Viewed from the dark skies above the underworld, the black tide of spectral soldiers had completely tightened its grip.
All examinees were now compressed into a tiny central space, like trapped beasts with no escape, forced to watch helplessly as they were cornered into certain death.
Layer upon layer of the overwhelming spectral army encircled them, ring after ring, filling the entire expanse with an oppressive ghostly aura.
Despair settled in and there was no way out.
“Boom!”
Su Fu descended from the skies atop her wind-fire wheels, shaking her head disapprovingly at their sorry state.
“Tsk tsk, why bother running?”
“You weren’t getting away anyway. Wasn’t this just a waste of energy?”
She grinned, “Though, I had fun. How about you?”
The crowd: “……”
Fun?!
Fun your ass!
They were fighting for their lives here!
But soon, despair surged again—what did it matter if they ran?
There was no escaping this.
They were like lab rats, the trap long since set.
Where could they even go?!
Just then, a battered figure slowly rose from the ground.
It was Elai.
His soul-body was in tatters, his clothes ragged, covered head to toe in grime.
His once-handsome face was smeared with filth, utterly unrecognizable.
This noble young master had likely never been so wretched in his life-running desperately, only to fail in the end.
Yet he stubbornly straightened his back, glaring at Su Fu as if burning her image into his mind.
“Very well,” he said, each word icy.
“Su Fu. I’ll remember you.”
Su Fu: “???”
Had she bullied him so badly he’d lost his mind?
Before she could react, Elai’s hand suddenly reached for his chest, gripping the crystal pendant hanging from his neck.
It looked ordinary, but as divine energy surged into it, the crystal erupted into a prismatic aurora of colors.
“Crack=”
The pendant shattered in his palm.
In an instant, a blinding pillar of light shot into the sky, illuminating the entire darkened expanse.
“See you in Volume C.”
With that, Elai grabbed ZhongZheng Ye’s arm-and both figures vanished into the light.
Su Fu gaped.”???”
Wait, who’s the cheater here?!
Furious, she yelled, “Shen Yan! What the hell?! How did they just leave like that?!”
Shen Yan’s calm voice replied, “To be precise, they didn’t leave. They skipped Volume B and entered Volume C directly.”
“By using a special item: a Passage Permit.”
A pause, as if anticipating her confusion, it added, “Different exam volumes can be skipped using corresponding permits, essentially bypassing sections.”
“And a C+ Passage Permit requires an exorbitant cost to exchange, demanding both a Starsea Medal and 100,000 Human Contribution Points.”
Su Fu nearly choked on her rage.
A Starsea Medal?
She’d never even heard of it.
Human Contribution Points?
Completely beyond her reach.
“Damn rich bastards!” she seethed.
“They can just buy their way through exams?!”
She was livid-here she was, struggling tooth and nail to clear the stages, while others just paid to skip?!
This is an outrage!
I’ll fight these rich snobs to the death!
…Wait!
“What about Zong Zheng Ye?” She suddenly realized, “Why can he leave too?”
Shen Yan paused for a moment.
“… Because he also has a pass.”
Su Fu: “???”
She was completely dumbfounded.
So she was the only broke one here?
Was this fair?
She had worked so hard to defeat them with her skills, only for them to whip out their wallets and take a shortcut?!
Who was the real cheater here?!
And these two had the nerve to accuse her of cheating earlier?!
Meanwhile, Lin Mingxi and Jiang Qingyu’s expressions darkened-clearly, they had received the same explanation.
Lin Mingxi gritted his teeth.
“Damn rich people! I’ve never even heard of such an item before!”
He turned to Su Fu.
“Boss, what now? Wipe out the rest?”
The two top contenders had just dropped some taunts and bailed-how infuriating.
“Hmm?” Su Fu’s eyes suddenly gleamed at his words.
“You’re right! There are still plenty of people here!”
She turned to the trapped examinees with a gentle smile.
“So, who here wants to enter Exam C?”
The crowd exchanged confused glances.
What did she mean?
But soon, everyone was nodding frantically-who wouldn’t want to enter Exam C?!
One examinee caught on and tentatively asked, “D-Do you need credits?”
