54: Chapter 54 Tianhai's Lone Star, Official Heavy Bet

After Wang Pingan cleared the semi-finals, the system did not immediately start the finals.

The Seventeen-Star Joint Entrance Exam officials provided 24 hours of preparation time, for a simple reason: the finals required both sides to enter in their best condition.

This was also the clash that audiences from every star wanted to see most.

After Wang Pingan exited the projected battlefield, his consciousness immediately sank into his Divine Kingdom.

Although that battle on the Iron Plains had not caused any combat losses, it had left behind a large number of mechanical wrecks and high-energy energy cores.

These items were originally just projected trophies, but the rules of the semi-finals allowed the victor to intercept a portion of convertible resources.

Kyle's mechanical legion had been dismantled too thoroughly; during the system settlement, it left behind over three hundred low-tier energy cores and twelve higher-quality Main Mech Cores.

Wang Mu was already there, leading the Cultivation Citizens to surround the core warehouse.

Those blue-and-white crystal cores floated silently, with deep blue energy circuits slowly circulating inside.

Wang Shan also leaned in to take a look and clicked his tongue: "The iron lumps were dismantled, but their hearts are actually quite valuable."

Wang Mu ignored his joke, reached out to take a Main Mech Core, and carefully sensed the energy pathways inside.

"Divine Lord, these cores cannot be directly absorbed by the citizens. The energy is too rigid; it will burst their meridians if it enters."

Wang Pingan nodded.

The energy system of mechanical civilization was different from the Immortal Martial system; forcibly consuming it would bring no benefits.

Wang Mu continued: "But they can be embedded into formation nodes to provide energy for the Divine Kingdom's protective formation and the military camp's defenses."

Wang Pingan looked toward the Northern Military Camp.

That was the core of the entire War Divine Kingdom.

The infantry, Artillery Battalion, Cavalry, warehouses, stables, and temporary medical areas were all concentrated there.

If the Divine Kingdom encountered an invasion by a strong enemy in the future, the higher the defensive strength of the Northern Military Camp, the more stable the legion's preparation would be.

Wang Pingan immediately ordered: "Use them."

Wang Mu immediately led his men to start working.

Three hundred low-tier energy cores were divided into six groups and buried into the outer protective formation of the Northern Military Camp.

The twelve Main Mech Cores were embedded into the Artillery Battalion positions, warehouses, the wounded camp, the main command platform, and the Cavalry assembly area, respectively.

The Cultivation Citizens used spiritual energy to isolate the mechanical energy, then slowly converted it through formation patterns.

At first, the energy repulsion was extremely strong; several formation patterns could not withstand the impact and collapsed one after another.

Wang Mu's brows furrowed tightly; he immediately ordered his men to retreat and lowered the input speed.

The energy of the mechanical cores was too overbearing; if one wasn't careful, it would burst the low-tier formation bases.

Wang Pingan did not rush him.

The value of this batch of cores was extremely high, but the risks of conversion were equally present.

If Wang Mu didn't handle it well, forcing them in would only create hidden dangers.

Wang Mu modified the formation patterns seven times in a row, changing the original linear energy conduction to a circular buffer.

On the eighth attempt, the blue-and-white energy finally flowed slowly along the formation patterns.

A circle of pale blue protective light rose around the outer layer of the Northern Military Camp.

Subsequently, the spiritual energy formation patterns adhered from the inside, the protective light turned from virtual to solid, and the coverage area expanded bit by bit.

Wang Shan raised his blade and slashed at the outer protective formation.

The crimson flame saber descended, only slicing out a ripple.

Wang Shan grinned: "This thing is not bad, it's tough enough."

Wang Mu wiped the sweat from his forehead, but his tone carried joy: "With the support of these cores, the Northern Military Camp's protective formation has increased by at least thirty percent."

Wang Pingan checked the panel.

[Northern Military Camp Compound Protective Formation: Defensive strength increased by thirty-seven percent.]

[Artillery Battalion position stability increased.]

[War reserve warehouse impact resistance increased.]

This harvest was very substantial.

Kyle did not lose unjustly.

The mechanical torrent he brought had not only failed to crush the Immortal Martial Legion but instead gifted Wang Pingan a batch of defensive cores.

