56: Chapter 56 Reveals 'Talent', Legally Gets Freebies

First place, Fang Chuan, with a total score of 43,815,400 points!

When they saw that final score, which was a complete landslide, the entire main control hall fell into a deathly silence once again.

At the same time, the hatch doors of all the candidates' virtual access pods slowly opened.

Inside the main control hall, almost everyone's gaze was fixed squarely on the access pod belonging to Fang Chuan.

General Luo Yi, Mayor Li, Principal Yao Guishan, as well as the heads of the major families, all moved in unison, quickly surrounding it.

"Squeak—" With a soft sound, the hatch of the virtual access pod slowly rose, revealing the figure of the young man inside.

Fang Chuan took off the neural connector from his head, stretched his somewhat stiff neck, and stepped out of the access pod.

The moment he emerged, he was startled by the scene before him.

He saw that his access pod was surrounded, layer upon layer, by a crowd of people.

At the very front were several big shots with an unbelievably powerful aura.

One was a middle-aged man wearing a crisp military uniform with general's stars on his shoulders and a stern, resolute face.

Another was a middle-aged man in a suit, who carried an air of natural authority and looked like a high-ranking government official.

And there was also his own principal, Principal Yao Guishan, whose face was so wrinkled with smiles that they were all bunched together, and who was trembling with excitement.

Behind them followed a large group of big shots with distinct auras, all of whom were undoubtedly people of high status.

"Th-this... what is going on?"

Fang Chuan muttered to himself, wondering if he had gone too hard in the exam and given those geniuses psychological trauma, causing their elders to come looking for him to settle the score.

"Student Fang Chuan!"

Before he could figure it out, Principal Yao Guishan rushed up, grabbed his arm, and began speaking incoherently in his excitement.

"Good! Well done! You've really brought honor to our No. 1 High School! You kid, you really are the greatest pride of our No. 1 High School!"

Fang Chuan was shaken until he felt dizzy and quickly said, "Principal, please calm down, calm down."

"Calm down? I can't calm down!" Principal Yao Guishan pointed at the final rankings on the big screen, his voice loud enough for the entire hall to hear. "You've broken all the records in the history of the Qinghe City Tri-School Joint Exam! To say nothing else, in three hundred years, you are the only person to have obtained over ten million points!"

Fang Chuan followed the direction of his finger; it seemed that his performance had caught the attention of these big shots.

"Ahem."

Just then, the general in the military uniform coughed twice and stepped forward.

His sharp gaze swept over Fang Chuan from top to bottom, as if he wanted to see right through him.

Fang Chuan felt an invisible pressure rushing towards him, but having lived two lifetimes, his mental fortitude had long since been tempered far beyond his peers, and he remained composed and respectful.

"Hello, Student Fang Chuan. I am General Luo Yi, the supreme commander of the Qinghe City garrison." General Luo Yi's voice was steady and powerful, carrying the iron-blooded aura unique to a soldier.

"Hello, General Luo Yi." Fang Chuan nodded politely.

"On behalf of the military, I would like to ask you a few questions, and I hope you will answer truthfully." General Luo Yi's expression became serious.

"Please go ahead, General."

"The golden giant follower and that Goblin army you summoned in the exam—would you mind telling us where they came from?"

As soon as this question was asked, the entire hall fell silent instantly.

Everyone pricked up their ears; this was also the biggest question in their minds.

How could a student with an F-grade Divine Kingdom possess such a powerful, and one could even say heaven-defying, follower army?

Since Fang Chuan had dared to expose his trump card, he naturally knew how to face this interrogation.

"General Luo Yi, the truth is, I have such an army because my followers inadvertently discovered a ruin while exploring the Divine Kingdom world."

"That ruin was a relic of an ancient Goblin main deity, and it contained three Five-star Believer cards and an S-grade Divine Kingdom building, the Goblin Altar."

