“Su Fu, you haven’t signed yet, right?”
Su Fu shook her head, “Not yet.”
She glanced at the unfamiliar woman and asked, “Who’s this?”
“Oh!” George realized and replied, “This is my sister.”
Su Fu blinked, “You actually have a sister? Her name wouldn’t be…?”
George introduced her: “Theresa.”
Theresa nodded slightly, a greeting.
Then she got straight to the point: “I’m surprised you could resist such a huge temptation. Most people would have jumped at it.”
Su Fu’s heart sank, “So it really is a big trap?”
She frowned, “So are those benefits fake? Even if they’re written in the contract, they’re meaningless?”
Where exactly was the trap?
Theresa shook her head softly and replied, “The benefits are real and will be given on time. But the key is in the obligations.”
Su Fu immediately caught on, “So that’s the real pitfall?”
“And those obligations? That Weilin guy never even mentioned them.”
Theresa saw Su Fu’s subtle change of expression and said, “Looks like you figured it out.”
“The rest of the contract is fine, but one clause states—’You must obey the society’s arrangements to participate in instance missions.’ Although the instance difficulty is at most A-Class, the real problem is timing.”
She explained, “If you happen to be assigned an instance mission right before important leagues or selection exams… And the mission is hard enough that you can’t finish in time, or can’t recover your peak state… That will seriously impact your performance in those important leagues or exams.”
Su Fu gasped.
She understood: “So the Seven Great Clans’ societies are actually collaborating?”
“If that’s the case, then they can manipulate the test takers with precision.”
The Seven Great Clans could use this method to control who attends key competitions and who gets “accidentally” delayed.
This allowed them to easily manipulate the academy’s competitive landscape, ensuring their favored candidates got opportunities, while potential threats never rose.
Theresa’s expression grew complicated as she said, “Not to mention, last year a civilian test taker signed this kind of contract, got assigned an A-Class instance three days before the Freshman League, was injured in the instance, and ended up only in fortieth place.”
“Of course, you can refuse, but that’s a breach of contract. The penalty clause carries a huge fine—enough to bankrupt any civilian. Even ten years of work wouldn’t cover it.”
Su Fu thought, ‘These people are even crueler than capitalists, beyond belief.’
“This isn’t a contract; it’s a binding servitude.”
As for how the societies “just happen” to schedule conflicts before the league, she quickly pieced together the whole scheme—noble families had their information channels.
As a society member, there was no way to avoid this.
Once it happened, even the teachers couldn’t speak up—no one would refuse to participate in society missions after enjoying so many resources.
If there was a scheduling conflict with the league?
They would say, “Sorry, we didn’t know about the league in advance.”
And they could flip it on the student: “Are you deliberately delaying the league, trying to use it as an excuse to avoid your duties?”
Plus, these people were clever—they wouldn’t interfere with final exams or other major tests.
They only needed to obstruct important elective resources during the year to quietly cause someone to miss critical chances without realizing it.
Miss once or twice, and you’d fall behind—then even if you participated later, you’d never catch up.
Oh, and societies had elimination mechanisms—those who didn’t meet criteria were kicked out immediately.
“So wicked. These people are really despicable!”
With societies dominated by noble families for so long, who knew the academy’s inner workings better than they did?
A well-chosen moment was all it took.
And the entire process was flawless; everyone would praise them for their generosity in resources.
Only those who got screwed over knew the truth—and by then, it was too late.
Su Fu looked at the siblings and hesitated, “You just told me all this directly?”
The original poster wouldn’t have dared be so blunt.
Theresa sighed, expression complicated, “Don’t doubt us. Actually… I struggled for a long time before deciding to tell you.”
“To be honest, it’s because of you working with George—you can provide Chinese Divine Artifacts.”
George’s profession was craftsman.
Craftsmen could use Divine Artifacts to create Divine Artifacts, so raw materials were crucial.
