Su Fu received one as well—a contract.
It was long—dozens of pages.
“So much?” Su Fu raised an eyebrow, quickly skipping over the legal jargon and convoluted clauses, jumping straight to the specific dissemination restrictions.
[No images from the exam may be shared]
[No content that may damage the reputation or honor of others may be shared]
[No description of special phenomena in the exam may be shared]
[…]
Clause after clause, but the gist was obvious: all were aimed at one thing—
The Women’s Kingdom, Achilles and the others.
“Well, well!”
Su Fu realized, “They wrapped up a plate of dumplings just for a drop of vinegar!”
‘So, was this Karisto sent by the Olympus Family?’
And this talk about Ministry of Education violations—clearly, it was just to protect the reputation of those scions, silencing everyone else.
Su Fu faintly sensed something off— ‘why did they care so much about this? Was it just a loss of face? Was it worth deploying a Central Inspectorate officer for that?’
‘Wait…’ Su Fu froze, a wild idea coming to mind.
‘Unless, if this leaked, it would have a huge impact on Achilles or, more specifically, Achilles himself.’
She suddenly remembered: during the whole exam, Achilles had seemed restrained, as if he was deliberately avoiding something.
‘Wait… no way?’
Could it really be as she thought?
Playing such tricks?
Why not summon the Divine Aspect?
Because he was afraid Zeus would see his real image and it’d be ruined…
Su Fu understood that Achilles wanted to keep his “favored son of heaven,” perfect youth persona.
Because Zeus liked that kind of person.
If he lost Zeus’s favor… then for them, that would be truly unacceptable.
Su Fu was astonished—no wonder it was the Greek pantheon, no wonder it was Zeus.
Then, she saw the penalty clause at the end, and her smile froze:
[Violation penalty: 500,000,000 Contribution Points]
‘Eight zeros!’
‘These shameless people actually put eight zeros!’
Not only did they refuse to pay her to keep quiet, they even expected her to sign such an unfair agreement?
‘Dream on. Get lost, as far as possible.’
She thought, ‘No one would agree to such a tyrannical clause, right?’
But just then, Karisto actually leapt down from the platform and walked toward her.
‘What’s going on?’ Su Fu’s alarms blared.
Instinctively, she tried to step back—only to find her body stuck, unable to move.
Karisto approached step by step, half-smiling as he looked down at her.
“Congratulations to Su Fu for taking first place,” his voice was gentle to the point of being creepy.
“I trust Su Fu will support my work?” As he spoke, he extended his hand, as if simply to shake hers.
But Su Fu felt a thunderous roar in her mind, as if countless voices exploded in her ears.
A powerful spiritual force swept over her, trying to twist her will.
Countless chaotic voices echoed: ‘Yes, I’m very willing…’
‘Of course I’ll support…’
‘I’ll sign the agreement…’
Su Fu snapped awake, burning with rage.
This old snake, how dare he lay a hand on her in public—shameless and audacious!
Worse still, not a single person around seemed to notice anything wrong.
But Su Fu realized—this was a Central Star System Inspectorate officer.
And such inspectors were only required to be extremely powerful, able to crush any violators.
In other words, Karisto was definitely S-rank at minimum, at least a divine executor.
Right now, he was the strongest here—who could see through his tricks?
Su Fu struggled desperately against the force invading her mind, trying to summon the Nuwa Divine Aspect to shield her.
But the difference in power was too great; her divine energy felt completely suppressed—she couldn’t mobilize it at all.
At this rate, if she really shook Karisto’s hand…
Su Fu realized her body no longer felt like her own; she watched helplessly as her right hand slowly rose, seemingly to shake hands with Karisto.
Karisto’s smile deepened: “So it is. Then, thank you for your support, Su Fu. I look forward to working together.”
Su Fu’s hand kept rising.
Outwardly calm but her mind was screaming, ‘No!’
Absolutely not—if she touched this old snake’s hand, the next moment she’d be his puppet, signing that contract obediently.
Their hands were about to meet when—suddenly, a black shadow flashed!
“Clang!”
A razor-sharp dagger sliced through the space between them, forcing Karisto to step back.
Su Fu’s scalp tingled, “What happened?”
Next second, she saw Karisto being forced back—his previously calm face instantly turned dark.
He demanded, “Tang Yu, what are you doing?”
Only then did Su Fu realize that Tang Yu had stepped in front of her.
Tang Yu’s eyes were sharp as blades, staring at Karisto coldly: “Shouldn’t I be asking you what you’re doing?”
To protect the Central Star System’s reputation, she didn’t make it too explicit.
But she warned, “You’d best stop right there.”
The surrounding students looked at each other, completely confused.
All they saw was Karisto walking up to Su Fu, then Tang Yu suddenly stepping in—no one could say exactly what had happened.
Too fast.
“What happened?”
“Why did she suddenly make a move?”
“Did Karisto do something?”
The crowd buzzed with discussion, but no one dared approach.
Su Fu was overjoyed—’good, a real Guardian!’
This Teacher Tang just saved her life.
She’d nearly thought she’d lose her hand just now.
The restraint on her body eased considerably, and she gritted her teeth in secret—this old snake really was shameless, trying to lay hands on her in full view.
She wondered if the dragon scale Teacher had given her could block such control by physical contact?
Just then, Karisto suddenly smiled.
His slow, cold voice echoed like a snake’s tongue flicking over the back of her hand: “Guardian Tang Yu,” he spoke each word distinctly, his voice echoing over the plaza, “Suspected of abnormal control.”
“Central Education Department Inspector Karisto, detected abnormality and requested a temporary control protocol.”
Su Fu instantly realized Karisto’s aim—her heart nearly stopped.
‘No—this snake wanted to exploit a loophole and gain the right to attack Teacher Tang!’
