If this is to be a new era, then the league will no longer be a mere contest between schools.
Alpha Race, Ancient Civilization Survivors, Hidden World Family… — Choosing to participate in this era, isn’t it also an opportunity for the Chinese Pantheon to re-enter this era?
She not only wants to make the name of the Chinese Pantheon shine in the competition, but even more—she wants it to stand tall among the stars with all the dignity it deserves.
If that’s the case, then the Streetlamp Technology Company should be officially launched as well.
At that moment, Zhou Yu suddenly straightened up, “Oh right, there’s something else. I’ve gotten wind of some important news this time, related to Tianqiong Path Academy.”
Su Fu looked up and asked, “What news?”
“Have you heard about the transfer student from the Central Star System?” Zhou Yu said, “It’s real, they’ve really arrived. And they didn’t come passively like the forums speculated—they came of their own accord.”
“But as for their purpose, it’s still unknown.”
Su Fu pressed further, “Any other information? Like their name? What they look like?”
Zhou Yu shook his head, frowning, “That’s what’s so strange. There’s not a single bit of information—it’s all extremely secret, not a thing is known.”
“Oh wait, there’s one thing.” He paused, changing the subject: “Apparently, they worship the God of Fate.”
“God of Fate…?” Su Fu murmured, “Could it be fate’s guidance that brought them here?”
But why would the God of Fate send their own favored one to the Second Ring at this time?
To Tianqiong Path Academy?
There must be a deeper meaning behind this.
“Oh, by the way,” Zhou Yu suddenly remembered something else, “there’s another big thing. Do you remember Merlin Apollio?”
“Of course I remember,” Su Fu said, “that great prophet—what about him?”
Zhou Yu’s expression turned serious, incredulous as he said, “The entire Apollo family has declared their withdrawal.”
‘What? Withdrawal?’
‘Retirement?’
Su Fu didn’t get it.
Didn’t the prophecy say a glorious star era was about to begin, with all powers rising up?
Why would anyone choose to retreat now?
Zhou Yu guessed, “The God of Light, Apollo, has always liked to appear in public. For the whole family to withdraw now is really unlike their usual style.”
“I suspect they must have foreseen something. So they chose to preserve their strength.”
“In any case,” he sighed, looking at Su Fu with a complicated expression, “just do your best. That’s all I can warn you about.”
Su Fu was silent for a moment, then took out a bottle of Spring Dew Water and handed it to him, “Want to try it? It might not help your injury, but at least it’ll quickly restore your divine power.”
“Once your body is better, your recovery speed will definitely improve.”
Zhou Yu froze for a second, then smiled as he took it, “Well now, that’s rare. To think I could actually get some concern from you.”
“Guess I’ll accept it. Always calling me Zhou the Skinflint behind my back—turns out you’re the real Su the Skinflint.”
Su Fu: “…..”
“Looks like your injuries aren’t that bad if you’re still so glib.”
Zhou Yu clutched his chest, feigning agony. “I’m dying already.”
Su Fu: “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll provide a full-service cremation for you.”
Zhou Yu: “…..”
“…No need, thank you.”
***
Three days later, the results for the last Mythology History class were finally released, marking the end of the midterm exams.
At the same time, Shen Yan also posted an announcement:
[Tianqiong Path Academy Announcement]
[4051–4052 Academic Year Midterm Exams have officially ended, the complete ranking and transcript are now published.]
[All examinees, please check your transcripts. If you have any questions, please submit your appeal to the Academic Affairs Office within three days.]
Su Fu opened it, and sure enough, the transcript was in.
[Name: Su Fu]
[Midterm Rank: 1]
[Overall Evaluation: Excellent]
[Congratulations! You have completed the Tianqiong Path Academy Freshman Year mission requirements ahead of time!]
[Given your outstanding performance, the academy grants you the right to arrange your own study plan for the remainder of the semester.]
[Midterm reward: For securing first place, the pre-arranged Resource A-level Solo Test (Range A–5A, no type restriction) has been issued. Please use or apply for redemption in time.]
Seeing her results, Su Fu breathed a sigh of relief.
Her curriculum was a bit different from others—because of the joint training, she spent the first half of the semester at Tianqiong Path Academy and the second half at Kunlun, so she needed to meet all requirements within just half a semester.
“Good thing I got everything done.” She stretched lazily, “Time to pack up and head home!”
She wondered if her Master and Teacher Zhuge were at Kunlun.
She hadn’t always been able to reach her Master before, but Teacher Zhuge could always be contacted but lately, for some reason, both had become unreachable.
Hiss—could they be going on dates behind her back?
But Su Fu quickly shrugged it off.
Once she got home to Kunlun, she’d find out if they were there or not.
Su Fu piloted Firefire, bursting through the academy’s skies, the fiery aircraft streaking across the heavens, leaving a brilliant tail of flame.
Below, the students all looked up in unison and instantly recognized it: “That’s Su Fu’s ride, isn’t it?”
