“What?” Olivia’s voice wavered, as if she doubted her own ears.
While they were fighting to the death outside, had Su Fu somehow slipped quietly into the core zone?
And did something monumental in complete silence?
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances, but Belina was the first to react, confirming, “You mean… first-year Combat Division student… from the Chinese Pantheon… Su Fu?”
She looked at Claude, seeing the same confusion mirrored on his face.
Shen Yan’s voice remained as calm as ever: [“Yes.”]
“But that doesn’t make sense…” Raymond murmured to himself, “Weren’t they all supposed to teleport back to the dorms using the Silver Candle as an anchor? How could she be in the Divine Tree Zone?”
He gestured as he spoke, “The Divine Tree Zone is so far from them—how could she have gotten in?”
“No, the point is, the core of the divine arts should have layer upon layer of prohibitions!”
She was just an A-rank Divine Summoner, a first-year student.
There’s no way she could break through all those restrictions but then, what was happening now?
“The real point,” Olivia’s voice trembled, “is that she saved the Tree of Life… and stopped the Dark Realm’s corruption… But how did she do it?”
For the boundless Dark Realm, Su Fu was like a tiny ant.
How could such an ant hold back the encroaching darkness?
Lilyth was just as shocked.
She stood frozen for a while, then suddenly snapped, screaming hysterically: “Impossible… Absolutely impossible!”
“No one can resist the corruption of the Dark Realm! It can erase every concept! I know you’re lying to me! Shen Yan must be lying to me!”
She struggled frantically, the blood in her eyes deepening, “You’re all putting on a show, aren’t you? Dragging out this Chinese Pantheon nonsense, thinking it’ll scare me? The Tree of Life must be dead! It has to be dead!”
She burst out laughing maniacally—there was no way the Tree of Life could still be alive, not after everything she’d sacrificed.
Failure was impossible.
It wasn’t just her.
She had coordinated with Twilight Judgment from within and without.
For this very day, she’d plotted for so many years, poured out so much effort—all for the collapse of Eden, all to let the Dark Realm’s corruption spread.
Failure was not an option.
As her mad screams echoed, Claude’s icy voice cut through: “The fact that you’re still standing here means Eden hasn’t collapsed. You still think you’ve won?”
“That’s the best proof.”
Lilyth was struck as if by lightning, her struggling body went rigid.
Yes… if the Tree of Life had truly died, Eden should have already crumbled.
Yet everything around her was as it had always been.
This was no illusion.
Eden still stood.
The Tree of Life still lived.
She had failed.
Olivia was already desperate to rush to the Divine Tree Zone, but before she left, she raised her scepter high towards Lilyth: “Lilyth, once guardian of Eden, now a traitor and a fallen one.”
The scepter blazed, Olivia’s voice solemn and majestic, as though descending from the heavens: “In the name of God, in the name of the Holy Light, I, High Priestess Olivia, activate the Judgment Array, and pass sentence on the sinner Lilyth!”
The scepter drove into the ground, Holy Light rising from the earth to form a massive cross with Lilyth at its heart.
“Lilyth, you have betrayed the blessings of the gods, defiled the glory of the Holy Light. Your crimes are as follows: You deceived your companions, colluded with outside forces, stole forbidden relics, attempted to murder the Divine Tree, sought to destroy Eden, murdered the innocent…”
With each crime pronounced, the Holy Light constricted further, Lilyth’s agony growing more pronounced.
Behind Olivia, a massive angelic phantom appeared.
The angel’s eyes were closed, face solemn and severe, pure white wings spreading wide and almost eclipsing the night sky.
“In the name of the Lord, I pass judgment upon you! To strip you of your Divine Power, to cleanse your corruption, to return you to mortal flesh.”
As the judgment fell, the angelic phantom’s eyes snapped open, a dazzling golden light descending from the heavens, enveloping Lilyth entirely.
Lilyth screamed in torment, her wings shedding, her robe fading to white, the bloodlust draining from her eyes.
When the golden light receded, she collapsed to the ground—a powerless, ordinary human, stripped of all that she had been.
Olivia said coldly, “Take her away. Lock her in the Sanctum of Atonement. She is never to be released.”
“Yes, High Priestess!” The white-robed guards immediately stepped forward, lifting Lilyth’s body and swiftly vanishing into the night.
Judgment was done.
Olivia turned to the others, her voice urgent, “It seems I must trouble all of you to accompany me.”
