54: Chapter 54 Hidden Dragon in the Abyss

In the plaza of the Realm Fortress, a void light screen hung high, reflecting the movements of countless trial students within the Chaoming Realm.

Shen Yuanzheng raised his eyes to look at the light screen with a calm expression, casually asking Vice President Xiao Jinghan beside him, "Brother Xiao, in this batch from your Canglan Star Domain, are there any good prospects worth mentioning?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue instantly fell silent. Countless gazes focused uniformly, and the air was filled with a hint of anxiety and anticipation.

There were as many as one hundred thousand participating students in this trial, overflowing with talent. Wanting to be remembered at a glance by these teachers from the Divine Mansions in the vast sea of people was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

At this moment, Shen Yuanzheng taking the initiative to inquire was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity.

As long as one could be casually recommended by Vice President Xiao Jinghan, even if they couldn't catch the eyes of the two major Nine Divine Mansions—Haoran Academy and Shenwu Pavilion—being favored by the remaining top-hundred academies would be enough to completely rewrite a student's cultivation path.

Vice President Xiao Jinghan lifted his gaze slightly, pointing to a corner of the light screen, and candidly made a recommendation.

"This young woman is named Xiao Hongyu. She is the most outstanding student of Canglan Academy and can also be considered my junior. Since the trial began, she has already occupied a large city, subdued nearly five hundred thousand natives, and possesses a solid foundation and a steady temperament."

Shen Yuanzheng and Mo Tiance looked along his gaze at the same time, but after just a single glance, they withdrew their line of sight with calm expressions, paying no more attention to it.

"To be able to carve out a city and pacify five hundred thousand natives in just over ten days is indeed rare. She can be considered a moldable talent."

The words were polite and praised with moderation, but anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this was merely superficial courtesy, and the two did not truly approve in their hearts.

Instead, a few envoys from the other top-hundred Divine Mansions flashed a hint of interest in their eyes, slightly nodding in comment.

Vice President Xiao Jinghan's eye corners twitched slightly, feeling a secret and helpless sigh in his heart.

Since when had the selection threshold for the Nine Divine Mansions become strict to this extent?

Given the ability and vision Xiao Hongyu displayed, placed in previous years, it would definitely be enough to enter the Nine Divine Mansions.

But this year's selection was for the deity preparatory class, which was clearly different.

Ordinary geniuses could no longer catch their eyes.

What the deity preparatory class wanted was never just qualified candidates, but dragons and phoenixes among men, the ultimate of their peers—top prodigies who could still stand out and steadily suppress their peers even if thrown into the genius-crowded Nine Divine Mansions.

Xiao Hongyu's aptitude was passable and her temperament was not bad, but ultimately she could only be considered a first-class genius, falling far short of the top tier.

Next, Vice President Xiao Jinghan patiently recommended several renowned prodigies within the Canglan Star Domain one after another.

Yet no matter how he recommended them, Shen Yuanzheng and Mo Tiance always maintained calm expressions, and not a single person could cause ripples to rise in the depths of their eyes.

Seeing this, the various academy big shots present all felt their hearts sink, revealing expressions of disappointment.

But everyone did not completely lose heart.

The entire trial was still short; only two days had passed in the outside world, and only a little over ten days within the Chaoming Realm. The current advantages and disadvantages were merely initial groundwork, and there were still plenty of opportunities later on to make a comeback and be favored by the Divine Mansions.

Amidst the crowd, Principal Ning Zhengqi slightly furrowed his brows, his heart filled with hesitation.

On the light screen, Su Ming's scene was completely unremarkable. Compared to those prodigies who carved out cities and fought in all directions, he guarded a small town, dormant in low profile, looking without any bright spots and far too inconspicuous.

After a brief weighing of options, Principal Ning Zhengqi resolutely stepped out, speaking in a deep voice to break the silence on the field:

"Everyone, Su Ming from Xingyao Academy currently only controls a small town. Although it seems small in scale, his personal strength and potential are quite good, and not long ago he even won the championship of the Hanging Secret Realm."

"The championship of the Hanging Secret Realm!"

