The group looked at each other, unable to hide the shock in their eyes.
Could it be… that the long-dormant Chinese Pantheon was about to reappear in the world?
This was not a topic they could easily continue.
Isabella, the representative of Stellar Abyss, showed a standard official smile and said, “In any case, congratulations in advance to Tianqiong Path for taking the top spot again.”
“Your school really does produce talented people generation after generation, each stronger than the last!”
As soon as these words were said, the others began to chime in with compliments.
“Indeed, Su Fu’s performance was flawless,” Lawrence of the Eternal Cardinal agreed.
“Tianqiong Path is truly a top-tier academy,” Uli nodded in praise, “It has consistently cultivated the top talents of the Interstellar.”
“Her master, Tai Xuanzi, also came from Tianqiong Path back then, right?” Xue Chen remembered, “Now a famous master has a brilliant student. It’s truly worth celebrating.”
Principal Mu Erfeisi waved his hand and said, “Everyone, you flatter me. I don’t deserve the credit. The credit should go to Kunlun Academy.”
The crowd paused for a moment upon hearing this.
This meant…
He wanted to promote Su Fu as a student of the Chinese Pantheon’s Kunlun Academy rather than Tianqiong Path?
That would likely be explosive news!
How many people’s eyes would be focused on the Chinese Pantheon because of this battle?
And there were the league rewards.
In the coming week, all the opening advertisements and reminders in the Ministry of Education’s Exam Papers would be replaced with content about the Chinese gods.
In other words—
Chinese faith would be promoted throughout the entire Interstellar.
Whether it was the most prosperous Interstellar cities or the most remote peripheral planets, the images of the Chinese gods would appear on every Exam Paper and every announcement.
Such influence was simply incalculable.
Mu Erfeisi looked at the Central Chief Inspector, Claude Stern, and said in a gentle tone: “Next is the application phase for the Genesis Academy. I’ll have to trouble you to put in a few good words for Su Fu.”
Claude bowed slightly, his posture respectful, “I wouldn’t dare. Student Su Fu’s strength is obvious to all. I will naturally report it truthfully.”
With Mu Erfeisi as a guarantor, how could he dare to block this powerhouse?
Lawrence of the Eternal Cardinal let out a soft sigh and said, “It seems that prophecy has begun to come true. This year indeed has many geniuses emerging.”
And it just so happened that the Chinese Pantheon emerged at this time.
Was it because Tai Xuanzi had already made arrangements?
He looked at Mu Erfeisi, but saw that the latter’s expression was as usual.
Isabella chuckled, “Yes, I’m afraid the upcoming Genesis Academy admission tournament will be the real clash between titans.”
That would be the real slaughter.
Lawrence thought for a moment and tentatively looked at Mu Erfeisi, “I never expected to have the honor of inviting the Principal himself this year.”
“Your presence is the greatest affirmation of the league.”
Mu Erfeisi waved his hand and replied, “I’m just watching the excitement.”
After saying this, he looked like he wouldn’t say anything more, and the others wisely stopped asking.
But each of them was incredibly curious.
In the past, Principal Mu Erfeisi had always stayed at Tianqiong Path and hardly ever came out, rarely making appearances.
But this year, he had appeared twice in a short period.
This was hard not to notice.
Especially the league—when was the last time he came?
Oh, it seemed to be during Tai Xuanzi’s year.
‘Wait’, Lawrence suddenly realized, ‘Speaking of which, wouldn’t Tai Xuanzi come to watch her own student’s league match?’
***
Meanwhile, deep within Hell.
Not long after Achilles disappeared, a burst of cheerful footsteps came from the distance.
A dark shadow rushed toward Su Fu quickly—it was the Howling Celestial Dog.
“Hehe! It was a success!”
It circled Su Fu a few times excitedly and said triumphantly: “Not only did I beat them up and scare them half to death, but I also intentionally led them to the Underworld’s side and let them fight each other!”
“They’re fighting each other quite fiercely now!”
Su Fu’s eyes lit up, “That’s amazing?”