Some of the most extraordinary Divine Artifacts might even come from a craftsman’s long pursuit of inspiration.
No one could say for sure.
Su Fu was the only Chinese Pantheon Divine Summoner for years, and the only one who could supply Chinese Divine Artifacts—so there was no room for error.
What if she was George’s key to advancement?
Theresa turned and pointed to the workbench behind her.
“Look, this is the A-Class Divine Artifact made from the Dragon Breath Stone you provided—the Storm Wyvern.”
Su Fu saw the bluish metal wyvern floating midair behind her.
Under the light, it shimmered with a cold-toned glow.
Its dragon head was inlaid with a water-attribute sapphire, with sharp horns extending backward.
George even designed dragon whiskers—thin and silky strands that swayed lightly in the air, giving this lifeless object a semblance of life.
Obviously, George had put great care into it; every curve was smooth, with no mechanical stiffness.
This was truly an A-Class Divine Artifact.
Underneath the Storm Wyvern, the workshop’s crafting table was laid out with all sorts of intricate forging tools and semi-finished materials.
The walls were plastered with various design blueprints, ranging from simple weapon sketches to complex divine power circuits, densely packed.
At that moment, George couldn’t resist activating the Storm Wyvern.
In an instant, the gem-like dragon eyes suddenly brightened, like ignited stars.
Circles of divine power started flowing rapidly from the dragon’s head along its body, followed by a deep humming sound.
Then, it moved.
It soared into the air, spiraled, dove, and twisted.
Its movements were fluid and seamless.
Despite being in such a confined space, it was as agile as if it were under the vast sky.
The Storm Wyvern then stopped midair.
Its head slowly swung, mouth opened wide, and a bolt of blue-white lightning shot out, precisely striking a metal target in the far corner.
By the time Su Fu blinked and looked again, the target had melted into a pool of scorching molten iron, dripping slowly from the stand.
Su Fu was stunned, “Is this the result you made using the Dragon Breath Stone? It’s far beyond what I imagined.”
Though it was crafted from just a stone imbued with dragon breath, it now seemed like a real dragon swimming right before her eyes.
Especially its spirit—too vivid.
This is the power of a craftsman?
Transforming something ordinary into a Divine Artifact, unbelievable.
Suddenly, she understood Theresa’s actions.
If she were Theresa, she wouldn’t let go of any opportunity that could help George advance.
Thinking of this, Su Fu believed nine-tenths of what Theresa said.
Well, to put it simply, Theresa was smart and sincere, winning her trust step by step.
With that in mind, Su Fu shifted the topic, “So, for the Newborn Joint Entrance Exam, shall we team up?”
Theresa was clearly stunned, blinking in shock, “Are you serious? You’re so powerful, aren’t you afraid we’ll hold you back?”
Her brother, needless to say, was just a craftsman, not good at fighting.
And because she had to bring her brother along, almost no one wanted to team up with her.
Theresa understood perfectly; after all, who wants a teammate with a dead weight?
Although George could provide Divine Artifacts for teammates, these examinees who passed the college entrance exam into the Tianqiong Path Academy all had their own best equipment.
Why rely on a student craftsman making something on the fly?
For all these reasons, Theresa had already prepared to take the exam with only the two of them.
The only difference was that this time, George had created the Storm Wyvern, so things would be a bit easier.
But now, a Third Star Ring Top Scorer was actively proposing to team up with them?
Of course, Theresa had watched Su Fu’s exam clips—an absolute powerhouse who could easily crush an A-grade exam hall.
A freak maxed out in both attack and intelligence.
She asked again, hardly believing it: “You… really want to team up with us?”
“Of course,” Su Fu smiled, “and I have my own reason—I want George to customize a flying vehicle for me.”
“When it comes to crafting Divine Artifacts, the more the craftsman understands me, the more the result matches my wishes.”
This was truly her honest thought.
The choice of craftsman was crucial—who knew if the craftsman might secretly implant a hidden flaw in what they made?
