Summit of the Old Gods

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This world is indeed very dangerous, very cruel.

Even if you just want to be an ordinary person, to live an ordinary life, you need to give it your all.

On every full moon night, Evil Demons of any strength rank could descend and wreak havoc among the human realm.

After each fifteenth of the lunar month, the casualty reports from around the world are a bloody reality.

"After this month's fifteenth, I hope I can still see all of you," Li Yanzhu said in a solemn voice.

The previously cheerful atmosphere in the classroom vanished, leaving nothing but dead silence.

Li Yanzhu gave the students time to reflect before she spoke: "Team 98."

Jiang Ruyi and Deng Yutang immediately stood up.

As for why Lu Ran didn't stand... it was because he had been standing all along, he hadn't sat down at all.

Li Yanzhu took out three small red boxes and placed them on the podium: "In this assessment, your team ranked first in the entire school.

These are your prizes; come and get them."

The trio immediately stepped out and walked towards the podium.

The school's rewards were distributed according to the team's ranking.

Individual rankings only provided Believer points as a reward; for everything else, the students could go home and report to their gods.

For a Believer, recognition from a god is undoubtedly the greatest praise!

Whether a god would bestow their blessings or take an interest in offering you a few pointers, that's between you and your god.

"Check it out," Li Yanzhu said, looking at Jiang Ruyi who had approached the podium, her voice much gentler.

Jiang Ruyi picked up a box and gently opened it to find a Treasure Bead inside.

The Treasure Bead was only the size of a fingertip, seemingly made of crystal but not particularly clear.

Visible to the naked eye were wisps of mist flowing within the Treasure Bead.

A Divine Power Bead!

And judging by the size and specification, it should be a Stream Divine Power Bead.

In this world, the strength ranks of Believers, the grades of Divine Techniques, and the quality of artifacts are all evaluated by a set grading system: Mist, Stream, River, River System, and Ocean.

For a high school in a small county town like Yuxiang No. 1 High School, being able to offer a "Stream Grade" Divine Power Bead as a reward for the students' first assessment is quite impressive.

It's worth mentioning that the quality of this precious item can be further improved.

Not to say that the Divine Power Bead can grow.

But Da Xia has an exclusive welfare policy for novice Believers.

During the summer vacation, as long as Lu Ran can complete the corresponding tasks, he can exchange the old for the new and get a higher-grade Divine Power Bead.

Li Yanzhu cautioned: "When using this Treasure Bead to assist in battle, you must never drain all the Divine Power from within it.

Now, feel the total amount of Divine Power inside the bead; this portion of Divine Power ensures the normal operation of the Divine Power Bead.

Unless it is a matter of life and death, never kill the goose that lays the golden eggs!"

"Okay, Teacher." Jiang Ruyi's fingers were slender and fair, holding the crystal-clear bead as she admired it.

For a moment, Lu Ran couldn't tell if the bead was prettier or if her hand was more exquisite.

Hmm... both are good~

"Did you two remember that?" Li Yanzhu looked at Lu Deng.

Lu Ran immediately nodded; he was all too familiar with the characteristics of a Divine Power Bead.

His father owned a Divine Power Bead, and not just one.

But on that full moon night, all that was left of his father in this world was a blood-stained Dawn Blade.

It was said that all the Divine Power Beads hanging around his father's neck were shattered.

It's hard to imagine just how brutal that battle was.

Of course, it's not ruled out that after his father's sacrifice, the Evil Demon Clan drained the energy from the beads and completely destroyed them.

But Lu Ran would rather believe the former was true.

As staunch as his father, he must have fought to the end on that night until he was completely out of resources.

"Go back," encouraged Li Yanzhu, "avoid arrogance and impetuousness, and continue to strive."

"Yes." Lu Ran closed the small box and walked briskly to his seat.

His classmates cast envious looks at him.

You should know that only the teams ranked in the top ten receive Divine Power Bead rewards!

As for students from other teams, they can only buy Divine Power Beads privately.

And the Divine Power Beads circulating on the market are mostly the lowest-grade, Mist Grade Divine Power Beads.

