“Never give up! Never!!!”
In the square, among the silent crowd, someone was the first to roar.
Then countless voices converged, like a spark starting a prairie fire.
Just then, a figure stepped out from the crowd—a woman.
On her hat was pinned a rose from the midst of war.
Then more women stepped out from the crowd.
Why women?
Su Fu recalled the records of this era—the age of concept失控 and Shadow Realm erosion.
Male soldiers, after prolonged exposure to high concentrations of negative concept erosion, were more prone to mental breakdown and loss of control over their power.
In contrast, women’s resilience and tolerance, along with a deeper understanding and will to protect life, allowed them to maintain sanity and combat effectiveness for longer in such extreme environments, becoming the backbone of resistance against Shadow Realm erosion.
What was once just a textbook explanation suddenly became tangible.
[Protect!]
[Protect!]
Amid countless shouts, those women wearing roses rushed without hesitation toward the Shadow Realm fissure at the edge of the city.
With their own flesh and blood, they firmly blocked the expanding erosion outside the defense line.
Not another inch invaded.
Su Fu knew what that rose was.
The Guardian Organization.
Its emblem was a rose and a silver sword.
With a rose’s heart, use the sword to guard what lies behind.
Just as Teacher Tang Yu had selflessly stood in front of her long ago.
And just as in the more distant, darker past, countless brave guardians had thrown themselves before all of human civilization.
With their lives and blood, they held that defense line, not allowing the Shadow Realm’s erosion to advance a single inch.
The isolation between the Shadow Realm and the interstellar realm was bought by these fearless sacrifices with their lives, giving humanity a precious chance to catch its breath.
To this day, countless unnamed heroes still carry on this mission.
And perhaps all they ever get in return is a cold obelisk, symbolizing honor and sacrifice, where their names are carved.
Soon, the scene shifted to another bustling cityscape.
Su Fu recognized it—the Atlantis Metropolis.
If she wasn’t mistaken, what would play next should be the apocalyptic tsunami caused by the Anomaly Tide in history, which nearly submerged the entire Atlantis civilization.
As expected, the moment the thought arose, the scene took a sharp turn.
The originally prosperous city was instantly engulfed in boundless panic.
The sea level rose crazily, visible to the naked eye, and giant waves that blotted out the sky roared in from all directions, surging toward this thriving city.
Su Fu had only known about this disaster from textbooks and Elder Olivia’s somewhat regretful accounts.
And now, this apocalypse scene that had once existed only in texts and tales unfolded completely before her eyes.
She saw, within the largest sanctuary of Atlantis, a group of clergy dressed in divine robes engaged in heated debate.
Among them was the Grand Elder Metatron.
Some advocated for giving up, while others prayed in despair. In the end, Elder Metatron resolutely picked up his quill.
Then the scene suddenly shifted, becoming peaceful.
It was a quiet corridor lined with ivy. A little boy around five or six years old, with slightly upturned hair tips and round, bright eyes, stumbled with naive confusion into Elder Metatron’s arms.
The elder.
Metatron smiled kindly, gently patted his head, and whispered something.
The little boy tilted his head, clearly not understanding what Grandpa was about to do, but nodded obediently.
Soon a group of clergy arrived and carried the little boy away. He watched helplessly as his grandfather left.
One walked toward destiny; the other did not yet understand farewell.
Then came the image of Grand Elder Metatron holding his quill before towering waves.
The quill erupted with ten thousand rays of light, forcefully suppressing and calming the tsunami that could swallow everything.
The disaster ended. Atlantis was saved.
But when sunlight once again shone upon the land and people recovered from the terror of surviving calamity, Grand Elder Metatron had withered overnight.
From a vigorous old man, he became a mortal on the verge of death, haggard and frail.
A thought suddenly emerged in Su Fu’s mind. That little boy…
Could he be… Houchu?
Hadn’t Emilia mentioned before that there was some relationship between Houchu and Grand Elder Metatron?
But… if it really was Houchu, the age didn’t quite match up.
Just then, the scene changed again.
The Atlantis metropolis disappeared, replaced by an endless sea.
At the edge of the sea, standing atop the water surface, were countless giant white pillars that seemed to connect heaven and sea.
These pillars together supported a magnificent aerial platform. Upon the platform stood cities upon cities.
And at the center of the cities, a tower reaching toward heaven soared straight into the clouds.
…
“City of Dawn?!”
Su Fu would never mistake it—this was a dungeon she had visited before.
It was that special dungeon from when the Four Sea Dragon Kings granted her their authority. The final destination was the City of Dawn.
Why had the scene come here?
Just as she was wondering, the scene switched to the interior of the City of Dawn—a meeting hall.
When she saw the faces of the attendees, Su Fu froze.
She saw another familiar face—
“Evans?!”
The explorer who had chatted so amiably with Lin Mingxi on the ship.
