Chapter 385 - Rewards of a Valedictorian

Han Wu spent the next month in his divine realm, applying the methods Xu Mengmeng had taught him and strengthening his core race’s power. When he finally emerged, he received a notification from his college inviting him to attend the graduation ceremony as the first-year valedictorian.

The graduation ceremony marked the farewell to the fourth-year seniors. It was a special event, reserved for the valedictorians of the first, second, and third years. Each graduating senior prepared a gift for the junior valedictorians. With hundreds of seniors, the three valedictorians were set to receive hundreds of gifts.

Han Wu also learned that these gifts were rarely modest—many cost no less than a single Divine Essence. A hundred gifts amounted to at least 100 Divine Essence, an enormous sum for someone who had just ascended into a God.

He accepted the invitation and prepared a lengthy speech extolling his seniors. His address highlighted their bright futures, remarkable achievements, and every other compliment he could offer. Han Wu suspected that the happier his seniors felt, the more generous their gifts would be.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

As Han Wu had expected, his seniors were delighted and showered him with high-quality gifts. He grinned widely at the sight of hundreds of presents and planned to store them in his divine realm. That was when he noticed the chancellor.

The figure before him was not the chancellor’s true body but a clone formed from one of the original’s Divine Aspects. Despite being a mere clone, its strength alone could overwhelm even a Major God.

The professors listened with utmost seriousness as the chancellor spoke. During the address, he detailed the current state of the Divine Civilization and the looming threats facing it. Each danger was grave enough that a single misstep could spell the civilization’s destruction. The Divine Civilization was walking on a knife’s edge; one wrong move, and everyone would perish.

Han Wu would never have believed such claims if anyone else had made them, but hearing them from the chancellor made the truth undeniable. The war against the foreign civilizations raged fiercely. The only reason many could live peacefully within the Divine Civilization was the formidable seniors guarding them while waging war on other fronts.

At the conclusion of the speech, the chancellor personally handed transcripts to the graduating students and appointed the most exceptional among them to join the college’s faculty.

During his address, the chancellor had also mentioned the Chaotic Starfield. Han Wu could never forget that his dying grandfather had once asked the original Han Wu to venture into the Starfield to find his parents.

The original Han Wu had sworn to fulfill that mission, but fate had intervened, and he died before he could act, leaving the current Han Wu to inhabit his body.

Han Wu felt a surge of anxiety and longing pulse through him. He whispered, “Calm down. I will find your parents.”

His heart steadied immediately after he spoke.

Once the ceremony ended, he sought out Xu Hai to learn more about the Chaotic Starfield, but Xu Hai’s answer was frustratingly vague. All he could say was that Han Wu had to maintain his valedictorian status until graduation. Only then would the chancellor allow him to journey to the Chaotic Starfield. At last, Han Wu had a clear goal to pursue.

Back in his divine realm, Han Wu summoned Qin Shuang, Jing Jing, and Sun Qingnian to inspect the gifts he had received from the seniors. He had no hesitation in offering them anything that suited their tastes. When they entered his realm, they froze in astonishment at the sight of hundreds of gift boxes stacked like a small mountain.

Sun Qingnian exclaimed, “Isn’t this too much? How could a valedictorian get so many gifts? If I had known it would be this good, I would have worked harder to become one myself.”

Qin Shuang rolled her eyes. “You? Compete for it? With your weakened body? Or with those pathetic Foxmen?”

Sun Qingnian forced a bitter smile and cast a pleading glance at Han Wu, silently asking him to rein in Qin Shuang.

Han Wu chuckled. “Serves you right.”

Sun Qingnian frowned bitterly. He couldn’t win against the two lovers. He couldn’t outmatch the couple, so he turned his attention to the gifts instead. He grabbed a random box and tore open the elaborate wrapping.

Inside lay a Rank 6 Sacred Object, the Blazing Sun Crystal, which enhanced fire- and light-attribute units. Among its rank, it was considered common, yet even a common Sacred Object cost fifteen Divine Essence.

That was only the beginning. They kept unwrapping gifts, uncovering treasures such as 6-Star God equipment, a massive Core fragment, and even an item that completed an Evolution Path for a unit called the Lament Stone. Altogether, the gifts were worth an astounding 500 Divine Essence.

Sun Qingnian’s eyes gleamed with greed. He had never imagined that a valedictorian could amass such fortune from gifts alone. For Han Wu, a first-year, this was only the start. He still had the second and third years to collect rewards of the same caliber.

Han Wu had two more chances to become filthy rich overnight. Sun Qingnian nearly drooled at the thought and swore he would work hard to earn the title of valedictorian himself. Yet he knew the truth: the gap between them was too wide. Compared to Han Wu, he was far too weak, struggling even to dream of breaking into the top ten.

In the end, Han Wu selected three gifts that best suited his companions as thanks for their help unwrapping the trove. The four of them left satisfied with their haul. Just before they departed, a message arrived from Saliya.

It was a group announcement. The graduating seniors were preparing a game for all the college students, one filled with resources and prizes for their juniors. They encouraged everyone to participate, describing it as their way of giving back to the academy before leaving.

Sun Qingnian lit up as he read the message. He already knew how wealthy the seniors were from the gifts they had showered on Han Wu. Now he had a chance to seize more of that wealth for himself.

Everyone else in the group thought the same. They would join the game without hesitation. Only a fool would turn down such easy spoils.