48: Chapter 48: C-Grade Origin Essence, Generous Rewards Obtained

After killing Wu Tie, Wang Pingan did not stop.

In the remaining time, the Immortal Martial Legion continued to advance through the Abyss Ruins area, clearing out every monster nest they could find one by one.

After swallowing all of Wu Tie's points, the gap between Wang Pingan's score on the overall leaderboard and the second-place contestant was no longer just a gap; it was a chasm.

The second-place contestant was a seeded player from Xuanwu Star, whose points were only one-third of Wang Pingan's.

The Artillery Battalion provided continuous fire, the Cavalry swept back and forth, and the infantry shield wall advanced steadily. The entire process had been honed to a level of fully automatic operation. Wang Mu and Wang Shan did not even need specific orders from Wang Pingan; with the coordination of flag signals and drumbeats, the legion operated no differently than a precision war machine.

The other contestants within the fragment had learned to be smart, steering clear of the Immortal Martial Legion's advance route for fear of becoming targets.

Time ticked away second by second.

When a line of huge golden text appeared in the dark purple sky overhead, Wang Pingan was standing on the ruins of an Abyss Temple that had been collapsed by artillery fire.

[ The 117th Xuanyuan Star Region Seventeen Stars Nova Assessment · Preliminary Round · Ended. ]

[ All contestants are about to be teleported back to the virtual plaza. Please prepare to receive point settlement. ]

White light rose once again, engulfing Wang Pingan and his three thousand subjects.

On the virtual plaza, hundreds of contestants appeared one after another. Most of them bore the marks of battle: damaged armor, broken weapons, and the lingering exhaustion enveloping their subjects.

Wang Pingan landed in the north-central part of the plaza. The three thousand subjects behind him stood in neat formation, their heavy steel armor intact, crimson flame sabers sheathed, and Black Iron Shields retracted. Their military bearing was so impeccable that they did not look like a team that had just come off the battlefield.

The other contestants around them glanced over upon seeing the state of the Immortal Martial Legion.

Someone whispered, "Have they really experienced a bloody battle? How come there isn't even a single wounded soldier to be seen?"

A student nearby immediately chimed in, "Did you not watch the live stream? They not only had zero battle losses throughout the entire process, but they also steamrolled Wu Tie, the seeded player from Tianlang Star."

The surrounding chatter instantly vanished.

Above the plaza, the final ranking light screen for the total points leaderboard unfolded.

Everyone's gaze lifted simultaneously.

[ 1st Place: Wang Pingan · Tianhai Star · Total Points: 387,600 ]

[ 2nd Place: Qin Qiming · Xuanwu Star · Total Points: 124,300 ]

[ 3rd Place: Zhou Yan · Liumang Star · Total Points: 118,700 ]

The first-place score was more than three times that of the second place.

A cliff-like crushing victory, without any suspense.

The plaza was silent for about three seconds, then a roar erupted from the Tianhai Star contestants' area, the sound wave so loud that it shook the teams from the neighboring planets.

Wang Jincheng stood in the Tianhai Star team, looking up at that golden "1st Place," his lips pressed tightly together as he swallowed the words he had originally intended to say.

His ranking was seventeenth, just barely on the promotion line, which was lower than he had expected.

But at this moment, what he was thinking about was not his own ranking, but that triple-crushing number of Wang Pingan's.

A month ago, he still felt that he could catch up.

Now, he didn't think so anymore.

The gap was too large.

It wasn't a small gap, but a dimensional crushing.

Wang Qingyan's ranking was thirty-first, just barely making the cut thanks to the small amount of combat points and resource collection points earned from supplying spiritual herbs.

She stood at the edge of the crowd, looking at Wang Pingan's name on the overall leaderboard with a hint of a smile on her lips.

The spiritual herbs and medicines she supplied were one of the underlying guarantees that supported this zero-logistics legion in continuous combat.

Although it wasn't conspicuous, she knew she had bet on the right person.

In the center of the plaza, a golden beam of light shot down from the dome, and a middle-aged man wearing a Federal uniform walked out from the beam, his face dignified, with the Federal Education Bureau badge pinned to his chest.

A Federal examiner.

His voice covered the entire venue through a broadcast array.

"The 117th Xuanyuan Star Region Seventeen Stars Nova Assessment Preliminary Round has officially concluded."

"The top sixty-four contestants from the preliminary round will advance to the semi-finals, and the semi-final format will be announced tomorrow."

"Now, announcing the preliminary round rewards."

The Federal examiner's gaze swept across the plaza and finally landed on Wang Pingan.

"First place in the preliminary round, Tianhai Star, Wang Pingan."

"The rewards are as follows:"

"One Plane Origin Essence (C-Grade), which can be injected directly into the Divine Kingdom core to strengthen the Divine Kingdom's foundation and the stability of the Divine Core."

"Federal Education Bureau special Source Power reward: 50 million Source Power Points (dedicated to Divine Kingdom construction)."