General Luo Yi raised an eyebrow. "It seems you are quite lucky. What is the function of that S-grade Divine Kingdom altar?"

Fang Chuan answered directly, "By consuming a certain amount of Faith Value, it can convert low-star Goblin followers into high-star followers."

General Luo Yi and Mayor Li exchanged a glance, and both saw a trace of shock in each other's eyes.

The other families, in particular, revealed looks of greed in their eyes.

Being able to raise a follower's talent star level just by consuming Faith Value was simply a divine artifact.

Fang Chuan thought for a moment and continued, "This Divine Kingdom building can only convert up to the level of a Four-Star Follower, and the conversion ratio is quite high—ten Three-Star Followers are needed to convert one Four-Star Follower. However, the resulting Faith level is very high, not lower than the True Follower level. It is thanks to this Divine Kingdom building that I have developed so quickly."

"I see." General Luo Yi nodded and did not continue to press the matter.

The Great Divine Kingdom World is full of wonders. In history, there have indeed been cases of ordinary students soaring to great heights after obtaining the inheritance of ancient deities, just not as exaggeratedly as Fang Chuan.

Some things are best left at that. Pushing too deep would only cause resentment.

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Mayor Li's eyes, and he leaned over to whisper to his secretary behind him.

The secretary quickly brought a specially made briefcase, inside which were neatly arranged brand-new follower cards.

The mayor pulled out a stack and handed it to Fang Chuan. "Here are 20 Three-Star 'White Jade God Elephant' cards. Since you possess such a divine artifact, Student Fang Chuan, you wouldn't mind letting us broaden our horizons, would you?"

Fang Chuan glanced at Mayor Li and internally retorted, 'You've already handed them over, what else can I say?'

But it didn't matter; 20 Three-Star White Jade God Elephants could be synthesized into several Four-Star White Jade God Elephants. It was a guaranteed profit.

In fact, Fang Chuan's original intention in revealing this secret was to earn some money—no, to earn some troops. He had no choice; right now, he had at most one Five-Star talent follower per race, which was too restrictive for his combat power.

If the combat power wasn't enough, he'd make up for it with races.

The Fortune Synergy was also linked to races. Although the Goblin race were all Fortune, he was still missing several races to complete the Six-Fortune Synergy. He had a long way to go.

After receiving the 20 White Jade God Elephant cards from Mayor Li, Fang Chuan immediately chose to use them.

"Mayor Li, please wait a moment."

After pretending to meditate for five minutes, he handed two purple follower cards to Mayor Li.

"Mayor Li, I have fulfilled your request! I won't charge you for the consumed Faith Value."

Li Wufeng was shocked as he looked at the two Four-Star White Jade God Elephant cards in his hand, and the other big shots from the families watching were too shocked to speak.

"Hahaha, how can I not pay? How about this, you take one of these White Jade God Elephant cards as my payment."

Li Wufeng heartily handed one White Jade God Elephant card to Fang Chuan, and then said to General Luo Yi, "General Luo Yi, such a pillar of talent must be protected well. Any accident would be a loss to the country."

Looking at the greedy gazes of the surrounding families, how could General Luo Yi not understand the implication behind Mayor Li's words?

"Rest assured, Mayor Li. With the military here, Fang Chuan will certainly be safe and sound!"

Head of the Lu Family, Lu Mengshan, had a face as dark as water. He slowly walked forward, his tone ice-cold and biting, "General Luo Yi, Mayor Li. In previous exams, anyone whose source of power was unknown was required by the rules to undergo a strict political review."

"He is merely a student with an F-grade Divine Kingdom, yet he suddenly obtained such terrifying power. Who can guarantee that this isn't an evil object contaminated by Void Heretics? For the safety of all of Qinghe City, I propose that we immediately seal his Divine Kingdom and have the military intervene to investigate thoroughly!"

Upon hearing the words "Void Heretics," the expressions of many people present changed slightly.