A single Mist Grade Divine Power Bead can only store the energy of 8 to 10 Mist Realm Evil Demons, a very small storage capacity.

A single Stream Grade Divine Power Bead, on the other hand, can store the energy of 8 to 10 Stream Realm Evil Demons, equivalent to the energy of 80 to 100 Mist Realm Evil Demons!

What a gap!

What's more terrifying is...

The Stream Grade Divine Power Bead is already good enough, and Lu Ran, being one of the top ten, can upgrade the grade of this bead through summer tasks!

What does it mean to be one step ahead?

Life's just a breeze!

The question arises:

Why are people so obsessed with possessing Divine Power Beads when the Demon Crystals dropped by the Evil Demon Clan also have an endurance effect?

Firstly, the Divine Power Bead can squeeze out the last bit of energy from the body of an Evil Demon.

Take the corpse bones of the Evil Demon·Evil Dog, for example; only a Divine Power Bead can extract energy from the dog's corpse; otherwise, it is simply a set of bones.

Secondly, many Evil Demons have no physical bodies!

Like Evil Demon·Yan Zhi.

She appears to be a flesh-and-blood body, but in reality, her body is made up of pure energy. Killing Yan Zhi doesn't drop a Demon Crystal.

You can think of Yan Zhi's body as a "Demon Crystal."

However, you can't just directly absorb her while she's alive — you have to shatter her and collect the energy into the bead.

"Now, summer just got busier."

Lu Ran suppressed the joy in his heart, played with the small box, and plopped down into his seat.

He planned to find a jewelry store after school to process it so he could wear the Divine Power Bead around his neck in the future.

Lu Ran hadn't sat steady yet when Li Yanzhu informed everyone to gather at the Martial Arts Arena.

Her original words were: "The instructors who led your teams during the assessment in Evil Dog Village have been invited to the school and are waiting at the Martial Arts Arena.

Any problems you encountered in actual combat can be consulted with the instructors."

Hearing this, Lu Ran couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Instructor Dou Zhiqiang came?

Does this mean that when I go to the Martial Arts Arena later, I'll see Wu Shanshan?

"After seeing former teammates, don't be impulsive, speak nicely," Jiang Ruyi moved her arm, lightly touching Lu Ran's elbow.

Lu Ran: "..."

I am not someone who is impulsive and irritable.

I just couldn't bear it anymore, that's why I got into a fight with Kou Yingquan.

"Did you hear me?" The girl looked at Lu Ran, earnestly persuading.

Lu Ran gestured to the middle of the desk: "Hand, hand over the line."

Jiang Ruyi rolled her eyes.

Are you a primary school student?

Seeing that the girl didn't move, Lu Ran immediately reached out to grab her: "Once it's on my side of the desk, it's mine!"

Jiang Ruyi hastily withdrew her delicate hand.

Annoyed, she glared at Lu Ran again, but her gaze met his elbow over the line, and she immediately said: "You've crossed the line too."

"Yep, for you, for you." Lu Ran quickly extended his hand, "If you like it, it's all yours."

"Who likes it." With her face flushed, Jiang Ruyi became annoyed and slapped Lu Ran's arm.

"Slap~"

"Everyone, go to the Martial Arts Arena now," Li Yanzhu's voice sounded again, "Team 98 stays behind!"

Jiang Ruyi immediately bowed her head, thinking that it was her own little action that was noticed, leading the team to be left behind.

For a moment, she was so angry that she had the urge to bite Lu Ran.

The students in the class got up and left quickly.

Until the classroom was empty, Deng Jiang Lu, upon the teacher's gesture, gathered again around the podium.

"The school notified that there were some adjustments to your team," Li Yanzhu looked at the three, "The school took your wishes into account, and for now, you three will remain unchanged."

Hearing this, Jiang Ruyi relaxed inside, while Lu Deng was even more reassured.

Li Yanzhu advised: "It's normal for team members to change; don't take it the wrong way. Before the start of senior year, it is the stage to form and adapt to teams; no team is fixed."

