Everyone laughed, except Zhou Yu, whose expression remained unchanged.
“Such poor judgment,” he remarked coldly, caring little about others’ opinions.
Zhou Yu thought to himself that Su Fu was likely being swayed by Fox’s sweet words.
Initially, he had some interest in this candidate because she was of the Chinese Pantheon and a disciple of Director Tai Xuanzi.
But now, seeing she could be tempted by money and blind to hidden traps, her character seemed average—disappointing indeed.
The others exchanged glances, all thinking the same: Zhou Yu was blunt as ever, with no filter.
His words cut like a knife; if he weren’t strong, he’d probably have been beaten long ago.
Fox’s smile never faded, but the warmth no longer reached his eyes.
He thought, ‘Keep pretending, just this once more. The top society this year should change leadership.’
The atmosphere turned subtle.
The open and covert rivalry between Olympus Society and Lingshan Society was well known in Tianqiong Path Academy.
The contest between Fox and Zhou Yu was a famous intrigue, though Zhou Yu himself might not think so.
At this moment, someone shouted, “Look, they’re summoning the gods already!”
The crowd turned their attention to the holographic projection, and a commotion broke out.
“That’s…”
Murray squinted, “Achilles?”
In the projection, the void tore open a massive rift, complete with effects: rolling clouds, flashes of lightning.
A powerful bolt struck straight down from the zenith.
Within the thunder, a tall and imposing figure slowly descended.
Clad in golden armor, holding a thunder scepter, wearing a crown, each step sent ripples through the star sea.
Zeus, chief of the Twelve Olympian gods, King of the Gods.
His entrance was nothing short of spectacular.
He looked down at Achilles below, a smile playing on his lips.
“Zeus’s favoritism toward Achilles is so blatant.” Lina sighed, “Even more exaggerated than I’ve seen before.”
“Who doesn’t know Zeus’s love for young prodigies?” Kofman teased.
“Every divine favored by him is an unparalleled genius. His pursuit of beauty is well known.”
Everyone understood; this year’s first place was basically predetermined.
They quickly turned to the second-place finisher, Bodhi Yue, of the Indian Pantheon.
Inside Shen Yan Space, a lotus bloomed from the void, layered petals unfolding.
At its center, a four-armed deity slowly appeared.
Each hand held a different divine instrument; the third eye on the forehead discerned all things.
Brahma, one of the three creator gods in Hinduism, the god of creation.
The candidates standing out in the high school exam were clearly exceptional, and Bodhi Yue’s main god was a top-tier creator.
“It’s said Bodhi Yue has already begun using creation abilities, even creating a self-contained miniature world?”
Kofman shrugged, “Yeah, if Achilles hadn’t appeared out of nowhere, she would have been first.”
That was a creator god candidate.
If nothing unexpected happened, Bodhi Yue was bound to become an S-rank divine proxy.
“As for the third place…”
The only support-type candidate among the top ten in the high school exam.
Lina looked quite interested, but the others’ expressions grew a bit complicated.
In the hologram, a sea of flowers appeared out of thin air, golden wheat waves swaying in the wind.
A blonde goddess wearing white robes and a flower crown slowly walked forward.
The air was filled with the scent of harvest and fertility.
Freya, the Norse goddess of fertility and abundance.
The newcomer’s own name also paid tribute to this goddess—also called Freya.
Instantly, some not-so-pleasant memories surfaced in everyone’s minds.
Sometimes, the most terrifying enemy wasn’t the strongest in battle.
Freya’s strongest divine skill was: granting birth.
In other words… reproduction.
No matter male or female, anyone touched by her power would begin to gestate new life within.
Such an ability was terrifying beyond measure.
Just thinking about it made their heads buzz.
Kofman’s expression grew serious: “In combat, only Achilles and Bodhi Yue can directly resist this ability, so she ranks third.”
As for how the others were defeated… cough, better not think too much about it.
“Thankfully, she’s not from our cohort…” Lina sighed in relief.
