The army of Wardens, originally stationed on the ground, suddenly froze in place.
In the next moment, chaos erupted.
First, the bronze chains began to disintegrate from their tips, shattering into countless metal fragments that fell with a cacophony of clinking sounds echoing across the battlefield.
Then, cracks appeared in their armor, which soon shattered, followed by the blue flames burning in their eye sockets, gradually extinguishing.
“Boom!”
The first Warden fell.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Like a chain reaction of dominoes, the army of Wardens that had covered the battlefield crumbled in an instant.
Originally, the Heavenly Prison had enhanced the Wardens’ abilities.
Now that the Heavenly Prison was gone and its authority shattered, the Wardens naturally faced backlash.
Lin Mingxi was the first to react, collapsing to the ground and gasping for breath.
“We won? Did we… really win?”
He felt as if every bone in his body was about to fall apart!
Just as he was about to find a comfortable position to rest—
“Thud!”
The corpse of a Warden suddenly landed on his foot.
“Ouch!!!” Lin Mingxi clutched his leg and howled, “Damn it! Even in death, you’re trying to scam me?!”
The Warden lying on the ground, of course, didn’t respond, silently crumbling into a pile of parts.
Lin Mingxi:”….”
Jiang Qingyu stood in place, a rare trace of awe flickering in his usually calm eyes.
The scene from moments ago still lingered before his eyes—
The descent of a deity, the heavens and earth shifting.
Such immense power, how utterly awe-inspiring!
“Thud.”
Klaus drove his holy sword into the ground, kneeling on one knee as he panted heavily.
The scattered light dust fell on the blade, purifying the bloodstains into specks of golden light.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
He was truly exhausted; he had fought with everything he had against the army of Wardens.
He couldn’t help but look up at that figure.
He knew Su Fu was strong, but he never imagined she was this powerful.
The gap between Su Fu and him seemed as vast as an insurmountable chasm.
How could he ever bridge it?
It was truly… despair-inducing.
At that moment, Su Fu suddenly felt a slight burning sensation in her palm.
The fragments of authority, as if alive, seeped into her hand.
Her movement to return to the ground halted, her long hair billowing in the wind, concealing the golden light swirling in her palm.
On the battlefield, the remaining examinees helped each other to their feet.
Some collapsed to the ground, weeping uncontrollably, but most remained silent, gazing at Su Fu from afar with complex expressions.
One examinee murmured softly, “So… the Chinese pantheon is this strong?”
Another replied, “…I don’t know. She’s the only one who chose it.”
Only then did everyone realize-Su Fu was the sole representative of the Chinese pantheon, walking this path alone.
Above the sky, golden specks of light continued to drift down slowly.
Su Fu stood amidst this rain of light, her long hair fluttering in the wind.
Yet, to everyone watching, her figure seemed inexplicably lonely.
The strange sensation in her palm finally dissipated, and Su Fu let out a sigh of relief.
She immediately steered her Wind-Fire Wheel to descend toward the ground.
The grand spectacle earlier had drained the majority of her divine energy, and she had forced herself to endure until the anomaly of the Authority Fragment had passed.
Now, her divine energy was nearly depleted.
If she didn’t land soon, she might become the only examinee to die from a fall during this test.
As she neared the ground, the Wind-Fire Wheel suddenly sputtered out, the remaining embers scattering like fireflies.
Su Fu nearly stumbled and fell, but she decided not to struggle and simply let herself drop to the ground.
As soon as she sat down, cold sweat began to drip from her chin, leaving dark stains on the scorched earth.
The battlefield was still shrouded in smoke, the air thick with the scent of metal and burnt soil.
In the distance, the remnants of the Wardens lay scattered.
Fragments of their bronze armor glinted coldly in the setting sun, like shards of broken mirrors strewn across the ground.
The golden light dust that continued to fall from the sky enveloped the ruins, resembling an endless golden snowfall.
The surviving examinees gathered in small groups, their gazes turning toward Su Fu.
Some hesitated, wanting to approach.
At that moment, Jiang Qingyu’s eyes sharpened.
A silver arrow was instantly nocked on her bow as she coldly warned, “Step back.”
The bowstring trembled slightly, and a cold gleam gathered at the tip of the arrow.
Lin Mingxii, who had stood up at some point, blocked the path in front of Su Fu.
He forced a smile and said, “Hey, hey, our boss just saved your lives. You wouldn’t want to repay kindness with betrayal, would you?”
The examinees who had wanted to step forward and express their gratitude froze in place.
The more they had looked down on District Twelve before, the more they regretted it now.
The scorn and mockery they had once uttered had now turned into sharp blades, piercing their own hearts and leaving their throats dry.
They truly deserved to die!
But in the end, they chose to lower their heads and walk away, knowing they had no right to stay.
As they turned to leave, one of them couldn’t help but whisper softly, “Thank you…”
The words were so faint they almost dissipated into the wind.
As the crowd dispersed, a girl with a ponytail lingered at the back.
She glanced back once but ultimately said nothing, silently turning away.
Seeing everyone leave, Jiang Qingyu and Lin Mingxii both let out a sigh of relief.
They had no time to decipher the sincerity or hypocrisy of these people.
It was better to keep them at a distance.
Jiang Qingyu put away her bow and sat down beside Su Fu.
“Su Fu,” she said, her amber eyes fixed on her, eventually turning into a sigh.
“You’re in deep trouble this time.”
Zongzheng Wujiu, the chief of the Provincial Academy, stood at the pinnacle of the academy’s hierarchy.
Behind him was a vast network of aristocratic interests.
Although they had won this battle, it had pushed Su Fu to the edge of a cliff.
Opposing all the aristocratic families—yet she was just a commoner.
Without power or influence, how could she withstand it?