Just as Wang Pingan was preparing to continue checking the military supplies, his watch in reality suddenly vibrated.

His consciousness exited the Divine Kingdom, and he discovered that a notification sound was already coming from outside the seclusion chamber.

Wang Tie's voice sounded: "Young Master Pingan, Principal Zhou Mingyuan has arrived, along with people from the Tianhai Star Education Bureau."

Wang Pingan opened the door to the seclusion chamber.

In the manor's front hall, Zhou Mingyuan was waiting with several middle-aged men wearing the uniforms of the Department of Education.

The person in the lead was the Deputy Director of the Tianhai Star Education Bureau, named Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai, who possessed the cultivation of a Tier 3 Deity.

This person usually only appeared at large conferences, but seeing Wang Pingan at this moment, he actually stood up voluntarily.

Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai stepped forward, his tone enthusiastic: "Student Wang Pingan, whether Tianhai Star can take first place in this Seventeen-Star Joint Entrance Exam depends on you."

Zhou Mingyuan was also full of smiles.

"You kid are truly impressive; Old Li just sent me a message saying he has never felt this satisfied in his life."

Wang Pingan bowed: "Principal, Deputy Director Xu."

Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai did not beat around the bush; he directly took out a golden crystal card and three jade boxes.

"This is a special consolation grant issued in advance by the Tianhai Star Education Bureau, fifty million Origin Power Points."

"These three boxes are top-tier restorative pills from the Department of Education's inventory: one box for replenishing spiritual energy, one for replenishing blood and qi, and one for repairing mental exhaustion."

"I will take responsibility for the paperwork; just take them and use them."

Zhou Mingyuan also added: "Don't be polite; you are not just the face of one school now, but the hope of the entire Tianhai Star."

Wang Pingan looked at the items on the table and did not decline.

What he lacked most right now were restorative supplies.

The finals hadn't been fought yet, and no one knew how strong the opponent was.

Fifty million Origin Power Points and top-tier pills had come at just the right time.

Wang Pingan put away the crystal card and said earnestly: "I will use all of these resources for the legion's battle preparations."

Upon hearing this, Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai actually breathed a sigh of relief.

What he feared was not Wang Pingan asking for resources.

He feared that Wang Pingan would not dare to take them.

Tianhai Star's results in the Seventeen-Star Joint Entrance Exam had been mediocre for years, and resource allocation had always been suppressed by Liumang Star and Tianlang Star.

Every year, the Department of Education had to rely on the results of the Joint Entrance Exam to fight for the budget.

Wang Pingan had now reached the finals; once he won the championship, Tianhai Star's student resources, school construction quotas, and special training quotas for the star sector would skyrocket next year.

This was no longer just an individual reward.

This was about the resource pool of the entire planet.

Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai said: "Wang Pingan, to tell you the truth, this fifty million is not given for nothing."

Wang Pingan looked up at him.

Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai's tone was solemn: "If you win, Tianhai Star will enjoy the dividends of being a key cultivation planet of the Federation for the next three years."

"If you lose, the account is on me. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we must place all the chips we can on the table."

Zhou Mingyuan nodded: "So don't have any burden; take the resources and fight."

Wang Pingan said calmly: "I understand."

Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"You have a good temperament; you don't talk much, but your hands are ruthless enough."

Zhou Mingyuan clapped in agreement: "If he talked a lot of nonsense, Kyle would probably have died even more miserably."

Wang Pingan did not pick up on that joke.

He knew very well that twelve hours was very short.

After seeing off Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai and Zhou Mingyuan, he immediately returned to the seclusion chamber.

Fifty million Origin Power Points arrived in his account.

Wang Pingan did not hesitate and directly opened the internal Federation exchange channel.

Ordinary pills were no longer effective enough for the current Limit-Realm elite troops.

He filtered for only high-tier potions that quickly restored spiritual energy, replenished blood and qi, and repaired mental exhaustion.

[D-grade Top-tier Spirit Recovery Potion, suitable for Qi Refining Stage 9 peak, quickly restores spiritual energy.]

[D-grade Top-tier Blood Boiling Potion, suitable for Body Forging peak, replenishes blood and qi deficits in a short time.]

[D-grade Spirit Clearing Jade Dew, repairs mental fatigue, reduces losses from continuous combat.]