If something went wrong, it would be a fatal weakness.
It was rare to find such a talented craftsman, so naturally, she had to keep him firmly by her side.
After all, this was an exceptionally rare technical talent, even officially recognized by the Tianqiong Path Academy and admitted exceptionally.
In the future, instead of letting him craft Divine Artifacts for those clan heirs, why not have him make them for herself?
And since they both had mutual needs, wasn’t this a perfect fit?
As for George not being good at fighting…
Ahem, wasn’t there someone in the Journey to the West team who wasn’t good at fighting?
Besides, she had the Great Sage backing her up, so what was there to fear?
Hearing this, George was touched.
His blue eyes instantly brightened, and his freckles seemed more vivid from excitement.
“You’re so kind! Thank you!”
“Rest assured, I’ll make a flying vehicle you’ll be satisfied with. I’ll use all my knowledge to make sure it becomes your most reliable assistant.”
“Absolutely!”
It was the first time he had met someone who didn’t look down on him.
Others always despised him for being a weak link, an elementary craftsman incapable of making anything good.
Even those willing to team up would demand he work for free for at least half a year, providing all sorts of gear for teammates.
But Su Fu was different.
She not only didn’t despise him, she actively proposed teaming up.
On top of that, it was a mutually beneficial collaboration.
George looked at Theresa and pleaded, “Sis, please agree?”
With things said so plainly, Theresa nodded with a complex expression.
She thought, Su Fu… really was different.
She was obviously reciprocating the favor, thanking them for revealing the insider information by teaming up with them.
As for the flying vehicle?
That was probably just a pretext, meant to make them feel comfortable accepting her help.
“What a good person…” Theresa sighed, “Too bad she’s caught the attention of those clans.”
The cooperation was sealed.
The three of them chatted about the exam a little more.
By the time the communication ended, it was already late at night.
Su Fu turned off her light brain and looked up at the starry sky.
The cool night breeze gently brushed her cheek, carrying the faint fragrance of a distant herb garden.
The night was truly quiet.
In fact, teaming up with George and the others wasn’t a whim but a premeditated plan.
Even without their proactive help this time, she would find other opportunities to achieve her goal.
Actually, as soon as she chose the flying vehicle from the Shen Yan AI, she had already been preparing for experiments.
What kind of experiments?
She wanted to imbue the flying vehicle with spirit to see what would happen.
The clans targeting her might superficially be due to her Top Scorer status, but deeper down, it was probably against the entire Chinese Divine Derivation Accord lineage.
Right now, across the entire Interstellar, the Seven Great Clans and Five Major Conglomerates’ power balance had been settled for years, solid and stable.
They would never allow one more person to share the spoils.
And she hadn’t even started school yet; preparations against her were already underway.
This was clearly no coincidence.
More attacks, overt and covert, would surely follow.
But relying on herself alone, how could she resist these deeply entrenched powers?
To fight strong enemies, you need money, influence, and strength.
But money was monopolized by those conglomerates long ago, controlling every aspect of daily life.
How to break this situation?
“Then create something unique, forge a new path.”
Her eyes reflected starlight as she planned to build a heavenly track suspended high above, a colossal dragon-like orbital path circling the planet.
She would imbue it with spirit, granting it sentience.
Like a dragon chariot patrolling the heavens, traveling between stars.
Spirit was the unique advantage of such an object.
Ordinary transportation, no matter how fast, had limits.
No matter how safe, accidents happen.
Since ancient times in Chinese tradition, objects could be awakened and enlightened, possessing their own will and spirit.
A spirit-imbued heavenly track could sense danger, avoid obstacles autonomously, and even rescue passengers in emergencies.
These advantages made it truly unparalleled.
“Let it begin from this Interstellar…”
Blue Bird transmits messages, so build Blue Bird Tower.
Kunpeng soars, so design Kunpeng Ship.
Listening Beast senses all things, so create the Listening Device, to hear the universe’s secrets.
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