Chapter 274 - Test

Life without a major class felt simple yet fulfilling. Han Wu attended classes daily, then went to the library with Qin Shuang to delve deeper into foreign civilizations.

Wherever they went, Bao Xiren and Elina followed closely. Bao Xiren wanted to learn more about the Divine Civilization, so he shadowed Han Wu, planning to document everything in a book for future teaching materials in the Warring Kingdom Civilization.

Bao Xiren remained mostly quiet and never disturbed Han Wu, who did not mind his presence. Elina, however, was loud and persistent. She constantly nagged Han Wu, trying to recruit him into her father’s faction.

Han Wu felt like his ears would fall off from the nonstop noise. Qin Shuang was even more frustrated. Elina’s constant interruptions pushed her to the edge more than once. She nearly fought Elina several times, but each time, she backed down because she was much weaker than her.

As the daughter of a God King, Elina possessed a powerful Divine Talent. She didn’t need to use her full strength to beat Qin Shuang. The imbalance gnawed at Qin Shuang and fuelled her determination to grow stronger. From that point on, she regarded Elina as her rival.

One day, Han Wu had just stepped out of the library when he received a notification from Saliya. The first-year students had already enrolled some time ago and had shown rapid improvement in their overall strength.

Imperial College planned to hold a test for these students to decide who would become the valedictorian. Though Han Wu did not desperately seek the rewards tied to the title, the prize money remained a tempting prospect for students from average families.

Saliya called to inform him that she intended to nominate Han Wu as a seeded student for the test. He had no objections, welcoming any chance to secure more resources from the college.

Elina overheard the conversation and devised a plan. She waited for Han Wu to end the call before speaking. “Han Wu, make a wager with me if you want me to stop pestering you.”

Han Wu frowned, confused. What did that have to do with anything? Still, he decided to hear her out. “What are you wagering?”

Elina’s chest swelled with pride. “As an exchange student, I have the right to join the test too. If I become valedictorian, you must listen to me and join my father’s faction.”

“What if I become valedictorian instead? Will you stop pestering me?” Han Wu asked.

Elina replied stubbornly, “I am the daughter of the God King of Light. I will not lose.”

Qin Shuang rolled her eyes. “You still lost to Han Wu in the wargames.”

Elina flinched. “No, I didn’t show my full strength in the wargame. If I did, no one below the rank of God could beat me.”

Qin Shuang clearly didn’t buy it.

Han Wu sighed and turned to Bao Xiren, who was busy scribbling in his notebook. “Xiren, are you taking the test too?”

Bao Xiren looked up. “I can take the test?”

“Of course. You’re an exchange student at Imperial College now. You’re allowed to take any test you want,” Han Wu said.

Bao Xiren considered it, then shook his head and declined. In his defense, he reasoned that since he wasn’t part of the Divine Civilization, its resources should be reserved for its native life forms.

Han Wu shook his head with mild disappointment. “That’s a shame.”

He had fought Bao Xiren before, but both of them had been restricted at the time, unable to unleash their full power. He had hoped they could finally battle without limits and see who was truly stronger.

Bao Xiren smiled quietly and said nothing.

...

Three days passed, and the day of the test arrived. The exam would use each candidate’s divine realm as the benchmark for evaluation. The stronger the divine realm, the stronger its god.

Yet using the divine realm as a standard was a broad concept, involving many factors: the strength of its races, the power of the Core, the variety of buildings, and more. Any candidate who excelled in one or more of these elements stood a real chance to win.

As such, the test would take place as a series of one-on-one matches, with each student required to pit their divine realm against another’s. Before each fight, students could choose to take on the role of attacker or defender.

Attackers would invade their opponent’s divine realm. They would give up their home-field advantage, but their own divine realm would remain untouched. They would also gain more freedom of movement during the assault. If the defenders surrendered, the attackers would win.

Defenders would hold their ground and try to repel the invasion. Their advantage lay in their familiarity with the terrain and the chance to prepare traps in advance. However, their divine realm would become the battlefield. One mistake could cost them not only the fight but also their most valuable assets. Victory would come if the attackers gave up.

If the number of students choosing each side was uneven, the system would automatically handle the matchmaking. Some students would either get lucky and skip the round altogether, or be randomly assigned to the opposing side.

A total of 190 students were participating, with thirty of them classified as seeded. These students had been recommended by their lecturers, who vouched for their strength. As a result, they bypassed the preliminaries. The remaining 160 students had to fight through four rounds to determine the top ten. Only those ten would earn the right to challenge the seeded students.

Han Wu, as Saliya’s chosen student, was among the thirty and exempt from the early rounds. He only needed to spectate and wait for Qin Shuang and the others to advance.

Every student was a genius who had clawed their way up to this point. Qin Shuang, Sun Qingnian, and Elina stood out even among geniuses, easily securing spots in the top ten after preliminaries.

The remaining forty students now had to battle one another until only one remained. That student would become the valedictorian.

Han Wu had grown bored watching the earlier matches and eagerly awaited his own fight. To conserve his stamina, he chose to defend and was soon randomly paired with an attacker. The match started promptly and was broadcast live to everyone within Imperial College.

The second- and third-year seniors watched with excitement and interest. Yet many stared at Han Wu’s match with dread. The screen remained dark, showing no image, but the agonized cries of the invading units echoed clearly from the void. Those dying throes sounded like curses, and more than a few seniors turned pale as they remembered the fate that had befallen their own units.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

It didn’t take long for the voices to fade completely. The battle ended, and Han Wu emerged victorious. He had annihilated every unit invading his divine realm.

No one knew what had transpired since the screen had stayed completely dark. Many assumed the recorder had malfunctioned and failed to transmit the images properly.

Only a few seniors understood the truth. The recorder worked perfectly. The issue lay within Han Wu’s divine realm itself. No matter how many units invaded, whether millions or billions, none of them could survive for long.