The prices for all three types of potions were very high.

But before the finals, there was no point in keeping the money.

Wang Pingan placed orders in batches, and more than half of the fifty million Origin Power Points were spent quickly.

With the remaining portion, he purchased high-explosive shells specifically for the Psionic Heavy Cannon and high-quality feed for the warhorses.

A few hours later, the light beams of the teleportation array lit up one after another.

Crates of potions and shells piled up in the seclusion chamber.

Wang Pingan put all the supplies into the Divine Kingdom.

The Northern Military Camp became busy again.

Wang Mu led his men to distribute the Spirit Recovery Potions and Spirit Clearing Jade Dew to the Cultivation Citizens, ensuring that every gunner and veteran of the Sword Qi Battalion had at least three portions in reserve.

Wang Shan personally distributed the Blood Boiling Potions to the Martial Dao elites.

He picked up a bottle and took a look, his gaze burning.

"The Divine Lord has really spent a fortune this time."

A Martial Dao citizen nearby whispered: "This one bottle is worth half a month of our previous resources."

Wang Shan stuffed the medicine bottle into his storage bag, his voice gruff: "Don't feel bad; coming back alive from the battlefield is worth more than anything."

Wang Mu was also instructing the Artillery Battalion on the other side.

"Do not consume the potions indiscriminately; use them only when spiritual energy is below thirty percent, and report immediately if mental fatigue exceeds the warning line."

"The finals will definitely be a tough battle; whoever wastes resources prematurely is joking with the lives of the entire army."

The citizens of the Artillery Battalion responded in unison.

Wang Pingan looked at the Divine Kingdom panel; the war reserves had risen again.

After the top-tier restorative potions were put into storage, the continuous combat capability of the three thousand main legion members was pushed up another notch.

He did not continue to accelerate time.

Time was running out, and the legion also needed to maintain a stable state.

The most important thing now was to nourish his mind to its fullest.

Twelve hours passed quickly.

The final list for the semi-finals was completely locked in.

Wang Pingan's name was on the left.

On the right was Liumang Star's Xiao Xuan.

When this name appeared, the barrage in the Seventeen-Star live stream slowed down by half a beat.

Xiao Xuan.

A direct descendant of the Liumang Star's Xiao Family.

The recognized strongest new genius of the Seventeen Stars.

From the preliminary rounds to the semi-finals, he had never once fallen into a bitter battle.

What was even more terrifying was that official intelligence was finally released in part before the finals.

[Xiao Xuan, S-minus grade talent, Mysterious Yellow Divine Body.]

[Civilization System: Immortal Martial, leaning towards Cultivation.]

[Current Realm: Demigod.]

As soon as these four words appeared, the atmosphere in the Tianhai Star viewing area suddenly sank.

Demigod.

During the newcomer assessment stage, the vast majority of contestants were still Divine Beings.

Yet, relying on the massive resources of the Liumang Star's Xiao Family, Xiao Xuan had forcibly pushed his Divine Kingdom to the Demigod stage before the assessment.

This meant that his Divine Kingdom's area, population cap, and the cultivation cap of his citizens had all crossed the rule threshold of the newcomer stage.

Old Li stared at the intelligence, his face sinking.

Zhou Mingyuan also put away his smile.

Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai stood in front of the Department of Education's viewing stand, not speaking for a long time.

Wang Pingan sat in the connection pod, looking at Xiao Xuan's data, his gaze landing on the two words "Demigod."

He finally understood why the Seventeen Stars called Xiao Xuan the strongest.

S-minus grade talent, massive family resources, forcibly breaking through to Demigod before the exam.

This battle would indeed be very difficult.

The light screen slowly dimmed, and the countdown for the finals began to tick.

Wang Pingan closed his eyes, and his divine sense fell into the Northern Military Camp.

Three thousand Xianwu citizens had already finished lining up; Wang Mu stood in front of the Artillery Battalion, Wang Shan stood before the heavy Cavalry, and a blood-colored murderous tiger of baleful aura coiled above the military formation.

At the same time, Xiao Xuan's name lit up on the other side of the light screen.

A fierce battle was unavoidable.

I ask my foster fathers and mothers to please give a five-star rating; there have been too many bad reviews recently.

This foster son kowtows in thanks; also, "powering with love" is free.