Su Fu still remembered that Evans had once revealed to them that the City of Dawn was hosting a grand Divine Grace Festival.
That period was the first year of humanity’s Divine Awakening Era, roughly around 3050.
Minor gods began to manifest, but they were still confined to specific regions. This also gave birth to the first group of Divinely Favored in human history.
But… Su Fu carefully examined Evans in the image and soon noticed something off.
“Evans… seems much more mature than he was back then?”
“That means this is a higher-level meeting he attended later?!”
Not just him—across from Evans, Su Fu spotted another unexpected figure.
Vivian Dracula.
Or rather, a much younger Vivian, her brows still carrying a hint of childishness and sharpness.
Beside Vivian sat four other people, each with a holographic name displayed before them.
Amunhotep, Ilva, Vipur Tianlu, Tsukishiro Kaguya.
Five people.
Su Fu’s heart suddenly pounded. A flash of insight struck her mind. Could this be the members of the Five Gods Dawn?
Wait. If they were the Five Gods Dawn, then those sitting across from them…
Weren’t they the members of the Council of Dawn?
Together, both groups formed the Divine Bureau, representing humanity’s highest authority.
The expressions of everyone in the scene were extremely serious. Their discussion revolved around Anomaly dungeons.
Soon, they mentioned the keyword Shen Yan and the version codename Records of the Strange.
Before she could digest the information, the scene before her changed again without warning.
Standing at the center of the image were two figures.
One turned around—it was Principal Murphis.
The other only showed a side profile, but Su Fu immediately recognized her—
Master!
Tai Xuanzi.
Her face was almost unchanged from now.
The setting was the Tianqiong Path Academy, which Su Fu knew all too well. The two stood at the academy’s highest point.
Su Fu thought:
‘The Divine Academy appeared…’
‘That should be at least after the Shen Yan Divine Fusion version, right?’
‘In that version, the connection between humans and gods reached an unprecedented height. Only then was the Divine Academy established.’
‘Gods could bestow godly powers upon humans, and humans could share in divine authority.’
But…
What were the two in the image doing?
She truly couldn’t understand.
They gazed into the distance, seemingly in conversation, but their words were inaudible.
Beneath the endless sky, their figures appeared small and somewhat lonely.
Next, one after another, magnificent and thunderous—or quietly earth-shattering—historical scrolls flashed before Su Fu’s eyes.
Su Fu was a bit puzzled. What exactly did the Torch Dungeon want her to see?
She pondered, trying to find the connection.
Commander Mei’s image showed the Dark Realm’s erosion, humanity building walls with flesh and blood, holding their ground without retreat.
Elder Metatron’s image showed an anomalous tide erupting from the interstellar void, sacrificing himself to save the city.
The Council of Dawn and Five Gods Dawn’s image showed them discussing anomalous events and formulating countermeasures.
Did this represent the different types of great crises human civilization faced in different eras?
They represented the threats of the Dark Realm, the interstellar void, and the anomalous world respectively.
“No, that’s not right. What do Principal Murphis and Master’s images represent then?”
Their location was Tianqiong Path Academy, which was also interstellar. But that feeling was completely different from the disaster Elder Metatron faced.
Su Fu shifted her thinking. What about from the perspective of the people?
“Hmm… Wait!”
She suddenly discovered a key point.
Whether it was Commander Mei raising her arm to rally, or Elder Metatron resolutely facing death, or the Council of Dawn and Five Gods Dawn deliberating great matters together, or even Master and Principal Murphis gazing into the distance…
The core of every image was humanity.
As everyone knew, humans and gods had a very close relationship, jointly fighting the enemy known as Anomalies.
But…
What the images just now reflected was more about humanity’s choices when facing despair, humanity’s unyielding will, and the brilliant radiance that humanity itself erupted with—no less than the divine might of gods.
Commander Mei’s speech, the guardians building walls with flesh and blood, Elder Metatron sacrificing his life for righteousness…
“Torch…” Su Fu murmured, suddenly enlightened. ‘So that’s what it means.’
‘Humans strive tirelessly, passing the torch from generation to generation, so that they may endure forever.’
‘Humanity is not merely meant to passively receive salvation from gods. They themselves are the protagonists who create miracles and carry the flame of civilization forward.’
The moment Su Fu understood the meaning of “Torch,” the images before her suddenly dissipated.
She had successfully passed this checkpoint. Next came the dungeon phase.
Su Fu was a bit excited. Could it be that this trial would let her enter a projection dungeon of one of those historical segments, to personally experience and change something?
Just like those images earlier?
At that moment, Shen Yan’s prompt sounded again:
[Torch Trial Core Choice has been activated.]
[Choice One: The Epic of Heroes. When the light of civilization dims, there are always lone brave souls who step forward, lighting the path ahead with their own strength.]