After all, Su Fu was a student on the Path of the Firmament; they needed to be present for this.
They exchanged glances, nodding gravely.
They were just as curious—how had Su Fu entered?
And by what means had she saved the Tree of Life?
***
Divine Tree Zone.
The Tree of Life was sleeping soundly, its leaves gently rising and falling with each breath, radiating a faint golden glow in the night.
In this state, it was clearly in a deep, restorative sleep.
Seeing this, Su Fu gradually withdrew her healing Divine Power and let out a relieved breath.
She stood and took a walk around, only to discover a rather serious problem: The place was sealed tight.
Prohibitions layered upon prohibitions, intertwined and nested, so complex she could never hope to unravel them.
Not to mention the rites themselves emanated powerful Divine Power fluctuations—just approaching them made her heart pound.
“This defense is a little too perfect, isn’t it?” Su Fu clicked her tongue and added, “Not even a fly could sneak in here.”
But then, that was the strange part—how had she gotten in at all?
She didn’t know how she’d entered, so naturally, she had no clue how to get out.
She looked around and sighed, “Looks like I’ll just have to sit tight and wait for a teacher to come rescue me.”
She wasn’t worried about the Paradise Pantheon holding her accountable; she could just blame everything on that Fugitive Priest.
Su Fu felt perfectly justified—she was just a first-year student.
What trouble could she possibly have caused?
Whatever happened, it had to be the Fugitive Priest’s doing.
No problem at all.
As for whatever dark magic that person had used—that was the Paradise Pantheon’s headache to research.
How could an innocent Chinese examinee like her possibly know?
Besides, they still owed her an explanation—those people had endangered all the students just to hunt the Fugitive Priest.
She was the one who deserved answers and even if she’d stumbled into the core zone, she hadn’t done anything wrong.
On the contrary, she’d saved the Tree of Life—surely that counted as a major achievement?
‘No need to panic. Stay steady.’
With this in mind, Su Fu even began to feel suspicious: “Wait a minute, could they have set me up on purpose?”
She pondered—this whole thing felt oddly familiar, just like last time, when Teacher Murray summoned her to deal with the Bull Demon King.
She couldn’t shake the feeling this was the same deal.
Why else would she be the one to wind up here, only to find the Tree of Life dying, and be the only one who could save it?
“Could it really be fate’s guidance?” she murmured.
If she hadn’t come, the Tree of Life would’ve been completely corrupted.
It wouldn’t have taken long before Eden collapsed entirely.
That would’ve brought untold chaos, countless lives lost, rifts in connected planes, the balance of all pantheons thrown into turmoil, and perhaps the world itself descending into disaster.
Calamities, wars, plagues—all would follow.
Twilight Judgment’s plans might have truly come to pass.
“But… why me?”
In truth, Su Fu had a faint guess—perhaps it was the fate she walked—
That of Nuwa’s Genesis Fate.
Somewhere in the unseen, there was a mysterious link between her and the Tree of Life—beyond just the creation of life, but resonating at the fundamental layer of the world’s structure.
Nuwa created mankind and patched the sky; the Tree of Life birthed all things.
It was like an invisible, yet real, gravity between two stars.
But right now, she only vaguely sensed it—maybe she’d only understand once she reached S-rank.
“As for why I was sent here… Remember, these prohibitions are meant to keep out outsiders, not the Tree of Life…”
Su Fu guessed that, back on the training field, when the beam of light shone down, it was trying to teleport her somewhere.
At that very moment, she happened to be using Nuwa’s Sky-Patching power—so the Tree of Life detected and seized her, grabbing her as a lifeline without conscious thought?
After all, all of Eden was built around the Tree of Life.
Only it could pull off something like that.
“Such a strong will to survive.”
But whatever the reason, the Tree of Life had bet on the right person.
At least, Su Fu could never bring herself to let the Tree of Life die, not when that would doom so many living beings.
Of course, she had a second guess—maybe Lady Nuwa herself had guided her here.
It was guidance along her fate.
Like the Big Dipper in the night sky, guiding lost travelers.
A choice she was fated to face along her Genesis path, necessary for moving forward.
Teacher Zhuge had once said, everyone’s fate has its unique “Fate Companion.”
What seem like chance encounters are, in truth, inevitable convergences in the river of destiny.
Nuwa’s Genesis fate, at its core, was “creation” and “restoration.”
When the world is wounded, one must stand forth and patch the sky with one’s own strength.
So meeting the Tree of Life was also inevitable?