She was about to speak, but the next instant, divine power erupted from Karisto—an overwhelming pressure crashed down on everyone.
Su Fu nearly collapsed on the spot, but someone in front shielded her.
Tang Yu, being closest, took the brunt of it, but she gripped her dagger, divine energy surging, slashing downward in a silver arc as if to cleave the divine power before her.
Where the blade passed, Karisto’s divine power was forcibly sliced open.
The clash emitted a harsh, resonant hum.
Powers collided—Tang Yu gritted her teeth, holding off the pressure but the others weren’t so lucky.
All the students on the plaza were instantly crushed to the ground, prostrate and unable to move.
Even Murray and the other representatives from the clans couldn’t withstand it for long, tumbling down onto the platform with a crash.
Karisto’s face remained unchanged, he spoke slowly, “Tang Yu, why resist? We can check to see if there’s a problem. Don’t interfere with the freshman joint exam.”
Cold sweat streamed down Su Fu’s back as alarms blared in her mind.
‘It was over—this bastard was just looking for an excuse to act! Teacher, that dragon scale—please, let it shield me!’
As if on cue, just as the thought flashed through her mind, a bolt of lightning appeared—a divine spear wreathed in thunder.
Its shaft glowed a deep blue, tip sharp as ever, lightning coiling and crackling around it.
The spear spun wildly between Karisto’s palms, faster and faster, thunder booming, cutting through the air with a piercing screech.
Tang Yu saw the divine spear, her pupils contracted sharply and she shouted, “Olympus Pantheon’s Thunder God’s Spear?! Are you mad?! That’s an S-rank artifact! Are you trying to kill someone?!”
Kill who?
A two-for-one! Kill Su Fu!
Tang Yu’s voice wasn’t low, but unfortunately, the thunderous roar of the spinning divine spear drowned out everything she said—no one could hear it but Karisto.
The lightning around the spear grew even more violent, illuminating the whole plaza, blinding all with its intensity—the cutting edge of that divine power seemed enough to split heaven and earth.
Karisto heard Tang Yu’s warning and curled his lips slightly, then—
The divine spear shot out!
The Thunder God’s Spear tore through the air, leaving a dazzling blue trail.
Where it passed, the air itself was scorched by the heat, erupting in deafening blasts.
The air was forced aside, forming visible shockwaves that sent the dust flying.
It was unimaginably fast—so fast Tang Yu couldn’t possibly react.
In Su Fu’s eyes, the spear’s image grew larger and larger, until it filled her entire field of view.
Death was racing toward her at unstoppable speed.
Only now did she realize—the contract was a pretext, she was the real target!
Olympus, shameless to the core, had actually sent an S-rank divine executor to kill her?!
An unprecedented rage flared up in her heart.
These high-and-mighty clans—clearly their own trash lost fair and square, yet they used such despicable methods to silence her.
Absolutely shameless.
Clans are utter garbage, every last one.
Tang Yu had exhausted her strength resisting Karisto’s control; she had only a fraction of her power left and could not possibly block the divine spear.
The Thunder God’s Spear was already upon her, mere millimeters from her pupil, lightning flashing bright as fireworks.
Karisto spoke casually, “Tang Yu, not dodging? You really want to die with her?”
Tang Yu let out a furious shout, blood bursting from wounds on her face, yet she forcibly pushed the spear back a few millimeters.
Her hand holding the dagger began to tremble, yet her spine remained straight as she spoke, word by word: “I am a Guardian. To protect the weak, to protect the innocent, to defend every inch of stardust.”
Tang Yu’s voice was hoarse, nearly through gritted teeth: “I swore an oath—as long as I have a breath left, as long as the weak are behind me, I will never take a step back!”
Karisto raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by Tang Yu’s stubbornness but he only paused a moment before slowly raising his hand, and then, with a light push forward—
All the lightning on the divine spear blazed to life, howling as it spun, crashing toward Tang Yu’s dagger!
“Clang!”
The sharp sound of metal shattering echoed across the plaza.
Tang Yu’s dagger splintered into countless fragments, scattering through the air, glinting in the sunlight before falling soundlessly to the ground.
It wasn’t just the dagger that broke, but Tang Yu’s last line of defense.
Su Fu watched, heart clenched tight.
She screamed, “Teacher Tang! Dodge!”
Time seemed to stretch infinitely; Su Fu heard her own heartbeat like thunder.
She wouldn’t die—Teacher Tang wouldn’t die.
There was a way—she had one!
She had the dragon scale her teacher gave her.
If she could put herself in front of Teacher Tang, shield her from the fatal blow, she could save her!
So, hurry—dodge!
But Teacher Tang still stood before her, unmoving.
She said—she was a Guardian.
So, until the last moment, she protected the weak.
Su Fu watched helplessly as the divine spear rushed closer, lightning flickering—a roaring god of death.
‘What to do?’
She shouted— “Stop!”
“Stop right now!”
In that life-and-death instant, something strange happened!
Endless blackness suddenly surged out from Su Fu’s body, instantly enveloping both her and Tang Yu.
That blackness was deep as night, as if able to swallow all light, saturated with the ancient dark and eternal silence.
Just as the divine spear was about to strike, that blackness began to glow.
Countless streams of dazzling gold welled up within the darkness, turning it hard as iron.
The next moment, it collided head-on with the Thunder God’s Spear!
“BOOM——!”
At the instant of impact, a thunderous roar echoed across the entire plaza.
Purple lightning and blackness exploded at the collision point in a blaze of light, sparks flying.
The brilliance reached its peak, forcing everyone present to shut their eyes tight but that shield formed by the Yinglong Dragon Scale did not budge an inch.
The dragon scale responded to Su Fu’s call.
It said— “Granted.”