Chapter 426: Tower Defense? (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 426: Tower Defense? (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Among the three judges, the one in the center appeared as a swirling mass of clouds, with two bolts of lightning flickering where eyes would be in a human head.

Director Gao recognized this figure as True Monarch Qiyun, one of the vice-chancellors of Wanfa University, who oversaw education and talent development.

For years, True Monarch Qiyun had advocated for the cultivation of immortality among minors, famously arguing that the best future for the youth of Kunxu was the graveyard. He frequently proposed that those under eighteen should begin their cultivation to contribute to society.

The humanoid cloud before them... was merely an avatar of the man himself.

To the left sat a ten-meter-tall creature with tusks, a nose like a dragon, and the bloodline of an elephant demon.

Director Gao knew this was True Monarch Tianxiang from the Heavenly Demon University, a senior expert in the fields of earth and wood, who wielded considerable influence in academic circles.

True Monarch Tianxiang was also a master of the "living stake" technique, once having forced the birth of three thousand demon fetuses in a single day to meet a construction deadline. He had repeatedly protested against the inequality between humans and demons, maintaining that every human should enjoy the right to mass-produced, industrial-scale breeding.

Whether it was True Monarch Tianxiang or True Monarch Qiyun, these were seniors whose names Director Gao had heard hundreds of years ago.

Yet, every time he saw them, he had to admit that they had changed significantly.

They always managed to keep pace with the times, constantly evolving their ideologies to stay ahead of the trends—truly worthy of being vice-chancellors and technical masters.

The third judge, on the right, was a fifth-rank deity named Geng Chenyi, whose form shimmered with divine light.

This deity was an old acquaintance of Director Gao, having been responsible for many affairs in the Wanfa University City for years; it was he who had led the sweep against the Dual Cultivation cult.

This time, Geng Chenyi was tasked with commanding the deities to maintain order during the military certification exam.

As Geng Chenyi moved, his divine power rippled through the spirit realm, spreading across the entire competition arena.

His consciousness swept back and forth before he spoke slowly: "Are you all ready?"

In an instant, responses from the various deities echoed back.

Deng Bingding, who had once supervised Zhang Yu’s Foundation Establishment exam on the first level and had since been promoted to the second, was among them.

Deng Bingding replied through the spirit network: "The examination site is prepared, and all eight candidates have arrived."

As he answered, Deng Bingding took a moment to locate Zhang Yu, thinking to himself: "Zhang Yu is only a junior, isn't he? Why is he here taking the military certification exam?"

Geng Chenyi looked toward True Monarch Qiyun and smiled: "Chancellor, the candidates are all here. Shall we begin?"

Thunder rumbled within True Monarch Qiyun’s body, the overlapping sounds forming a deep, heavy voice.

"Then let us begin."

...

The eight candidates were watching the flying ship in the sky when, in the next moment, they felt a flash before their eyes, and a projection of Deng Bingding appeared before them.

Seeing Deng Bingding, a flicker of surprise crossed Zhang Yu’s eyes.

Then, he listened as the man explained the schedule and the rules.

"Two rounds in total?" Zhang Yu thought to himself. "Eight candidates, each following different instructions to travel to eight different locations ten kilometers away."

"The three who arrive last... are directly eliminated?"

Upon hearing this elimination rule from Deng Bingding, the students present all tightened their gazes.

As the countdown projection appeared in the air, the students made their preparations.

Ping Han stood atop his treasure chest.

Su Yanyang activated his Dharma Skeleton, his body hovering in mid-air.

Xiao Yunjie’s Dharma Skeleton deformed behind her back, spewing out streams of astral energy as the mana within her body began to circulate violently.

3!

2!

1!

Boom!

Like a series of thunderclaps, the countdown ended, and the figures of the eight candidates vanished simultaneously, shooting off in eight different directions like bolts of black lightning.

Watching the students disappear, Deng Bingding thought to himself: "Money is never enough, even on the second level."

"The costs for this military certification exam are truly steep; they must eliminate three people first just to keep the budget from running dry."

Looking toward the direction where Zhang Yu had vanished, Deng Bingding mused: "I wonder how far Zhang Yu can make it."

...

At this moment, all eight students were under the surveillance of the deities throughout the examination grounds.

On the flying ship, the scenes from the exam were projected before the three judges and the many guests.

True Monarch Qiyun said faintly: "Although it is only a short distance of 10 kilometers, many traps have been laid along the way to impede the candidates' speed."

True Monarch Tianxiang nodded from the side: "The first round is a basic test. It serves to check the candidates' fundamentals and test their adaptability."

"The bottom three, naturally, have no need for a military certificate."

With a flick of his mind, True Monarch Tianxiang brought up the image of Su Yanyang. Su Yanyang’s arms and legs were composed of crystalline structures, with electricity flickering within them, emitting a heart-stopping fluctuation—this was his strongest Dharma Skeleton set, the Earth Fiend God.

As for why he hadn't worn his previous speed-oriented Dharma Skeleton, it was simply because he had been mired in lawsuits over the past year, his finances were poor, and that set had been sold before the exam.

Now, under the enhancement of the Earth Fiend God, Su Yanyang floated in mid-air, flying forward at high speed in a way that defied gravity.

The next moment, his body felt heavy, as if an invisible mountain had pressed down upon him, dragging him toward the earth.