“Of course!” The Howling Celestial Dog held its head high, its dog eyes sparkling, “I’m on the job, don’t you worry!”
Su Fu reached out and rubbed its head, praising it: “Good job!”
The dog wagged its tail even more vigorously after being praised, then looked down at the battlefield of Hell.
“Which level have they fought down to now?”
“Only two levels left before the map ends.”
“Wow! Should we help them out a bit?” the Howling Celestial Dog suggested excitedly, eager to try.
Su Fu shook her head, “No need.”
Her gaze looked past Hell toward the distance, and she said softly, “There are more important things to do.”
By now, the anomalies in the other maps had been cleared out.
However, it wasn’t George and the others from the Immortal Ship who had cleared them, but Huangfu Yun and her group.
They were sensible and didn’t touch her resources, so she couldn’t be bothered to deal with them.
In that case, once the final two levels of Hell were conquered, the entire league map would end.
Before that, she had to solve the biggest problem.
“What else is more important?” The Howling Celestial Dog tilted its head curiously, “Now that the Immortal Ship is invincible and those people have been beaten to a pulp, what else is there to worry about?”
Before Su Fu could respond, a low hum came from the distance.
“Hum—!!!”
The Immortal Ship was back.
Su Fu looked up and saw space being slowly torn apart as the Immortal Ship stepped through the void.
That giant group of buildings was incredibly massive.
The surrounding mist had not yet dispersed, like veils and curtains, with Heavenly Immortal Energy drifting about.
The Howling Celestial Dog jumped up excitedly, “Wow! They’re back after fleecing the map! It must be a bumper harvest this time!”
Su Fu was lost in thought and asked softly, “Tell me, why is the Penglai Immortal Isle a ‘Ship’?”
The dog froze, its ears perking up, “Huh?”
‘Are you asking a dog?’
In Chinese legends, Penglai Immortal Isle was an Immortal Mountain on the East Sea, a fairyland of Immortality and the residence of Immortals.
In other words, it should have been an “Isle,” a piece of land, an island, rather than a “Ship.”
If all the Anomaly maps were evolved based on existing ruins…
Then why would that Immortal Isle on the sea turn into an Immortal Ship?
The Howling Celestial Dog thought about it and said, “It seems that really is the case.”
“Maybe it’s a modification by the Anomalies? You know, they are like a bunch of copycats. They learn whatever the gods are like, plus adding a bunch of their own messy understandings…”
Su Fu was silent for a moment then said, “That’s a barely passable explanation.”
But there was another question that couldn’t be explained.
Shen Yan’s map distribution had always been balanced.
Each map had similar difficulty and danger levels to ensure the fairness of the competition but the entire Immortal Ship didn’t seem to have any threats.
Unlike the Paradise Pantheon which had fallen monsters, Olympus which had powerful competitors, or the harsh environment of the North.
The interior of the Immortal Ship had rich resources and a well-established order.
There were no powerful monsters or fatal threats, just ordinary people with no threat level.
Not only that, there was no BOSS on the Immortal Ship, which was completely different from the other maps.
One point might be a coincidence, but coincidences everywhere meant something was abnormal.
Unless… Shen Yan was giving her a cheat?
But Shen Yan couldn’t possibly give her a cheat in public.
This meant there was a big problem.
Moreover, the Eighteen Levels of Hell map had verified her thoughts.
She held an official position in the Underworld, so there were nine levels of the map to break through.
Combining the advantage of China’s information and her own official rank, this kind of difficulty was the balance Shen Yan gave her.
Then what about the Immortal Ship?
She had the identity of the Directorate of Astronomy and had successfully become the General.
Where should the difficulty of the Immortal Ship be?
Su Fu looked up at the massive Immortal Ship, seeing it slowly sailing toward her, surrounded by Heavenly Immortal Energy.
The ship wasn’t the problem, the people weren’t the problem, so there was only one possibility left: that Xu Immortal.
Why was there no BOSS notification for the Immortal Ship?
Perhaps the BOSS had already arrived before she entered, so naturally, there was no intrusion warning.