Su Fu silently lowered her gaze.
“Then you should leave quickly. Don’t let me drag you down.”
Jiang Qingyu didn’t move.
If she were afraid of being implicated, she wouldn’t have sat down in the first place.
Lin Mingxii, on the other hand, plopped down on the ground, his voice filled with concern.
“Boss, you really went too far this time.”
“You don’t know how petty those people can be. Who knows what underhanded tricks they’ll pull next?”
He sighed, “If I really get killed by them, that would be such bad luck.”
Every word carried a sense of dire consequences, yet Lin Mingxi sat there nonchalantly, not even bothering to move.
Su Fu suddenly felt like laughing.
These two people, really…
But no matter what, it was done.
She had succeeded.
Call her crazy?
Yes, but if she weren’t crazy, she wouldn’t even have the right to stand here.
From the very first exam, she knew that behind her was an abyss, and beneath her feet was a cliff of blades.
She could only seize every opportunity, climb up frantically, and never look back.
Those people looked down on her, mocked her, treated her like trash-what could she do?
Use sincerity?
Hah, her sincerity would only be seen as weakness.
Use strategy?
In the face of absolute power, cleverness was nothing but a rootless weed.
Use kindness?
Don’t joke around; the first to die in the exam hall were the saints.
Use persuasion?
Unfortunately, this world was never a fairy tale.
Only strength mattered, strength that she held in her own hands.
Friends… she sighed.
To deal with darkness, one must use fire.
Since this world refused to give her a place, she would use a fire_to burn it all down!
“Wait!”
Mingxi suddenly realized something, his eyes widening, “Boss! Something’s wrong! All the anomalies on the exam field have been eliminated, so shouldn’t the exam be over by now?”
“But why haven’t we exited the exam yet?!”
“…Kid, you make a good point!”
Su Fu and Jiang Qingyu exchanged glances.
What was going on?
In previous exams, as soon as the anomalies were dealt with, the exam would automatically end.
DIE……
At that moment, a sudden change occurred!
“Boom-!”
The entire battlefield ruins began to shake violently, rocks jumping, dust flying.
Before anyone could react, golden beams of light erupted from the cracks in the ground, shooting straight into the sky.
The light was so dazzling, it seemed as if it would pierce through the heavens.
The clouds, drawn by this force, began to swirl and gather, gradually forming a massive magical array.
Golden runes flowed across the clouds, as beautiful as an inverted galaxy.
“Holy crap!”
Lin Mingxi exclaimed, “What is that? Such dense divine energy!”
The phenomenon didn’t end there.
Countless golden butterflies began to materialize in the air.
Their wings scattered starlight, radiant and breathtakingly beautiful.
Amidst this dazzling light, a faint, enormous shadow began to take shape.
Was that… a colossal pillar reaching into the heavens?
Everyone stared up at the sky, except for Jiang Qingyu, who looked thoughtfully at Su Fu.
***
In the proctor’s room.
Shen Deyong stood up abruptly, his voice trembling with shock, “Divine bestowal?!”
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”
“These students are only in their first year of high school. At most, they’ve met a deity twice. How could they possibly receive a divine bestowal?!”
The proctor’s room erupted in chaos.
“That light, that aura…” an elderly proctor’s voice quivered, “It’s definitely the phenomenon of a divine artifact’s bestowal!”
“It can’t be…” another proctor muttered, “Even the geniuses from the provincial academy only receive divine artifacts in their third year of high school or even their first year of college.”
“But these students are only in their first year! At most, they’ve met a deity two or three times. They can’t be that familiar, can they?!”
But unexpectedly, this phenomenon appeared, and there was no mistake about it.
Suddenly, someone asked, “Who could it be?
Who has gained the favor of the gods?
A favor so open and just, willing to bring down celestial phenomena for her, bestow divine artifacts, and from then on-be under the protection of the gods?”
The crowd fell silent, but in their minds, a figure emerged.
All eyes turned simultaneously to the person on the screen-
Su Fu.
The one who could receive divine blessings in this examination could only be the one who defeated Zongzheng Wujiu…
Su Fu.
***
In the examination hall, the phenomenon continued.
Most of the candidates were witnessing such a grand spectacle for the first time, with golden butterflies fluttering everywhere, radiating a divine brilliance that did not belong to the mortal world.
A candidate from the provincial academy suddenly widened his eyes in utter astonishment, “This phenomenon… is it the bestowal of a divine artifact?!”
“The bestowal of a divine artifact?!”
The crowd erupted, “Wait, isn’t that something that only happens when one has formed a deep bond with the gods?”
“I’ve heard that even among the geniuses of the provincial academy, only a handful have received divine artifacts during high school…”
“How is this possible?”
“But this phenomenon, it matches the description of a divine artifact being bestowed by the gods!”
The provincial academy candidate urgently pointed to the sky and said:
“The divine power is so dense it forms a clear river, the examination papers pause and exit… it all fits!”
“Then which god is bestowing it?” someone asked in a trembling voice, “And to whom?”
As soon as these words were spoken, all eyes involuntarily turned to the figure sitting quietly but with a straight back.
Su Fu.
Who else could it be?
The candidate who single-handedly defeated the top student of the provincial academy, Su Fu!
The first divine chosen of the Lingxiao Province, Su Fu!
At that moment, someone softly recited a blessing they had once seen:
“Today, the divine artifact descends, proclaiming to heaven and earth.”
“From this day forth, you are under my protection, safeguarded for life.”
“May you stand atop the nine heavens-“
“With the clouds and moon for ten thousand miles, all as smooth paths!”
As the last word fell, the golden butterflies in the sky suddenly fluttered in unison, and the scattered starlight poured down like a waterfall.
It’s here!