Eighty: The First Place

“Don’t you find Sang Hongye’s technique familiar? Isn’t it just like the World King’s creation of worlds? Only lacking birds, beasts, insects, and fish. Last time the God Tomb opened, the World King was also stirred—could it be Sang Hongye who received the enlightenment? If so, the laws she cultivated must be as countless as the stars.”

Gradually, some contestants finished their tests; rooms disappeared one by one. Seeing the rankings, they were all incredulous that Sang Hongye occupied the top spot, none more so than Bronwyn.

Bronwyn was satisfied with her performance, knowing that her total score exceeded five hundred and she ranked fourth. Pride swelled in her heart. She had seen records from previous years, and with these results, she was certain her final ranking would be top ten; she estimated that at worst she would finish fifth or sixth, enough to slap the faces of those who called her an unworthy seed. She believed that even if Sang Hongye boarded a starship, she could not catch up. Lord Anthony would surely not regret granting her the seed quota.

But in the next moment, Bronwyn’s smile froze, disbelief, anger, despair—a complex blend struggled across her face, her beautiful features twisting as she tried to maintain a smile.

Why, why, why...

How could a native from a lower civilization trample her time and again? Was it that she hadn’t worked hard enough?

No!

It was Lord Anthony’s favoritism. If she had entered the God Tomb, she would be the one standing above all the contestants today! Lord Anthony favored an outsider, disregarding his own kin, tilting resources toward a stranger; even she didn’t have an exclusive interstellar city, yet an outsider was assigned a high-ranking guardian like Sena. The seed quota was merely a compensatory handout.

Bronwyn sank into a gloom.

Shuiling finished her test, noticing that all the contestants were looking at her, their eyes tinged with pity. She was puzzled.

Was it so strange that she was second? She had worked hard and performed at her best. She felt no regret or disappointment; though the origin laws gave a substantial bonus, she hadn’t cultivated many auxiliary laws. She already expected Baishu to surpass her, and as a seed contestant, her ranking didn’t matter—as long as she met the standard, she could advance to the finals even if she fell to the middle ranks.

Shuiling took her seat among the contestants and glanced at her nearby friend.

Her friend pointed upward and said, “Look at the leaderboard—you’ll understand.”

Was there something strange on the leaderboard? Was the person ahead of her not Baishu, but someone else?

Shuiling turned the thought over in her mind and suddenly recalled Sang Hongye’s name. She looked up at the colorful leaderboard floating high in the void, fixating on the highest point. The figure at the very top was dressed in grand attire, walking from afar with red leaves swirling behind her, and below, she crouched by the lakeside, scooping water as if bending under the weight.

Indeed, it was Sang Hongye.

Shuiling smiled slightly, then looked down at Baishu, who was planting trees and whose score had already matched hers; but Baishu hadn’t finished the test yet, so Shuiling guessed her own ranking would slip to third.

Her friend, flustered, said, “You’re the top favorite to win. Not only have you not taken first, even second is in jeopardy, and you can still smile?”

Shuiling’s smile remained gentle as water. “Why shouldn’t I? Baishu worked hard, using her Time Tower qualification in this test to keep the lead. It’s only natural she scored higher. As for Sang Hongye…” Shuiling glanced at Room Two, paused, and said, “Sang Hongye is someone who dares to create miracles. I admire her.”

“You really—don’t let your temperament flow like water just because you specialize in the water origin. You hail from a seventh-level civilization, a proud member of the Immortal Ancient race.”

“Nobility stems from the soul. Glory comes from our ancestors.” Shuiling tapped her lip lightly. “I’m very interested in the Galactic civilization. A civilization that can nurture someone like Sang Hongye must be advancing rapidly. Baishu has finished; she looks shocked. Why don’t you go comfort her?”

Baishu’s heart was not merely shocked, but filled with complex emotions. Originally, after finishing, she saw herself ranked second and thought she’d lost to Shuiling. She regretted having used her Time Tower qualification early and still not surpassing the origin advantage, but wasn’t disappointed—she simply planned to focus more on the laws of life after returning, hoping to condense the life origin before the finals. But when she looked up, she saw Sang Hongye at the very top.

She was stunned.

That was Baishu’s first reaction; then she thought she must be seeing things. After confirming it, she still felt it was impossible, but had to accept the truth.

—She’d lost to Sang Hongye, lost to a lower civilization, lost to someone she had once pitied and shown kindness to!

Baishu clenched her teeth; what use was a perfect foundation if she couldn’t take first place? Her earlier refusal to be a seed contestant would become pointless. Would she be mocked for overestimating herself? Had Sang Hongye noticed that her advice back then was condescending charity? Had she secretly ridiculed her arrogance?

Baishu forced herself to remain composed, sitting upright though her spirit was unsettled. The gazes of the surrounding contestants made her cheeks burn; seeing Shuiling smile at her, she felt a bit better and made herself appear more dignified.

If even Shuiling could smile, perhaps it wasn’t as bad as she feared.

Meanwhile, Sang Sang’s world painting was nearing completion. The continent became a floating sky island, with healing herbs infused with laws, poisonous fruits, hallucinogenic mushrooms, sword-shaped leaves, and melody trees hidden among the island’s flowers and trees.

Under the laws of illusion and reality, the sky island gained birds, beasts, insects, and fish. Atop a misty mountain peak, a few elders were feasting; with the blessing of time and space, the flora and fauna came alive and followed the rhythms of nature. The elders on the summit laughed and brewed mushroom soup, scolding monkeys who fought over biscuits...

Everything was like a real world.

Sang Sang held her world painting, gazing gently at the elders within. She still had some rare or mysterious laws unused, but the painted world was already complete; adding more would only be excessive.

“Current score: two thousand and seventy-three, ranked first. Do you confirm the end of your test?”

“Confirmed.”

Her isolated room vanished, and Sang Sang was transmitted to the edge of the plaza. Nearby was the family section; Green Sprout screamed, wanting to rush over, but Ye Xiu grabbed her hair, and the restless Little Dragon Lord was held back by Aslan. Sang Sang smiled at them and walked to the candidate section.

“Congratulations,” Shuiling said as she passed, her smile sincere.

Sang Sang smiled and nodded. “Likewise.”

“Congratulations on advancing early through the selection,” Baishu said, her voice warm but tinged with insincerity, her expression somewhat unnatural.

Sang Sang smiled and nodded. “Likewise.”

Baishu’s eyes dimmed, and she looked down at the patterns on her skirt.

Contestants who ranked in the top ten for both physical and spiritual arts tests received the same privileges as seed contestants—no need to complete three rounds of selection, they advanced directly to the finals internship.

The testing period was not yet over; some contestants still persisted on stage, but their current scores made it nearly impossible for them to break into the top ten, so the number advancing to the finals was mostly set: thirteen in all. The remaining contestants who passed the first two stages would duel in “Faith Medium Battles” to decide the remaining thirty-seven spots.

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