Suddenly curious, Su Fu wondered—what kind of person did Lady Nuwa wish her to become?
She looked up at the Tree of Life, its immense canopy stretching out beneath the night, its golden points of light twinkling like stars.
It held all the vitality and hope of Eden.
***
At the same time, Olivia and her group were rushing toward the core zone.
Their speed left only afterimages, Olivia’s scepter casting a faint glow to guide their way.
They darted through corridors, crossed bridges, and finally arrived at the entrance to the core.
Before them was a massive golden barrier, thick and honey-like.
Olivia stood before it, raising her scepter, chanting solemnly, “In my Lord’s name, with the angel’s glory and the apostles as witness—open the Gate of Eden and lead us to the Source of Life!”
Her Divine Power resonated with the barrier, which slowly cracked open, revealing the way forward.
They hurried through.
The closer Belina got, the more worried she grew, “That’s Dark Realm corruption—could Su Fu be in trouble?”
The horror of the Dark Realm was its power to erase concepts themselves.
It had nearly consumed the Tree of Life, the core concept of this world.
‘How could Su Fu possibly have resisted?’
Her heart sank, ‘Could Su Fu be gravely wounded? Or worse?’
Raymond shook his head with a sigh, “Honestly, serious injuries are inevitable. Let’s just hope she’s clinging to life until we get there.”
Olivia felt the pressure mounting as they reached the second barrier.
“In the name of the Lord, dispel the second seal!”
They picked up speed, unlocking layer after layer of prohibitions.
With each barrier they crossed, Olivia’s face grew paler—it was clear that repeatedly unlocking high-level seals was draining her greatly.
At last, they broke through the final line of defense and arrived beneath the Tree of Life.
They couldn’t help but look up.
The colossal Tree of Life slumbered, glowing faintly with gold, its branches and leaves swaying in peaceful tranquility.
Olivia exhaled deeply and said, “Thank God, the Tree of Life is stable but… where is Su Fu?”
She scanned the area, but didn’t see Su Fu’s figure, her heart lurching with anxiety.
Belina’s face was deathly pale, her eyes suddenly red, “Oh God, could it be… is there not even a body left…”
Her voice trembled, “Not even a corpse remains…?”
“This is my fault,” Olivia said quietly, in pain.
Claude only bowed his head in silence and said, “She’s just a first-year… It’s all my fault…”
Meanwhile, Su Fu was hiding behind the Tree of Life.
When she realized it was Belina and the teachers who’d arrived, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, “Good, good, good. Looks like the teachers won after all.”
After all, it could just as easily have been the victorious Fugitive Priest who came—if she hadn’t hidden, and was caught on the spot, she would’ve been obliterated.
To be safe, she could only stay hidden at first.
Luckily, the teachers were reliable, so she was ready to come out now.
Just then, she suddenly thought, ouch—why was she always so sneaky?
Last time, by the Peach Tree, she’d done the same thing—hiding and watching from behind.
‘No, no’, Su Fu insisted, ‘this was just a caution. Stay calm, don’t act recklessly.’
As she stepped out, she noticed the teachers all looked rather off.
Puzzled, she wondered what was going on.
“Teacher?” Su Fu called softly, “Belina-sensei?”
Her voice was quiet, but to Divine Summoners, it was crystal clear.
Belina’s head snapped up at the sound.
Seeing Su Fu alive and well, she cried out in joy, “Su Fu! You’re alive!”
She rushed over, scanning Su Fu up and down anxiously, “Are you alright? Are you hurt? How do you feel right now?”
The others quickly gathered round, Olivia urging, “Belina, hurry and check her. Where is she injured?”
Belina, so overjoyed she almost forgot herself, hastily activated the sapphire before her.
The blue light flowed over Su Fu’s body, checking her condition inch by inch.
“Hm?” The more Belina checked, the stranger her expression became.
Those around saw this and their hearts sank immediately—was there a problem?
Olivia’s heart filled with pity, “Child, you’ve suffered so much. The Dark Realm’s corruption is not easy to bear. You must have endured unimaginable pain. Don’t worry. No matter what, I won’t give up on you.”
Su Fu: “Uh…”
“What’s wrong?” Claude asked nervously, “Does it hurt a lot? Are her injuries severe?”
The effects of Dark Realm corruption weren’t visible at first—by the time they showed, it was often too late.
“Of course it won’t feel good.” Raymond sighed heavily, “Well, how is she? Belina, why aren’t you saying anything?”