“I wonder which Ling Mountain map she’ll be assigned to. Hopefully one suited to her fertility skills… haven’t seen one like that yet.”
At that moment, Ji Yao suddenly looked at another projection, “There’s also a civilian prodigy this year—Dairi Russell.”
“Her Principal God is Aphrodite.”
At this announcement, everyone turned sharply.
Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
It’s well known that the sole criterion for her selection of followers is appearance.
For a civilian to carve a path and earn the favor of the goddess of beauty, their looks must be extraordinarily exceptional.
Curiosity surged among them.
They looked over and were instantly stunned, frozen in place.
Some even gasped.
She was almost divine in her perfection—so stunning that one dared not look directly but couldn’t look away.
“She’s a true goddess.”
She was undoubtedly breathtaking, but it wasn’t just physical perfection.
Light seemed to form a soft halo around her, like a personal filter had been applied.
With downcast eyes and a gentle smile, every movement evoked involuntary admiration and longing.
Yet to be that beautiful and cause such a reaction, she must have divine skills, powers, or some special talent.
Fox guessed, “Probably Aphrodite’s ‘Charm of Love’ or ‘Radiance of Beauty.'”
Lina explained, “Some chosen by Aphrodite naturally emit an aura that influences others’ emotions. Just a smile, a frown, or standing there can create an atmosphere and filter effect.”
Those with this gift combined with divine skills become nearly invincible.
No wonder Dairi could break through in the high school exam; her talent maxed out.
While everyone was still captivated by the stunning goddess follower, Chief Examiner Murray suddenly exclaimed, “Huh?”
He stared at another projection, shocked: “How many gods are there? One, two… five?!?”
Everyone was drawn in, following Murray’s gaze to Su Fu’s image.
On screen, not one, but five distinctly different divine figures descended before her.
“Oh my god!”
“How many? No, how is this possible?”
“???”
The crowd exclaimed in unison.
“Isn’t… isn’t that too many?” Lina was stunned, “What kind of destiny value does this candidate have?”
Isn’t this way too favored by the gods?
Five deities appearing simultaneously?
In history, it was already rare for a mortal to gain the favor of two gods at the same time; three was a once-in-a-century event.
As for five gods appearing together, that was unheard of.
Everyone exchanged glances, feeling like all their learned knowledge was being overturned.
“This… can’t be right, can it?”
“How… how did she manage this?” Kofman asked, confused.
“You know, the relationships between gods aren’t always friendly—some are outright enemies.”
Especially within the Greek Divine Pantheon, where scheming and rivalries were rampant.
He specifically named Poseidon and Athena, and Ares.
Very few gods coexisted peacefully, let alone favoring the same disciple simultaneously.
“Therefore, it’s extremely rare for even two gods to appear at the same time… let alone five.”
“But the Chinese Pantheon gods, five showing up together?” He was genuinely puzzled.
“Don’t they fight each other? Could it be that their personalities are just so honest that they can’t quarrel?”
“The bigger question is, can disciples even be shared?” Fox furrowed his brow.
The relationships between gods were complex.
Most chose to worship only one principal god, and gods demanded absolute loyalty from their followers.
If a disciple worshiped multiple gods simultaneously, it would be blasphemy—like daring to live too long.
But now, Su Fu and the Chinese Pantheon—five gods descended all at once?
That was simply absurd.
Just then, someone suddenly thought of a possibility and said, “Wait a minute… does this mean she can simultaneously obtain five new Divine Skills or upgrade five Divine Skills?”
Everyone: “???”
The crowd fell silent, their eyes fixed on Su Fu’s projection.
“No… this is definitely cheating, right?” Kofman couldn’t hold back.
“Others can upgrade one, maybe two Divine Skills at a time, but she’s just going for five all at once?”
Before this, he had never heard of such a thing!
Not just him—none of the others had.
The only thought in their minds was:
“No, what exactly is going on with these Chinese Pantheon gods?”
Amid the shock, the five gods in the projection fully materialized.
A monkey wielding a golden cudgel; a high monk wearing a Zen hat; a robust half-man, half-pig holding the Nine-toothed Rake; a sand monk carrying a knapsack; and a majestic White Dragon horse.