Those simple six characters instantly made Shen Yuanzheng and Mo Tiance, whose expressions were originally indifferent, glance sideways simultaneously, a trace of fluctuation suddenly sweeping across the depths of their eyes.

The gazes of the two fell uniformly onto that most inconspicuous little frame in the light screen.

Inside the frame, Taoyuan Town was peaceful and calm. Su Ming stood quietly in the town, presenting a scene of peaceful years, so plain that it was almost mediocre.

A crowd of ordinary academy instructors glanced over, all furrowing their brows with a vague sense of incomprehension.

But the vision and insight of Shen Yuanzheng and Mo Tiance far exceeded ordinary people. At first, a casual glance left them feeling nothing, but after staring closely for a moment, the expressions of the two suddenly changed, and clear surprise and solemnity surfaced in the depths of their eyes.

"Interesting."

"This little fellow hides deep enough."

On the surface, Su Ming merely possessed a border small town, and his scale was far inferior to those prodigies who occupied cities.

Yet the entire Taoyuan Town had been completely controlled by him; the inside and outside were unified without the slightest omission.

What was even more terrifying was that centered around the small town, within a radius of a hundred miles, secret lines were dense, and countless Undead Retainers were hidden and dormant, constructing an airtight monitoring network.

Anyone who entered this range would be known by Su Ming.

Such ultimate control and steady layout temperament—looking across all the trial-takers in the entire venue, not a single person could surpass him.

Immediately, the gazes of the two were firmly locked onto Su Ming's body, and the exploration in the depths of their eyes became even greater.

Mo Tiance's eyes were deep as he slowly spoke, his tone carrying obvious appreciation and expectation:

"This child has the Nether Divine Domain attribute, and his Undead Retainers system is well-regulated, which highly fits the selection direction of my Shenwu Pavilion. I just don't know what the true combat power of the Undead Retainers under his command is like. If the foundation is sufficient, he is definitely a moldable talent."

Shen Yuanzheng on the side heard this and smiled calmly, "What, Brother Mo, are you taking a fancy to this little fellow?"

Mo Tiance rarely revealed a bit of seriousness, saying half-jokingly and half-solemnly:

"It hasn't been finalized yet, but he is the prospect I am most optimistic about on this trip to the Canglan Star Domain. If he performs brilliantly later on, Brother Shen must not compete with me."

Shen Yuanzheng waved his hand and smiled unconstrainedly, "Rest assured, this child is of the Nether Divine Domain, which contradicts the Literature Dao system of my Haoran Academy. My Haoran Academy will not contend for this affinity."

The conversation between the two was open and casual, but it instantly made all the forces present tighten their minds.

For a time, envoys from the remaining top-hundred Divine Mansions successively focused their gazes on Su Ming's frame, examining it closely, secretly noting down Su Ming's name, and giving rise to a strong interest in their hearts.

Principal Ning Zhengqi took all of this in, his hanging heart completely dropping, and he let out a long sigh of relief, his eyes full of gratification.

Haoran Academy and Shenwu Pavilion might still have variables, but relying solely on the potential displayed at this moment, Su Ming's seat in the remaining top-hundred Divine Mansions was secure.

...

Chaoming Realm, Taoyuan Town.

Su Ming knew nothing about the situation in the outside world.

After more than ten days of dormancy, the situation in the small town was completely consolidated. At this time, quite a few people in Taoyuan Town had begun to believe in him as the Lord of Nine Nether.

He also had plans for expansion.

Moreover, he had already found his target.

According to the full-range reconnaissance of the Flying Hunter Falcon and the intelligence narrated by Lilith, a thousand miles away sat a small city—Xuanming City.

The foundation and scale of this place were far from comparable to Taoyuan Town.

The permanent population inside the city was as many as three hundred thousand, with a deeply accumulated foundation and well-equipped armaments.

The permanent knights in the city exceeded thirty thousand, with over a thousand priests, and even an eighth-rank knight and an eighth-rank priest holding down the fort. The overall combat power could not be underestimated.

Su Ming resolved to leave twenty thousand Undead Retainers to garrison Taoyuan Town and consolidate the rear.

After he breached Xuanming City, he would then migrate all the residents of Taoyuan Town, integrate the population and resources of the two places, and completely strengthen his own forces.