Chapter 175: Number One in the Rankings

Lu Chengyuan smiled faintly, but his tone was anything but polite: "Han Wuji, given your status, I'm afraid you're not quite enough. Stop plotting your little schemes here."

"This child's ranking in the Taichu Battlefield has entered the top million… Such potential is close to the Prodigy level. My Qin Family is also interested in recruiting him. I will consult the clan Elders," Qin Lie spoke in a low voice.

For a moment, the several deities present were faintly at loggerheads with each other.

At this moment, Sima Tianci gave a yawn and said in a lazy tone: "Have you all forgotten something?"

As he spoke, he pointed at Sima Bang, who was currently lying on the stage like a dead dog.

Sima Tianci's lips curled up slightly: "He is my brother's friend."

The eyes of the others flickered, but they did not continue the argument.

With the potential Yang Fan had displayed, he was indeed worth the investment of the Five Great Families, and it wasn't just the 'unrestricted investment contract' of the Heavenly Pride Apotheosis Battle.

A Genius like this could be directly absorbed into the Family core.

"Let the assessment continue," Gu Changkong spoke in a calm tone. "We can discuss the investment later."

His gaze swept over the crowd. "The first round of the assessment is over. Remaining participants—176. Next is the second round."

"After choosing a direction, the intelligent life will perform a detection, ultimately screening for the top ten."

"These ten people will receive a special investment contract and an S-grade building reward."

As his voice fell, a gentle force lifted the unconscious Sima Bang and sent him off the stage.

Immediately after, the space in the center of the stage distorted slightly, and three distinct areas slowly unfolded.

On the far left was the Cultivation Route. Spiritual Qi surged within it, and a 'target body' condensed from pure energy floated inside. It could be attacked at will, and all damage would be fully recorded and converted into attack power data.

In the middle was the Martial Route, where invisible force fields were layered upon each other to calculate the endurance of the Physical Body and defense.

The far right was completely different. As far as the eye could see, countless data points were interwoven in the air. A virtual deduction space created by high-level intelligent life could instantly determine the deity's upper limit of computing power.

All three directions were uniformly judged by the intelligent life.

The second round of the Heavenly Pride Apotheosis Battle was to test a deity's limit in a certain system. It could reflect the overall strength of the believers within the Divine Kingdom from another perspective without going through a Divine Kingdom War.

"Test start."

The Cultivation and Martial Routes had the most people. But surprisingly, more than twenty people had gathered in front of the Mechanical Route as well.

Yang Fan's gaze swept across, and his heart stirred slightly. "As expected of Taichu Academy, even the Mechanical Route has so many people choosing it."

He did not hesitate and stepped forward, heading straight for the Cultivation Route area.

After all, this was the main route of Yang Fan's Divine Kingdom.

In the testing area, figures constantly entered and exited.

Almost every few breaths, a cold and clear voice would ring out above the stage.

"Senior year, Human Race Prodigy—Lu Chen. Cultivation Route test complete."

Original Attack Value: 872.

Comprehensive score after coefficient conversion: 1744 points.

"Senior year, Human Race Prodigy—Han Li. Martial Route test complete."

Original Defense Pressure: 1030.

Comprehensive score after coefficient conversion: 2060 points.

"Junior year, Human Race Prodigy—Gu Xingzhou. Mechanical Route test complete."

Peak Computing Power: 890.

Comprehensive score after coefficient conversion: 1780 points.

"Senior year, Human Race Prodigy—Qin Yang. Cultivation Route test complete."

Original Attack Value: 2010.

Comprehensive score after coefficient conversion: 4020 points.

"Senior year, Human Race Prodigy—Sima Ling. Martial Route test complete."

Original Defense Pressure: 1180.

Comprehensive score after coefficient conversion: 2360 points.

"Junior year, Human Race Prodigy—Lin Xuan. Mechanical Route test complete."

Peak Computing Power: 960.

Comprehensive score after coefficient conversion: 1920 points."

…

The scoring standards for the three routes were different, but under the uniform algorithm of the intelligent life, they were all multiplied by a fixed coefficient and converted into a unified comprehensive score.

It was clear at a glance, the superior and inferior were immediately distinguishable.

The entire process was like an assembly line, efficient and cold.

Enter—Test—Announce—Leave; there were no redundant steps.

Gu Changkong and the others stood on the high platform, listening to the continuous announcements of the results, nodding slightly.

Taichu Academy recruits students from the entire Human Federation, and there are so many with outstanding talent. But the development of a Divine Kingdom has never been just about talent; resources are the foundation.

And the vast majority of resources in this world are in the hands of the Five Great Families. Therefore, the top ten of every Heavenly Pride Apotheosis Battle almost always come from them.

Even if they aren't direct descendants of the Five Great Families, they are prodigies who have been invested in by them in advance.

Soon it was Yang Fan's turn. He stepped into the Cultivation Route testing area and took a deep breath.

He slowly raised his right hand, and a sharp golden aura emerged from his right arm. Its edge was restrained, yet it was heart-palpitating.

This was a B-grade Cultivation Technique—Gengjin Rift-Blade Art.

Although Yang Fan's believers had no special Cultivation talent, they practiced all Five Elements, each with their own strengths.

And the Dao of Gengjin specialized in slaughter! Therefore, he did not hesitate to choose this technique for this test.

At the same time, the believers in the Divine Kingdom who practiced the Gengjin Rift-Blade Art looked up almost simultaneously, as if they had sensed something.

In the next instant, Yang Fan moved.

He swung his right hand down! A pale golden light suddenly tore through the air!

There was no exaggerated momentum, but it was sharp to the extreme! Wherever it passed, the space seemed to be sliced into a thin line!

However, just as that light was about to erupt, an invisible force appeared in the air, dissolving the golden beam that was enough to slice through everything!

After a brief silence, the voice of the intelligent life rang out.

"Freshman year, Human Race Prodigy—Yang Fan. Cultivation Route test complete."

Original Attack Value: 2490.

Comprehensive score after coefficient conversion: 4980 points."

The testing process was extremely fast. In just a few minutes, all three routes had completed their tests.

The next moment, light converged in the sky.

A huge electronic screen slowly unfolded, and everyone's results appeared simultaneously.

[Comprehensive Rankings]

1st Place: Yang Fan (Freshman) — 4980 points

2nd Place: Qin Yang (Senior) — 4020 points

3rd Place: Sima Ling (Senior) — 2960 points

4th Place: Han Li (Senior) — 2060 points

5th Place: Lin Xuan (Junior) — 1920 points

6th Place: Gu Xingzhou (Junior) — 1780 points

7th Place: Lu Chen (Senior) — 1744 points

8th Place: Li Xiang (Senior) — 1644 points

9th Place: Deng E (Senior) — 1598 points

10th Place: Han Chao (Senior) — 1577 points

The rankings were crystal clear, but the entire scene was deathly silent.

Within the Heaven-Pressing Realm, not one of the over five thousand people made a sound, whether they were the Human Race Prodigies or the deities from the Five Great Families who had come to preside.

Even the peerless Prodigy who had once walked out of Taichu Academy—Sima Tianci—had a completely changed look in his eyes now.

Looking at Yang Fan, Sima Tianci no longer had a lazy appearance; instead, it was as if he were looking at one of his own kind.