He had seen Su Fu’s exam paper before and knew she accepted credits in exchange for mercy!
Right!
The others quickly realized, hope flaring in their eyes-they still had a chance!
But Su Fu shook her head lightly.
“No.”
Then, her tone shifted.
“Looking at all of you, dressed so elegantly, you must be from prestigious families. Such poise, such grace…”
After showering them with praise, she suddenly asked, “By the way, do you have contribution points?”
Everyone:”….”
Wow.
The dagger was finally unsheathed!
How shameless!
Last time, credits were enough-now she’s demanding contribution points?!
“Big Sis, do you know how hard it is to earn contribution points?!” one examinee wailed, but before he could continue.
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, Su Fu swung her golden staff straight at him.
The blinding golden light carried terrifying momentum, the air itself vibrating from the force.
The examinee could feel the gust of wind bearing down on him, as if his head was about to be smashed like a watermelon.
“AHHHH!” His legs gave out, his voice cracking.
“N-No! I have them! Big Sis, I have them! Please don’t—!”
Swish-
Su Fu retracted her staff at the last second, her face instantly softening into a sweet smile.
“That’s more like it.”
She coaxed them gently, “Think about it-what’s more important than passing the exam? Just a few contribution points…”
Drawing out her words, she added, “Once you clear Exam C and enter Tianqi High, won’t you have everything you want?”
Everyone: “….”
You shameless bandit!
But with that golden staff looming over them, it was the law of the jungle they had no choice but to grit their teeth and comply.
After some haggling, the price was set at 500 contribution points per person.
“Ten people, five thousand…” Su Fu’s eyes sparkled.
“A few more rounds, and I’ll have enough for a C+ exam pass!”
She sighed regretfully.
If only she hadn’t gone so hard in the battle royale these were all fat sheep!
Everyone: “…..”
Have you no shame?!
At that moment, Lin Mingxi suddenly shivered as if realizing something, abruptly saying, “Wait, boss! Where’s Su Luan?”
“Why haven’t I seen her since earlier?!”
Su Fu’s expression tensed.
Outside the gates of hell.
Su Luan calmly released her grip, letting the nearly dead ghost officer collapse to the ground.
She had just extracted the ghost officer’s memories and, recalling Su Fu’s actions, looked slightly astonished.
“Hiss, this doesn’t seem good.”
The underworld was rigidly hierarchical, yet Su Fu had seized control of its authority, even commanding ghost soldiers?
Su Luan raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.
She had imagined countless scenarios for Su Fu’s descent into the underworld, perhaps gaining help from a few ghost officers or escaping the survival game-but never had she expected Su Fu to become an official of the underworld.
How had she managed that?
Not some temporary borrowed authority, but an actual, recognized position?
Even the underworld system acknowledged her status?
And she could perform the judge’s rulings?
Not to mention her overwhelming strength, capable of crushing even Elai’s B+-grade divine artifact Su Fu… was far beyond her expectations.
Su Luan murmured to herself, “I underestimated her.”
But she quickly deduced, “So the key must be her patron deity, Zhong Kui.”
Zhong Kui completely countered the underworld’s terrain, granting Su Fu all these advantages.
What made it worse was that Su Fu had likely seen through this the moment she entered the exam.
All her subsequent actions assuming office, passing judgments were aimed at seizing the underworld’s authority.
From the very beginning, every move had been calculated toward this goal.
Su Luan’s expression turned complex.
“So… her initial performance was an act?”
“Deliberately playing weak, deliberately walking into traps.”
Only after Elai and the others entered the underworld did she truly begin to exert herself.
Tsk tsk, they’d all been fooled by Su Fu.
What a schemer, playing dumb to devour the tiger!
Her intellect borders on the supernatural.
That brain works way too fast.
Yet some things still puzzled her, like:
Why linger in Chang’an City for so long?
And how did she learn about this path to becoming an underworld official?
After much thought, only one explanation remained.
The Chinese pantheon… must hold many hidden secrets.
She mused, “Hmm… maybe I should avoid provoking her from now on.”
Having made up her mind, Su Luan stowed away her River Styx scepter.
