a windfall she had to exploit hard.
Now she even looked forward to the aristocratic descendants bringing their powerful Divine Artifacts, just to see their level.
[“Candidate deployment complete. Wish you a pleasant examination!”]
The light before her shifted from blurry to clear, and Su Fu found herself in a bustling marketplace.
The market was built along the mountain, with shops winding up the hillside in layers, surrounded by bustling merchants and customers, with calls and haggling echoing all around.
“So this is the market beneath Zhongnanshan?”
She looked at the goods on sale, dazzling and varied, filled everywhere with the scent of money.
This place was clearly a land of plenty.
[“Assessment Criteria: Number of Abnormalities Eliminated”]
[“Current Location: Zhongnanshan – Shangyi Town”]
[“Nearby Abnormalities: 888:]
‘888? Fortune?’ Su Fu laughed; this Instance’s abnormality count was quite thematic.
Just then, the ground suddenly began to tremble, and merchants’ goods toppled—yet none fell to the ground.
The scattered items—gold, silver, jewels, coins, and merchandise—all began to float automatically, converging toward one direction.
Following the direction, Su Fu saw a huge three-legged golden toad leap out at the end.
It gleamed all over with golden light, its mouth grotesquely large, now wide open, ravenously devouring all the surrounding wealth.
With every batch of valuables it swallowed, the toad grew larger.
Around the giant toad, hundreds of smaller golden toads hopped around, snatching people’s goods.
Quite the coordinated effort.
Su Fu smiled, gripping her Golden Cudgel as she stepped forward.
Small toads?
One minute and done!
***
Meanwhile, at the aristocratic villa district of Perseus High School.
Night fell, but the villa area remained brightly lit.
On a viewing terrace, several young people leisurely enjoyed dinner.
The table was laden with an array of gourmet food, many radiating Divine Power fluctuations—undoubtedly creations of Divine Power.
“Try this,” Yuelun Meng nudged a piece of mousse toward Lin Xuanye, “It enhances physical strength.”
“Thanks, but I’ve already had two pieces. If I eat more, I’ll lose balance,” Lin Xuanye smiled.
Lin Yaowei laughed at the scene and said, “Mengmeng, stop fussing; he’s not a child.”
“By the way, have you heard any news about this year’s college entrance exam?”
Chu Mingyuan, playing with a ring in his hand, snorted, “No way. The Ministry of Education has hidden everything too deeply.”
“In previous years, you could always catch some rumors by now, but this year? Nothing at all.”
Zhou Tianhao wasn’t too bothered.
“What Instance it is doesn’t matter. Mingyuan, that artifact you have looks a lot like ‘Hefisituosi’s Fire Ring,’ doesn’t it?”
Chu Mingyuan replied coldly, “It doesn’t look like it is. My dad said you can’t buy it on the market—it was obtained through connections with the Greek Pantheon.”
He changed the subject, “Don’t tell me you guys aren’t prepared?”
Zhou Tianhao grinned, “Look, what’s this!”
He pulled out an ostentatious golden longbow, encrusted with gems and intricate patterns.
“A-grade Divine Artifact, Apollo’s Holy Bow. One shot can pierce the defense of an A-grade abnormality. Worth at least twenty million!”
“Wow! Young Master Zhou, that’s amazing—a top-tier offensive artifact!”
The other aristocratic descendants immediately burst into admiration and flattery.
After enjoying the envious gazes for a while, he suddenly turned toward the shadow in the corner.
“Brother Yuelun, what Divine Artifact did you prepare this time?”
Yuelun Yuan was lying on a lounge chair away from the noise, dressed simply in dark gray.
At this moment, his jacket was pulled over his head, as if saying, “Don’t disturb my sleep.”
Hearing the question, he responded casually, “Nothing.”
Zhou Tianhaom: “…”
He couldn’t help but internally mock him—what a pretender—but dared not openly challenge him.
Just then, Yuelun Yuan suddenly sensed something.
He threw off his jacket and sat up.
The moonlight was still bright, but what was that momentary sense of unease?
Why did he suddenly feel a vague sense of dread?
Was it because of the exam paper?
Or…
He glanced at those flaunting their artifacts and furrowed his brow, unwilling to believe it.
‘There was no way it was those fools who brought it, right?’