“I heard the teachers say she already finished all this semester’s requirements early, so she can go home now.”
“Heavens, going home after just half a semester—I wish I could go home too.”
“Ugh, whose idea was it to have two semesters anyway!”
Su Fu had no idea about the gossip behind her as she drove Firefire toward the express lane between the Upper and Lower Rings, reaching Kunlun in almost no time.
“Finally home!”
Kunlun Celestial Palace.
Su Fu sprawled in the main hall’s rocking chair, gazing out the window at the scenery, finally able to relax completely.
“Sigh—” She let out a long breath, “What kind of bitter days have I been living for the past six months?”
Back at Kunlun, divine power from the Saint Land surged wildly into her from all directions.
She felt as if she was a drought survivor finally tasting rain, the comfort making her sigh uncontrollably.
“Only the Kunlun Celestial Palace, a Saint Land like this, is fit for cultivation.”
But Su Fu soon noticed something odd, “Why does it feel like the divine power is pouring in faster than before?”
“Hmm?” She focused, and it was real, “Could it be that the Tree of Life has boosted my physique?”
That was a pleasant surprise—seems the benefits were showing up in all sorts of ways.
The rocking chair swayed gently as Su Fu enjoyed the beautiful scenery.
At that moment, the sky was filled with glowing evening clouds.
Far off, the sky was painted a brilliant orange-red, with strands of golden sunlight breaking through the clouds.
Mountain peaks and a sea of clouds, verdant pines and cypresses, a breathtaking view.
Taotao, too, was sprawled on a small rocking chair nearby, rolling around a few times and humming contentedly.
“Sis, we’re finally home!”
“Yeah, home.”
A gentle breeze brought the scent of grass and wood.
Su Fu could hear the wind chimes hanging from the eaves tinkling softly, and the distant chirping of birds from time to time.
Familiar and peaceful.
It was just a pity her Master wasn’t home.
Her thoughts drifted, rocking in her chair as she considered the two things she needed to do next.
“First is to strengthen myself—I can’t lose first place in the next league.”
Reputation was a small matter; the key was not to jeopardize her chance to reap benefits from the Creator School.
That’s the Central Star System, after all.
There must be tons of good stuff there, right?
With that in mind, Su Fu began mapping out her improvement plan.
First, she needed to choose the best moment to use the Wisdom Fruit, to get the maximum benefit.
Second, she needed to pick a dungeon where she could gain fate calculation abilities—she wanted to see what was really going on.
Then, she’d work on diversifying her divine skills, and eventually form a complete set…
“Oh, right.” She suddenly remembered, “I need to research my opponents in advance.”
For example, Zhou Yu mentioned the Alpha Race.
If they could negate concepts, then divine skills wouldn’t work on them.
Su Fu thought about it.
The solution was either to use divine abilities or pure martial arts.
That meant she needed to add swordsmanship, spear techniques, and so on to her training list.
Soon, Su Fu had a rough plan in mind.
When it comes to diversity of abilities, the Chinese Pantheon is second to none—no matter what skill you face, there’s always a counter.
The focus is on gathering information: know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never lose.
“As for Divine Realm opponents… right, I can invite Teacher Tang Yu to Kunlun as a guest.”
“Then I can ask her about the Divine Realm. If she can’t reveal anything, I’ll just go ask Short Blade.”
Su Fu mulled it over— ‘Shen Yan probably didn’t have rules restricting blades, right?’
If there were, that would be outrageous.
She couldn’t imagine what had happened before.
“As for the second thing—that’s making the name of China resound.”
In other words, building her business!
She wanted the Streetlamp Company she registered to be famous throughout the interstellar world, to spread Chinese Creation everywhere, and break the monopoly of other Pantheon conglomerates.
“Now, let me see which fate deduction dungeons I can pick.”
Su Fu sat up and opened her lightbrain interface.
She had already analyzed before—if she wanted fate deduction abilities, the Chinese deities she could choose were: Fuxi and his Hetu-Luoshu, Zhou Wenwang’s Zhouyi Hexagrams, Jiang Ziya with the Investiture of the Gods, and the School of Diplomacy and Strategy’s founder, Guiguzi.
“These are all the most representative prediction and deduction systems in China.”
If she wanted to summon these gods, she needed to choose the most suitable map.
Su Fu considered: ‘Fuxi was probably tied to Luoshui and the Hetu map, Zhou Wenwang with Qishan and related maps, Jiang Ziya with Weishui and the Fengshen Platform, and finally Guiguzi with Yunmeng Mountain and the Chessboard.’
She entered these keywords, and the massive list of dungeons instantly shrank to a single page.
Su Fu let out a breath—at least there were options.
One dungeon was [Luoshui: Phantom of Hetu].
Su Fu’s heart leapt—’that was Fuxi’
But when she glanced at the dungeon level—
‘Oh my, it was S-level!’
Never mind—she couldn’t select it, no resources.