Su Yanyang’s expression changed; his eyes scanned in all directions, and he quickly identified the eye of the formation below. He shifted his palm seals, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and debris to shatter the formation.

True Monarch Tianxiang commented casually: "This Su Yanyang’s reaction is not bad."

He then switched to Xiao Yunjie’s perspective, seeing the young girl transformed into a giant over ten meters tall, charging forward with three heads and six arms, smashing through various formations and traps along the way.

Watching this, True Monarch Tianxiang laughed: "This Xiao Yunjie is quite fierce, and she’s actually using a transformation-type Dharma Skeleton? Her Daoist heart is commendable."

Just then, True Monarch Qiyun remarked: "Tianxiang, look at this Ping Han."

True Monarch Tianxiang switched to Ping Han’s perspective, seeing him standing tall on a metal box the size of a person, speeding toward the target location.

At the same time, several magic treasures circled him tightly; whether it was incoming lightning and fire or piercing sword energy, all were blocked by his treasures.

From time to time, the treasures would shoot out fire dragons, refining the formations that obstructed his path into scorched earth.

From start to finish, Ping Han kept his arms crossed, letting his collection of treasures handle everything, moving toward the destination with the fastest speed among the eight.

True Monarch Tianxiang’s elephant trunk twitched as he scanned the price and trend chart of Qiongjiang coins on Ping Han’s person, laughing: "Got rich by speculating on Qiongjiang coins? A kid with immortal affinity."

True Monarch Qiyun nodded: "Coming to the military certification exam before going bankrupt—that is indeed immortal affinity."

As cultivators who had walked from ancient times to the modern era, they understood that the definition of immortal affinity changed with the times.

In ancient times, an immortal passing down a technique to achieve enlightenment in a day was immortal affinity; falling off a cliff to find a secret treasure was immortal affinity; accidentally consuming a heavenly herb to advance one's cultivation by leaps and bounds was also immortal affinity.

Since ancient times, the world had never lacked instances where one stroke of immortal affinity allowed a person to surpass the efforts of others by decades or even centuries.

However, in the modern era, immortals could not preach illegally, secret treasures had long been excavated, and the heavenly herbs in the fields were no longer ownerless.

But immortal affinity had not disappeared; it had simply transformed into a different form.

Winning the lottery is immortal affinity, profiting from the stock market is immortal affinity, gambling can be immortal affinity, and profiting from coin speculation can also be immortal affinity.

In short, getting rich overnight—that is immortal affinity.

To True Monarch Qiyun, the Ping Han before him was nothing more than a lad who had stumbled upon a stroke of celestial fortune.

Especially since, after an overnight windfall, he had the presence of mind to seize the opportunity to test for a military certification; that was a depth of destiny indeed.

As True Monarch Qiyun’s gaze flickered, the valuation of the magical remains and artifacts carried by everyone present was already tallied in his mind.

Ping Han stood first, Xiao Yunjie second.

Beside him, True Monarch Tianxiang remarked, "Judging by net worth, comprehensive scores, and cultivation base, this Ping Han truly has a chance to secure the military certification."

"Principal Qiyun, it seems your Wanfa Academy is about to produce another military-certified talent."

True Monarch Qiyun replied indifferently, "Merely celestial fortune. Whether he can truly grasp it in the end depends entirely on himself."

Meanwhile, on the other side, Director Gao was observing the perspective from Zhang Yu’s feed.

In the frame, Zhang Yu was clad in golden armor, a jade disc of golden threads hovering behind his head; with every step he took upon the earth, a series of thunderous booms erupted.

Relying on the reinforcement of the Taiyi Golden Liquid Pill and his protective aura, he moved forward almost without pause, letting various assaults crash against him, yet always emerging steadily from the billowing smoke and dust.

The jade disc behind him would occasionally release beams of frigid light, temporarily freezing certain formations in their tracks.

Director Gao could see that while Zhang Yu’s speed was not the fastest, it was as consistent as Ping Han’s, maintaining an unwavering pace from start to finish until he reached the target location, ranking fourth.

Director Gao then looked back at Ping Han, who had arrived first, and sighed inwardly, "Alas, if Ping Han truly manages to secure the military certification this time, I must have a serious talk with him."

"If he can liquidate all his Qiongjiang coins, abandon his speculation, and focus steadfastly on cultivating the Heaven-Kunlun Mountain-Moving Power, he could yet become another prodigy of my Civil Engineering Department."

Just as Director Gao pondered, the last three contestants to arrive were eliminated.

Zhang Yu, too, had caught the attention of True Monarch Tianxiang.

He curled his elephant trunk and remarked, "A third-year student already attempting the military certification? Principal Qiyun, your school's Civil Engineering Department truly is a fountain of talent."

True Monarch Qiyun was somewhat surprised by this and began flipping through Zhang Yu’s files.

At the same time, the second round of the military certification exam had already commenced.

Zhang Yu watched the lines of text manifesting before him, thinking, "Establish a defensive line, guard the formation eye, and withstand the onslaught for the next hour?"

Looking at the various blueprints provided, Zhang Yu mused, "Prairie-Fire Terrace, Soul-Condensing Pagoda, Demon-Locking Tower... is this asking me to build defensive towers? A game of tower defense?"