This was a very serious accusation; once tainted by it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Fang Chuan's eyes also turned cold.

He could tolerate others questioning his strength, but he would never tolerate such vicious slander.

Before Fang Chuan could speak, Principal Yao Guishan exploded first.

"Lu Mengshan! You're talking nonsense! Your own grandson is a good-for-nothing who couldn't beat others, so you're here making false accusations. Do you even want that old face of yours anymore?"

"Yao Guishan! You dare to scold me?" Lu Mengshan was so angry he was trembling all over.

"So what if I scold you? I even want to hit you!" Principal Yao Guishan rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight. "Our student Fang Chuan has a clean background and is of excellent character; how could he possibly be involved with a heretical cult? I think you're just jealous! Naked, blatant jealousy!"

"You..."

"Enough!"

General Luo Yi let out a low shout, and a powerful pressure instantly enveloped the entire hall, causing everyone to fall silent in fear.

He looked coldly at Lu Mengshan and said, "Head of the Lu Family, please mind your words. The military and the City Hall will naturally evaluate Student Fang Chuan's situation. Without evidence, any unfounded speculation and accusations are a challenge to the nation's laws."

Although his words were not explicit, the warning was very clear.

Lu Mengshan's face turned from green to white. He knew that with General Luo Yi and Mayor Li here, he couldn't touch Fang Chuan at all.

He could only glare at Fang Chuan with resentment, snort coldly, and leave dejectedly, taking Lu Hai, who looked like a defeated rooster, with him.

The disturbance subsided just like that.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chao and Liu Ruyan also stepped out of their respective access pods.

They ran to Fang Chuan's side immediately.

"Brother Chuan! You're too awesome! Over forty million points! How many gatekeepers did you kill?" Zhang Chao looked at Fang Chuan with admiration, his face flushed with excitement.

Although Liu Ruyan didn't speak, her beautiful eyes were filled with brilliance, brimming with curiosity and shock.

If it weren't for Fang Chuan, they might not even have made it into the top ten.

Just as they were talking, the award ceremony officially began.

As the chief examiner, General Luo Yi, stepped onto the high platform again, the atmosphere in the entire main control hall became lively.

Everyone's gaze was focused on the man who was about to announce the final results and rewards.

"I announce that this year's Qinghe City Tri-School Joint Exam has come to a successful conclusion!"

General Luo Yi's voice spread throughout the entire hall through the amplification equipment.

"This joint exam has seen the emergence of a large number of outstanding students, and their performance has shown us the future hope of Qinghe City!"

"Next, I will announce the top ten in this joint exam's individual point competition!"

On the big screen, the avatars and names of the top ten were displayed one by one.

"Tenth place, Wang Hao (No. 2 High School), score 1,330,000!"

"Ninth place, Li Xue (No. 3 High School), score 1,400,000!"

"Sixth place, Liu Ruyan (No. 1 High School), score 2,050,000!"

Liu Ruyan took a deep breath and walked onto the high platform with elegant steps, amidst the envious gazes of the crowd.

"Fifth place, Zhang Chao (No. 1 High School), score 2,110,000!"

"Fourth place, Lin Xiaoxiao (No. 3 High School), score 3,020,000!"

"Third place, Qin Yao (No. 2 High School), score 3,080,000!"

"Second place, Lu Hai (No. 1 High School), score 3,150,000!"

When Lu Hai's name was read, the atmosphere under the stage became somewhat subtle.

As the former favorite to win the championship, now only settling for second place, and with a score vastly different from the first place, this was undoubtedly a huge irony.

Finally, it was time for the much-anticipated first place.

A rare smile appeared on General Luo Yi's face.

He raised his voice and announced in an incredibly resounding tone:

"First place, Fang Chuan (No. 1 High School), score 43,815,400!"

"Let us use the warmest applause to welcome the champion of this joint exam, and the greatest genius in the history of our Qinghe City, Student Fang Chuan, to the stage to receive his award!"