Standing before the gates of hell, she watched as hordes of passing ghost soldiers ignored her entirely and sighed inwardly, “Thank goodness for the God of the Underworld’s aid.”
Hades’ bestowed talent, “Netherworld Walker,” not only allowed her free movement through the underworld but also shielded her from all ghost soldiers’ detection.
Everyone knew she was Tsukuyomi’s chosen, the top elite of Cangwu Province.
But who knew that during a life-or-death crisis, she had once drawn the gaze of the Lord of the Underworld?
Cangwu Province didn’t produce geniuses through resources-only through mutated talents.
Dual patron deities-that was her true trump card.
She lifted her gaze to the towering hellgate, its surface carved with countless souls writhing in agony.
Each face was twisted, yet carried a strange, eerie beauty.
“What a magnificent sight…” She admired this hellish tableau, “Pain was never punishment, but a reminder.”
Three minutes remained until the battle royale ended.
Paper C was her true core objective.
Their reformed Paper C deity interview wasn’t actually an exam at all.
It was the Education Ministry’s massive investment—a life-changing opportunity capable of altering one’s destiny.
The exam’s essence was actually making offerings to deities to request their most precious gifts authority, or what might be called divine powers to seek promotion to B-rank.
Elai and ZhongZheng Ye knew this well, which was why they’d prepared passes in advance, just in case.
Who knew they’d actually come in handy.
This special exam was essentially more like a grand sacrificial ceremony.
The offerings were provided by the Education Ministry, and what they received in return was the attention of those lofty deities.
It was like holding up a beacon amidst a sea of humanity, telling the gods:
Look, here might be a mortal worthy of your favor.
As for which deity’s attention would be drawn… that depended on the examinee’s fortune.
During the exam, every move the examinees made would be watched by the deities, who would then decide whether to bestow divine powers.
This wasn’t ordinary divine power enhancement, but a fundamental transformation.
A prerequisite for advancing to B-rank, and the key for humans to break their shackles.
Why was Tianqi investing so heavily?
The answer was obvious.
The college entrance exams.
She couldn’t help but sigh, “The gaokao is about to begin.”
Who would top the rankings, stun everyone with their brilliance, and rise rapidly to grasp the stars and moon?
“Remaining time in current battle royale: three minutes.”
Su Fu froze, was it ending so soon?
Just then, the crimson jade seal at her waist began vibrating faintly.
Sensing this, Su Fu immediately grasped it in her palm.
Sure enough, the next moment, the warm jade texture began changing, seemingly transforming into a stream of light that drilled into her body.
No one could see what was happening in her hand-only Su Fu knew.
This feeling… it was…
Just like the authority from the previous Heavenly Prison instance, this power was part of the Underworld’s authority!
Now… it belonged to her?
What a treasure!
Su Fu suppressed her excitement, keeping her expression as calm as possible.
As the light completely entered her body, Su Fu began to vaguely suspect something amiss.
If she previously thought anomalies took various forms to pursue greater power, then now…
She looked around as these so-called “anomalies” had perfectly replicated the Underworld’s operational rules.
Ghost soldiers obeying orders, judge’s authority, even the terrain was identical.
There were even high-level anomalies like Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Head and Horse-Face.
A bold speculation surfaced.
“They’re…” Su Fu gasped, “They’re trying to replicate and steal divine authority?!”
The anomalies had painstakingly imitated and operated the Underworld’s rules over time, attempting to usurp divine offices.
And now, within the rules’ limits, she’d taken the authority they stole?
Ahem, no.
This couldn’t be called stealing.
She blinked: how could accepting something offered voluntarily be called theft?
Besides, they stole from Chinese deities.
First she was just rightfully reclaiming what was theirs!
Understanding this, Su Fu straightened her back instantly.
It was perfectly reasonable for her to take it back!
Su Fu finally grasped the key point-no wonder higher-level dungeons were so difficult to beat.
It turned out they were stealing the
authority others had painstakingly accumulated.
They were competing with the anomalies for authority.
But in truth, the anomalies were the thieves.
Just then, the Black and White Impermanence suddenly turned their gaze in the same direction.
