Tianqi Affiliated High School · Central Sanctuary.
All competition candidates had arrived at the examination hall and were waiting for the test to begin.
“So this is the Central Sanctuary of Tianqi Affiliated High School,” Su Fu murmured, awestruck by the sight before her.
The entire Central Sanctuary floated in the air, surrounded by seven colossal temples suspended above a sea of clouds.
In front of each temple stood a towering statue of a deity: Odin holding the Eternal Spear, Zeus with lightning flickering in his palm, Ra lifting the solar disk, Shiva with his third eye open, Amaterasu holding the Yata Mirror, and Quetzalcoatl coiled upward.
The seven divine statues were solemn and sacred.
Yet, amidst this majestic array of temples, one spot stood out as conspicuously empty.
There was only a cloud-wreathed pedestal, its perfect circular form marred by a missing piece, no longer complete.
Needless to say, that was the place reserved for the Chinese pantheon.
The surrounding candidates also noticed this anomaly.
“Why is the spot for the Chinese pantheon still empty? They might as well give it to our Dangun pantheon!”
“Kid, are you at it again? Always trying to steal something, huh?”
“Honestly, doesn’t this pedestal look too obvious here? It feels like something’s missing, not quite perfect.”
“What? Are you obsessive-compulsive? Try closing your eyes.”
“I say we just dismantle it…”
“Dismantle it? Go ahead, piece by piece. When you’re done, I’ll give you an award.”
Su Fu: “Lin Mingxi, your combat skills are truly impressive.”
After he shut up the two troublemakers, the area around the three of them fell silent.
Suddenly, the tolling of a bell resounded.
The seven temples simultaneously lit up with dazzling brilliance, and the eyes of the statues glowed with intense divine power.
Countless candidates immediately bowed their heads in devout prayer, as if welcoming the descent of the gods.
Only Su Fu remained upright, her gaze fixed on the empty pedestal.
In her eyes, it was not empty.
Instead, the creator goddess Nüwa stood majestically in the air, holding the Five-Colored Stone in her hand.
One day, not just here, but all the temples across the universe would once again shine with the glory of the Chinese pantheon.
As the divine light faded, the candidates began to rise.
Assuming the exam was about to start, Su Fu turned her head, only to catch a glimpse of a familiar figure in her peripheral vision.
Standing next to Zongzheng Wujiu was a young man who bore a slight resemblance to him, engaged in a close conversation.
In an instant, Su Fu recalled the information from her database the Chief of Tianxuan Province, Zongzheng Ye.
Also, Zongzheng Wujiu’s cousin.
She didn’t need to think hard to know that these two were undoubtedly discussing how to deal with her.
These aristocratic families were such a hassle.
Take down one, and a whole string of them pops up, like cockroaches that never seem to end.
And these people loved to spout things like, “How can your few years of effort possibly surpass the efforts of our family over generations?”
Fine, Su Fu thought.
If that’s how it is, then she’ll just slaughter every single one of these noble families, one by one!
Forget about effort-no need to even try anymore.
From now on, there’s no need to put in any effort at all!
Zongzheng Ye looked at his cousin’s tense profile and sighed.
“I advise you to let go of your thoughts. The timing isn’t right.”
Zongzheng Wujiu turned his head, a flicker of unwillingness in his eyes.
“Are you going to tell me to keep enduring, just like my elder brother?”
Zongzheng Ye glanced meaningfully at Su Fu in the distance.
“You know about the divine artifact she holds. In this situation, whether you endure or not, you have no choice.”
He paused for a moment, “In fact, it’s the most rational choice to even avoid her.”
“Divine artifacts are indeed troublesome,” Zongzheng Wujiu chuckled lightly, “But Volume A is a decryption dungeon, focusing on decryption.”
A hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.
Kunlun could protect her qualification to compete, but it couldn’t protect her life.
Zongzheng Ye looked at his cousin, who had been pampered since childhood, and sighed inwardly.
Before he could fully mature and witness the true geniuses of the world, he had already been taught a lesson by a minor character from below, leaving him resentful.
He’s been too sheltered, Zongzheng Ye thought.
He would suggest to the family to incorporate more adversity education in the future.
Otherwise, like Wujiu, he would be blinded by jealousy and arrogance.
A single failure shattered all the confidence and pride he had built up.