"We know." Jiang Ruyi whispered back, "Last night, Wu Shanshan also called me to explain."

"Ah?"

Deng Yutang and Lu Ran looked at Jiang, their class leader, in unison.

Li Yanzhu nodded: "Your results are very good; the school has listed you as key trainees; many students want to join you. After comprehensive consideration by the school, four candidate students have been selected for you. They are all under different gods and have individual features that suit your team.

Over the next two days, these four students will come to you at different times to report and undergo trial training."

"Ha ha, it should be!" Deng Yutang laughed.

Lu Ran also became interested: "Am I a judge now?"

Feels a bit like Da Xia's Got Talent?

Want to make me turn around, you've gotta bring your A-game, huh~

Li Yanzhu looked at Jiang Ruyi: "Before eight o'clock tomorrow night, you summarize the team's opinions and choose a new teammate from the four candidates, then report to me."

"Okay, Teacher Li."

"Go," Li Yanzhu waved her hand, "to Martial Arts Arena 13."

"Yes!"

"Thank you, Teacher Li."

The trio bid farewell to their homeroom teacher and quickly left, heading to the Martial Arts Arena located in the woods on the north side of the school.

The Martial Arts Arena was actually just a series of cement plots fenced off with wire mesh, much like basketball courts.

The difference was that there were no basketball hoops there, only weapon racks, which held various wooden weapon

On the way, Deng Yutang curiously asked: "Class leader, what did Wu Shanshan say to you?"

"She said that after discussing with teachers and family, they felt she was not quite right for this team."

Jiang Ruyi spoke softly, then added: "She also wished us to become stronger and stronger and to keep getting good results."

"Heh." Deng Yutang scoffed, "Where does she not fit in?"

"Well, there's one thing that's quite true," Jiang Ruyi thought, "Wu Shanshan said this isn't her team."

"Does she want to be the team leader?" Deng Yutang looked perplexed.

If Wu Shanshan wanted to be a leader, rather than not trusting her teammates or being prejudiced against Lu Ran...

Then Deng Yutang would indeed respect her a bit more.

"I see the instructor," Lu Ran interrupted the two's conversation, pointing towards the distance.

Through the wire mesh, they saw a familiar figure.

Wu Shanshan wasn't seen; presumably, she had joined a team.

"Instructor Dou!"

"Instructor," they quickened their pace and jogged onto the field.

Dou Zhiqiang spoke: "There's not much time, so I'll start with the problems you encountered during the mission."

This soldier was indeed quick to the point.

Lu Ran raised his hand: "Instructor, I have a question. Could you answer it for me first?"

"Go on."

Lu Ran: "I've been wondering, how did I get these 98 points?"

The scores of this assessment were reported by the proctoring instructors and then issued by the military.

And in the military's individual score ranking, the second place was only 87 points; Lu Ran was leading by a landslide!

Dou Zhiqiang explained: "Your understanding and application of the Immortal Sheep sect's Divine Techniques far exceeded others."

Lu Ran: "I see..."

Dou Zhiqiang continued: "Because of your outstanding performance, your team transformed, overpowering the Evil Dog Clan.

Your success rate reached 100%, your killing efficiency was higher, and you were also safer."

"Heh heh~" Lu Ran smiled, "Look at this commotion."

Dou Zhiqiang kept a stern face: "Any other questions?"

Lu Ran: "..."

Why so fierce?

Dou Zhiqiang coldly said: "If not, I'll begin."

Lu Ran raised his hand again.

Dou Zhiqiang frowned slightly: "Ask."

Lu Ran boldly asked: "Since I'm so powerful, where did I lose those two points?"

Dou Zhiqiang: ? ? ?

Deng Yutang was also a bit stunned: "Geez."

Jiang Ruyi, quick-witted, grabbed Lu Ran's wrist and pressed down his raised hand:

"Instructor, just tell us our problems, Lu Ran has no more questions."

Lu Ran felt uncomfortable.

How is it that I don't have any questions?

According to the instructor's statement, even a full mark couldn't stop me; I should get 120 points!

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