The two froze simultaneously, exchanging glances.
“Wait…” White Impermanence spoke uncertainly, “Do you feel…?”
Black Impermanence continued his thought, “The Lord’s presence…”
“Why has it weakened so suddenly?”
The two underworld officials stared at each other, baffled by what was happening.
They could clearly sense that the powerful presence, which had been on the verge of awakening, was now diminishing at a visible rate.
“This isn’t right,” White Impermanence frowned.
“It was perfectly fine just moments ago.”
Black Impermanence’s voice was laced with anxiety, “Could something have gone wrong?”
Listening to their conversation, Su Fu was utterly confused.
“The Lord?”
She wondered, what lord?
Wait…
The key phrase weakening presence?
Feeling the underworld authority she had just acquired within herself, realization dawned.
Ding…
Could this be the cause?
This was possible too?
So these anomalies had been painstakingly gathering authority to create a new, more powerful entity?
And now-
She had intercepted it directly!
Ahem, my apologies.
It seems your ‘lord’ will have to sleep a little longer.
No, Su Fu quickly corrected her thoughts.
She should be sternly condemning these anomalies.
“This is utterly unethical.”
“Each of you is trying to steal the underworld’s authority-you deserve punishment!”
“So what I’m doing is punishing evil and promoting good, upholding justice!”
Her gaze swept over the anxious Black and White Impermanence as she nodded solemnly.
It was a pity she couldn’t destroy this S-rank dungeon yet.
She’d be back next time!
Shen Yan’s voice suddenly rang out:
[72-hour countdown concluded]
[Congratulations to all examinees. You have successfully survived the battle royale.]
[Remaining examinees: 14]
[Exam B concluded]
[Proceeding to Exam C: Divine Interview]
[Exam type: Historical]
[Examinees will enter specific historical scenarios with assigned initial identities]
[For this exam, one chief deity will be randomly selected from all examinees’ patron deities to serve as the chief examiner. The specific exam objectives will be designed by the presiding deity.]
As Shen Yan’s voice faded, everything before them began to distort.
The clear underworld scenery crumpled like a painting crushed by an invisible hand.
Their vision abruptly elevated, as if they were viewing the scene from a higher vantage point.
Everyone gasped.
That was… the true underworld?
On the boundless, shadowy land stood the majestic palaces of the Ten Yama Kings.
Between the grand halls stretched the intricate network of Naihe Bridges, beneath which surged the turbulent River of Forgetfulness.
Along the Path of the Yellow Springs, countless soul lanterns flickered, illuminating the road to rebirth.
In the distance, the Hall of Reincarnation gleamed with golden light, its six-path wheel turning slowly atop the roof.
This was the true Netherworld!
The area they had been in earlier was merely a tiny corner, now appearing insignificant against this vast panorama.
Everyone was stunned speechless by the spectacular sight.
Yet a sudden doubt arose: Why was such a vast underworld only populated by endless ghostly enforcers and a handful of underworld officials?
But soon, they had no time to ponder.
Even in this distorted light, even catching just a glimpse, one could imagine how awe-inspiring this underworld must be in its entirety!
The panoramic view of the underworld vanished completely amidst the distortion, and Su Fu found herself back in the divine space of Shen Yan.
Golden data streams filled the sky like flowing light.
Su Fu felt her consciousness gently lifted, floating in this golden ocean.
Time became blurred and unreal at this moment.
Soon, Shen Yan’s voice echoed from all directions:
[Volume C Examination Space Construction Complete]
[Commencing Selection of Chief Examiner Deity]
Su Fu’s consciousness returned, and she saw clearly before her: the faint images of deities appearing one after another in the void.
These were all the gods who had appeared in this examination!
The image of Zhong Kui appeared first, clad in purple robes with fierce eyes, radiating righteous majesty.
Next came Lin Mingxi’s feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl, its divine serpentine form coiling through the void.
Soon followed Jiang Qingyu’s moon goddess Hecate, Su Luan’s Tsukuyomi, Elai’s Odin, Zong Zheng Ye’s Poseidon… one divine image after another materialized.
Golden beams of light began to shine among these divine images, then started jumping around randomly.