Thinking of this, Su Fu did something she had been wanting to do.
She used her “Knowing Fate” ability on the entire Immortal Ship from the perspective of an outsider.
In an instant, the sight of the Immortal Ship changed before her eyes.
The Immortal Ship turned into a patch of white mist, and countless colored “strings” extended from the top of the ship into the void.
These were the fate lines of all the people related to the Immortal Ship.
But as the vision of “Knowing Fate” became clear and the scene before her fully emerged, Su Fu’s pupils shrank—
The entire Immortal Ship was like a fish struggling desperately, and wrapping around the entire “fish” was a patch of bright red mist so thick it was almost viscous.
The mist was writhing, entangling, and devouring, slowly swallowing the Immortal Ship into its belly.
Su Fu felt her skin crawl.
She suddenly understood why the Immortal Isle was an Immortal Ship.
Because… it wanted to escape, to run away!
The former Penglai Immortal Isle ruins had likely awakened a spirit.
In order to survive, it chose to transform into a ship to flee from the pursuit of that terrifying “snake”!
That patch of red mist suddenly rolled violently, seemingly sensing Su Fu’s observation.
The next second, all the scenes before her eyes disappeared.
Su Fu trembled all over, and cold sweat instantly soaked her back.
‘What kind of snake was that?’
Su Fu recalled what Xuan Ming had told her: Xu Immortal had been there since the beginning of the Immortal Ship’s existence.
If he wasn’t the founder of the Immortal Ship, then who else could he be?
The answer was ready to come out.
‘That snake was definitely related to Xu Immortal. They were like predators trying to devour this Immortal Ship.’ Thinking of this, Su Fu’s head felt numb.
‘Shen Yan, oh Shen Yan! What kind of map did you find for me! It’s completely different from the other pantheons!’
At that moment, George, Yi Congling, and the others were standing on the Immortal Ship, waving at her excitedly.
Su Fu took a deep breath.
There was no avoiding it.
The only plan now—
“It’s time to go see that Immortal.”
***
As the Ship’s General, it was relatively easy to see the Immortal.
Xuan Ming took the initiative to visit, and a time was quickly arranged.
On the way to the highest pavilion where the Immortal was located, Xuan Ming was still nagging and instructing: “Xu Immortal is the guardian god of the entire Immortal Ship, the most powerful existence…”
“Several generations of Xianzhou Generals have changed, but he has always been there… He is of high prestige and is respected by everyone…”
Su Fu listened to these words, but her thoughts had already flown elsewhere.
‘Who was this Xu Immortal?’
It didn’t seem hard to guess.
Penglai, surnamed Xu, seeking immortality… if the people behind him were replaced with young boys and girls…
The answer was obvious.
‘Xu Fu! The alchemist who tricked Qin Shi Huang.’
He had once petitioned the First Emperor, claiming there were Penglai Immortal Mountains in the East Sea where the art of Immortality could be sought.
Then, he took countless young boys and girls, along with grains and craftsmen, and disappeared into the sea.
After that, he never returned and there was no further news.
It was said that he fled to a place with wide plains and marshes and established himself as king.
‘In that case, did he have a deep connection with the Amaterasu Pantheon?’
While she was thinking, they had arrived at their destination.
The pavilion had a wide view, surrounded by clouds and mist, with an elegant and immortal aura.
Xuan Ming stayed outside.
Su Fu walked into the main hall and saw landscape paintings and calligraphy hanging on the walls, creating a long-lasting artistic atmosphere.
An incense burner was placed on the table, with wisps of blue smoke rising slowly, presenting a picture of peaceful times.
At that moment, a gentle and vigorous voice came, “I wonder why the General is looking for me?”
Su Fu looked up and saw what the so-called Xu Immortal looked like.
It was a middle-aged man who looked about fifty years old, with a ruddy complexion, bright eyes, and a long white beard.
He was dressed in a plain white robe, with his sleeves fluttering, indeed possessing a bit of an immortal vibe.
A thought suddenly occurred to her, ‘He was most likely Xu Fu, so… Should I bluff him?’