[Choice Two: The Bulwark of United Will. The spark that ignites the prairie begins from the smallest embers; the great poem is sung by the chorus of all beings.]
[Please select one of the above core philosophies as the tone of your current trial.]
“You can choose?”
Su Fu was slightly taken aback. She asked instinctively, “What’s the difference between these two modes?”
[Choice One will activate the Single-Player Dungeon Mode. You will independently complete all trial content.]
[Choice Two will activate the Multiplayer Dungeon Mode. The trial map will be more expansive, and the challenge difficulty will be significantly increased. However, it will automatically match qualified humans to participate with you.]
The moment Su Fu heard this, she immediately knew her decision.
Was there even a choice? She’d definitely pick the higher-difficulty dungeon.
Multiplayer mode—wider map, greater difficulty. The experience and rewards would certainly be greater too.
Although she didn’t know if others would want to participate in such a high-difficulty multiplayer dungeon, since the choice button was in her hands…
“I choose the Multiplayer Dungeon Mode.”
[You have confirmed your selection!]
[Loading Torch Trial Dungeon—]
[You have successfully entered the dungeon.]
[The Bulwark of United Will (Multiplayer Mode)…]
[Multiplayer Mode has been activated.]
[Searching for and matching eligible participants…]
Su Fu could even see a progress bar, the numbers growing wildly.
10… 20… 100…
“Whoa!” Su Fu laughed. “That many? Could it be that they’ve pulled in all the students of Genesis Academy?”
Before she could look further, light blazed before her eyes.
Endless auspicious clouds gathered rapidly from all directions—golden Buddha light, cyan immortal energy, pure white radiance, majestic divine splendor…
Su Fu squinted from the glare. When she opened her eyes again, she was stunned.
“My god! This time… how many gods have come this time?!”
This was too absurd. Could they all be here to grant her divine powers?!
She hadn’t even clearly seen the divine manifestations when Shen Yan’s notification arrived first—
[Buddha Light Universal Illumination · Mastery] has been elevated to the Great Perfection of [Great Compassion, Ten Thousand Buddhas Worship]!
A golden Buddha light descended from the sky, pouring directly into Su Fu’s body.
She immediately felt Buddhist chants resonate in her mind. Buddhist Doctrine suddenly became clear.
“This… just like that, Great Perfection?!”
Before she could adapt, the next notification came—
[Nine-Toothed Rake · Skilled] has been elevated to the Great Perfection of [Nine-Toothed Rake · Overturning Seas]!
[Flowing Sand Ferry Technique · Mastery] has been elevated to the Great Perfection of [Quicksand Divine Power · Reaching Heaven and Earth]!
[Dragon Horse Fellowship] has been elevated to the Great Perfection of [Dragon Horse Soaring Sky · Treading the Clouds]!
Three more streams of light rushed directly into her body.
Su Fu: “…”
Good heavens, so sudden?!
Before she could even react, notifications popped up one after another—
[Hundred Birds’ Eyes] has been elevated to the Great Perfection of [Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix · Phoenix Cry]!
[Mountain Collapse] has been elevated to the Great Perfection of [Anger of Buzhou · Pillar of Heaven Collapses]!
Su Fu: “???”
“Wait! I’m not ready yet—”
But the gods clearly had no intention of giving her a buffer.
[True Sight of Heaven · Break Illusion] has been elevated to the Great Perfection of [Heavenly Eye · Penetrate Void · Divine Might]!
[Wind Fire Wheels] has been elevated to the Great Perfection of [Wind Fire Wheels · Burn Heaven]!
[You have received a new Divine Skill from Confucius: [Spring and Autumn Brushwork · Holy Word]!]
[You have received a new Divine Artifact from Guan Yu: [Martial Saint · Green Dragon Crescent Blade]!]
Meanwhile, in the dungeon multiplayer channel, the test takers who were already confused out of their minds stared at the frenzy of notifications and became even more bewildered:
[WTF?! What’s going on?!]
[Is this Su Fu’s mass-producing divine skills and godly powers?!]
[??? Screen flooding?!]
[The sky is falling! Are my eyes broken?!]
[? The person upstairs doubts their own eyes but refuses to suspect Su Fu has a problem?!]
[Ahhhh! Heart-stabbing! Heart-stabbing!]
[I just got here and I can’t stand it anymore. I’m out, sisters and brothers—is this reasonable?!]
[My Dao heart is shattered! The Chinese Pantheon has sent their entire lineup to give Su Fu cheats!]
[Chinese Pantheon! It’s still the damn Chinese Pantheon!]
[Are they crazy?! Are they trying to pamper Su Fu all the way to heaven?! Are they giving any other pantheons a chance to live?!]
[Drag them away! Drag them away right now! I can pretend I didn’t see this!]
[This list of divine powers is making my eyes dizzy. Slurp! Drooling!]
[So… what are we even in here for?!]
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