Su Fu stared at the five divine figures and thought, as expected.
These were none other than the pilgrims from the Journey to the West.
[“Candidate, please begin summoning and establish contact with the gods”]
“[Prompt: You must correctly speak their names and titles”]
Su Fu took a deep breath: “Reincarnation of the Golden Cicada, Tang Sanzang, Master Xuanzang, chosen by Buddha himself, inheritor of the Prajna teachings, keeper of the Buddhist scriptures, guiding sentient beings westward to salvation, please grant me the power of Buddha’s Radiance to dispel all worldly evils!”
“Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, Lord of the Water Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain, Mischievous Demon King, master of the Somersault Cloud and the Seventy-Two Transformations, wielder of the Fiery Golden Eyes, please grant me the power of transformation, to roam freely across heaven and earth!”
“Marshal Tianpeng, Pig Wuneng, Lord of Yunzhan Cave on Fuling Mountain, wielder of the Nine-toothed Rake, governor of the Milky Way in the heavens, subduer of demons on earth, please grant me the power of the Nine-toothed Rake to turn rivers upside down, to remake heaven and earth!”
“General of the Curtain, Sha Wujing, guardian of the Flowing Sand River, master of the Zen staff to suppress demons, protector of the pilgrimage path, please grant me the Flowing Sand Ferry Technique to cross rivers and guard steadfastly!”
“Third Prince of the Western Sea Dragon King, White Dragon Horse Ao Lie, leader of the Eight Heavenly Dragons, master of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, protector of the waters along the pilgrimage route, please grant me the most fitting power!”
The five divine figures radiated a brilliant light, and Su Fu’s vision brightened instantly.
[“Congratulations, candidate Su Fu has successfully summoned all gods!”]
[“Randomly selecting divine skills…”]
[“Great Compassion, Ten Thousand Buddhas Worship”]
[“Divine Skill: Jindou Cloud, Wanli”]
[“Divine Skill: Nine-toothed Rake, Overturn Rivers and Seas”]
[“Divine Skill: Flowing Sand Ferry Technique, Penetrate Heaven and Earth”]
[“Road-bearing Protector”]
Su Fu had summoned according to the “Name–Title–Authority” method, specifying the skills she wanted to upgrade most.
Now it was up to the Five Saints.
[“The Divine Skills you have drawn are:”]
[:Buddha Light Universal Illumination, Mastery”]
[“Seventy-Two Transformations, Perfection”]
[“Nine-Tooth Rake, Mastery”]
[“Flowing Sand Ferry Technique, Mastery”]
[“Dragon Horse Companion”]
Su Fu: “!!!”
‘Perfect!’
Exactly as she expected.
She had originally embarked on the path to Heaven to max out the Five Saints’ abilities from Journey to the West, so naturally, she chose to upgrade them all.
Look at this—now the Great Sage’s transformations are maxed out.
Hehe, so joyful.
The White Dragon Horse was new, so it was a new skill.
Let’s see the Dragon Horse Companion ability: it’s a protection and buff skill, greatly enhancing movement speed and forming an escort barrier during movement.
Not bad, not bad—still a dynamic defensive skill.
At this moment, the five divine figures gradually blurred but converged together.
Tang Sanzang and his disciples stood with their backs to her.
The White Dragon Horse carried Tang Sanzang, while the Great Sage, Pig Wuneng, and Sha Wujing flanked either side, all facing forward, as if setting out again on that long journey.
Harsh but hopeful, resolute yet determined.
She suddenly recalled a phrase: “The rugged mountain passes are truly iron, but today we step forward and start anew.”
The Chinese Pantheon—was it not the same?
At the Jiansha Mountain Range Plaza, everyone watched this scene in stunned silence, unable to speak.
“Isn’t… her summoning incantation just too long?”
“We only say the god’s name and title, and it’s done.”
“Why do the Chinese gods seem so… different?”
Not just different—they carried a strong sense of ceremony.