If he couldn’t overcome this hurdle, he might spend his entire life living in Su Fu’s shadow.
He felt a bit melancholic.
Wujiu used to be such a lovely younger brother.
***
In the invigilation room.
On the central control screen in the middle, the divine power data of the candidates from the four provinces had been fully analyzed and displayed by Shen Yan.
Bai Li, the vice president of the Tianxuan Provincial Academy, couldn’t help but exclaim as he looked at the statistical results, “Your Xuandu Academy is even more exaggerated this year. All five members of the main team 1 are C+, and the remaining three teams are all C level.”
“Naturally,” Zhao Wujie said with his head held high, “Especially our chief, Elai. Look at his divine artifact.”
Shen Yan automatically projected the image of Elai’s divine artifact, [Gungnir: The End], onto the screen.
A three-dimensional projection of a spear slowly rotated in the air, its body flowing with liquid starlight runes, spinning like planetary rings.
[Gungnir: The End]
[Level: B+]
[Characteristics: Dual Resonance of Odin’s Power and Thor’s Power]
[Crafted by: Dwarf Smithing, Asgard Research Institute]
“Tsk…” Mo Sanchou gasped, “A high school student can already obtain a B+ level divine artifact?”
He glanced at the candidates from his Cangwu Academy.
Forget B+ level divine artifacts, they didn’t even have C+ level ones.
With insufficient resources, they relied solely on talent mutations.
Unfortunately, the past few years had been unlucky, and no promising talents had emerged, resulting in consecutive bottom placements.
Zhang Yuanhua speculated, “At this level, it must be a divine artifact prepared for the college entrance exam, right?”
“Tsk tsk tsk, using this equipment in the competition field is practically a dimensional strike.”
Zhao Wujie proudly introduced, “Indeed, it’s for the college entrance exam. Moreover, this was jointly crafted by the Thor family and Dwarf Smithing. Just the material costs…”
He gestured a number, causing everyone to gasp, “Not to mention, we had to wait for the old dwarf craftsman to be ‘inspired’ before he would start. This weapon took a full three years from order to completion.”
“Three years…” Bai Li murmured, “Just for one weapon?”
“Of course,” Zhao Wujie raised an eyebrow, “That’s the young master of the Thor family, Elai.”
“By the way,” Zhao Wujie suddenly remembered something and looked at Dean Zhang, “Didn’t one of your candidates recently obtain a B level divine artifact?”
He shook his head regretfully, “It’s a pity that the time of possession is too short, so its power can’t be fully unleashed.”
It definitely can’t compare to Gungnir: The End.
Dean Zhang rolled his eyes, too lazy to respond.
Mo Sanchou interjected, “Is it Su Fu? I heard she defeated the chief of Lingxiao Province? The one from the Zongzheng family?”
“…Can someone who can be defeated still be called the Chief?” Zhao Wujie seemed to hear something amusing.
“Someone like Elai, who has never been defeated to this day.”
“That’s what you call the Chief.”
Bai Li pouted beside him, “Alright, alright, stop bragging. We know how amazing your Elai is.”
“It’s supposed to be a competition, but you’ve turned it into a gear showdown. How are we supposed to compete?”
It seemed like their Tianxuan Academy was destined to be the eternal runner-up again.
Hmph.
At that moment, Helian Yue, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stood up.
Everyone immediately fell silent and turned their attention to the Vice Dean of Tianqi Province.
She nodded to the crowd and then spoke calmly, “The examination hall has been constructed.”
“I declare the Tianxi Competition officially begun!”
***
The voice of Shen Yan AI echoed throughout the examination hall.
At the same time, Su Fu inside the hall felt her vision blur as a familiar white light enveloped her.
[Tianqi Competition Specialized Examination Space Constructed]
[Space Stability: 99.9%]
[Divine Power Field Strength: Normal]
[Examination System Initialization Complete]
“Greetings, examinee. Welcome to the Tianqi Cup Competition Space.”
“Affiliated Branch: C-Level Outer Star Cluster – Polaris Cluster Region – Lingxiao Province High School Division”
[Examinee Information Confirmed]
[Examination Subject: Σ-Level (Combined) Comprehensive Practical Examination (ABC Three Stages)]
As the information displayed, eight divine lights appeared before Su Fu.