"Federal priority cultivation candidate qualification, officially added to the observation list."

A fist-sized golden crystal floated up from the examiner's hand, flew toward Wang Pingan, and hovered in front of him.

Plane Origin Essence.

This thing could not be bought with Source Power Points. It was an essence crystal that naturally condensed from the fragment's origin after a large number of native creatures were killed in battle within the plane fragment.

After being injected into the Divine Core, it could directly improve the underlying quality of the Divine Kingdom—not the area, not the population, but the law strength and Source Power concentration of the Divine Kingdom itself.

It was equivalent to adding a layer of steel reinforcement to the foundation of the Divine Kingdom.

Wang Pingan reached out and caught the golden crystal. It felt warm to the touch, and he could feel the rich origin power contained within it flowing slowly.

Fifty million Source Power Points plus this Plane Origin Essence were enough to make up for all the supplies he had consumed during the preliminary round, with plenty left over.

After the Federal examiner finished announcing the rewards, the plaza was filled with dense chatter.

Wang Pingan's name began to spread through the student circles of the Seventeen Stars at an unstoppable speed.

Tianhai Star had produced a monster.

A+ evaluation, zero-logistics pure Combat Path, triple-crushing the second place in the preliminary round, zero battle deaths throughout, and killing the Tianlang Star seeded player in fifteen minutes.

This kind of battle record had already exceeded the category of "genius" and touched the edge of "monster/prodigy."

Scout recruiters from universities on various planets began to frantically pull up Wang Pingan's public profile, and the traffic to the Federal Education Bureau's database surged thirty-fold in just half an hour.

In the Tianhai No. 1 High School teacher viewing area, Zhou Mingyuan picked up the tea that had long since gone cold, took a sip, and placed the cup on the table.

"Old Li, you've raised a good seed."

Old Li still had his arms crossed, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth: "This kid, he doesn't need me to teach him."

Zhao Yang jumped up abruptly in the spectator stands, his throat already hoarse from shouting, but his mouth was stretched from ear to ear.

He hollered at the people around him, showing off: "That's my brother! His grain and iron ore were all covered by me!"

The spectators nearby looked at him as if he were a madman, but Zhao Yang was full of pride and didn't care at all.

On the virtual plaza, Wang Pingan stored the Plane Origin Essence into the Divine Core space, feeling a warm power seep into the depths of the Divine Core.

He showed no signs of smugness or excitement, simply opening the command interface calmly to check the legion's status.

All three thousand subjects were safely recovered into the Divine Kingdom, equipment wear was extremely low, medicine and supply consumption were within expectations, the Artillery Battalion's crystal tubes had sixty percent of their lifespan remaining, and the warhorses were in good condition.

Everything was under control.

Wang Pingan closed the legion data and opened another panel.

The Divine Core status panel.

The energy of the Plane Origin Essence was slowly permeating the Divine Core, golden light spots wandering on the surface of the Divine Core. With every bit that seeped in, the luster of the Divine Core grew brighter.

The Divine Kingdom's foundation was thickening.

The value of this Origin Essence did not lie in an immediate boost to combat power, but in the fact that it laid a more solid foundation for the future advancement of the Divine Kingdom.

Having consumed the rewards for first place in the preliminary round, plus the point conversion obtained from killing Wu Tie, Wang Pingan's Divine Kingdom foundation was another layer thicker than before the competition started.

White light teleported the contestants back to their respective connection pods.

Wang Pingan opened his eyes, and the silver-white pod cover opened slowly.

He sat up, his gaze calm.

First place on the Seventeen Stars overall leaderboard.

The preliminary round ended.

But this was just the beginning.

The semi-final format would be announced tomorrow. According to information revealed by Principal Zhou Mingyuan, the semi-finals were one-on-one elimination matches of Divine Kingdom projections.

One-on-one.

No melee bonuses from plane fragments, no rule cover for resource grabbing. It was just two novice Divine Kingdoms colliding head-on: subjects fighting subjects, formations clashing with formations. Whoever destroyed the opponent's Divine Core projection first would win.

Wang Pingan stood up from the connection pod and walked to a quiet spot in the corner of the hall to sit down.

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the Divine Core.

The golden light spots of the Plane Origin Essence were still permeating; the sky of the Divine Kingdom was brighter than before, and the concentration of Source Power on the land had visibly increased by a level.

On the Northern Plains, the three thousand subjects had already begun to rest automatically. Wang Mu was organizing the Artillery Battalion to maintain equipment, and Wang Shan was checking the status of the Cavalry's warhorses.

Everything was in perfect order.

Wang Pingan did not issue any new orders.

He just sat quietly beside the connection pod, eyes closed, feeling the process of the Plane Origin merging into his Divine Kingdom.

Semi-finals, tomorrow.

One-on-one elimination tournament.

His legion was ready.

I beg my foster fathers and mothers to please give some five-star reviews; there have been too many negative reviews lately.

This foster son kowtows in thanks. Also, "powering with love" is free, you know.