“Please select your [Faith Pantheon] for this session.”
“Chinese Pantheon.”
[Ding!]
[We recommend the currently most promising Norse Pantheon: Current Faith Value: 93.7%, Historical Pass Rate: 99.5%, Popular Deities: Odin, Thor, Jörmungandr…..]
Immediately, a divine pillar erupted, and the figure of a colossal serpent that blotted out the sky appeared.
Its body was so massive that just a small segment filled the entire projection space.
Jörmungandr truly is domineering!
Su Fu raised an eyebrow, surprised that it was Jörmungandr this time.
Known as the “World Serpent” and the “Serpent of Destruction,” Jörmungandr is a terminator of the Norse Pantheon.
Legend has it that its body encircles Midgard, biting its own tail to maintain the balance of the world.
The moment it releases its fangs, Ragnarok will descend.
Even a top-tier warrior god like Thor could only perish alongside it.
The venom that covers its entire body can corrode all existence, and even gods are not immune.
Its eternally burning vertical pupils contain the aura of death, which is to say, it possesses a mental attack.
With unparalleled destructive power, incurable venom, and a built-in mental attack, it is undoubtedly one of the most powerful beings in the Norse Pantheon.
However, she was quite curious-would Jörmungandr appear in the Norse Pantheon’s secret realms, the World Tree, or the ruins of Ragnarok?
Su Fu pondered for just a moment before regaining her focus.
“I confirm my choice of the Chinese Pantheon.”
No matter how many times, thousands upon thousands of times, she would always choose the Chinese Pantheon.
[Examinee Su Fu, Kunlun Academy, Student ID F01, has confirmed the selection of the Chinese Pantheon]
[Examination Paper Loading…]
[Examination Paper Loading Complete]
[Your A-Stage Examination Paper is: Chang’an Mysterious Invasion, Randomly Selecting from the [Chinese Pantheon] Deity Pool…]
Su Fu was stunned.
Chang’an?
Is this place really Chang’an or just a fake version of it?
If it’s an abnormal exam paper, she thinks it should represent another side of Chang’an:
Ghostly soldiers borrowing the road, a hundred spirits roaming the night.
Fox spirits in the taverns of Fan Tower, phantoms in the brothels and pleasure houses.
Strange cases solved by the Dali Temple, peculiar events recorded by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.
Monks chanting sutras to guide souls in temples, Taoists exorcising demons in the streets.
If this were a decryption dungeon, it would indeed be quite interesting.
***
In the examination room, upon seeing this paper, the four previously lively deans were instantly struck dumb.
Without exception, everyone was stunned.
“Wait a minute!”
Bai Li suddenly stood up, “This isn’t right! This definitely isn’t a C+ level exam paper!”
Dean Zhang furrowed his brows even more.
The last C+ level exam paper, the “Heavenly Prison” map, was just two prisons and a few wardens.
Going further back, the D+ level “Crow Forest” was just a forest filled with mindless crows.
As for D level, the “Spirit Mountain Branch” was just a single mountain range with some low-level demons.
But this Chang’an dungeon before them…
The map is incredibly complex!
Zhao Wujie pointed at the control screen, his voice rising an octave, “How is this a C+ level exam paper? Chang’an?”
“The north-south spanning Vermilion Bird Avenue, twelve city gates, 108 districts, countless temples, taverns…”
“You’re telling me this level of map complexity is a C+ level dungeon?”
Mo Sanchou was dumbfounded, “Not only is the map extremely complex, but the anomalies within it all possess complete human forms and high intelligence!”
“I remember someone who once cleared a Chang’an series dungeon said that some anomalies could charm with song and dance, some were skilled in mechanical arts, and some even mastered various spells!”
Dean Zhang looked at Helian Yue, “Dean Helian, this… this can’t be a C+ level, can it?”
Zhao Wujie’s face darkened, “Damn it, with this level of detail and complexity, it has to be at least S level!”
Bai Li thought of something and hesitantly said, “Perhaps it’s not within the city of Chang’an? That way, the difficulty would be more acceptable…”
That could be possible, everyone turned to look at Helian Yue.
“No,” Helian Yue spoke calmly, “It is within the city of Chang’an.”
“But this is an order-based dungeon. As long as you follow the rules of order, the anomalies won’t actively attack.”