81: Chapter 81 Grade A Sequence, Black Swamp Scale Nest

Wang Pingan overlooked everything, a judgment settling in his mind.

These twenty-one years were not spent in vain.

Sixty Divine Power points did not just buy a few spiritual veins, a few blood pools, and two legacies.

He bought a war cycle within his Divine Kingdom.

This is the most terrifying aspect of the Master of Time.

When others buy a legacy, their subjects must learn slowly, test slowly, and fail slowly; they might not see results even after waiting years in reality.

He only needs to close the door and give enough time.

If one day isn't enough, then seven days; if one year isn't enough, then twenty-one years.

Wang Pingan retracted his divine sense and stopped the Master of Time.

In the secret room of the Wang Family Mansion in Galaxy City, the light of the formation slowly subsided.

Only seven days had passed in the outside world.

Wang Pingan opened his eyes, his divine core far more stable than before his seclusion.

The area of his Divine Kingdom remained four thousand square kilometers, but its internal foundation was worlds apart.

The spiritual energy concentration had increased several-fold, the blood-qi system had bolstered its foundation, the Hall of Hundred Arts had begun to take shape, the legions were fully staffed, and equipment and pills were all self-produced.

He stood up, walked to the light screen in the secret room, and glanced at the notification from the Xinghe University Freshman Management Hall.

The Grade A Sequence review mission deadline was approaching.

Wang Pingan was in no rush to leave.

He submerged his consciousness into his Divine Kingdom once more, looking at the prosperous territory, the busy subjects everywhere, the fully armored Immortal Martial Legion waiting for orders in the Northern Military Camp, the surging spiritual mist in the eastern ancestral grounds, and the inextinguishable furnace fires in the northwestern Casting Workshop.

Only seven days had passed in the outside world.

The Divine Kingdom already had twenty-one years of accumulation.

Inside the secret room of the Wang Family Mansion, the shielding formation dissipated layer by layer, and the white formation light receded from the walls.

Wang Pingan opened his eyes, the flames of his divine core slowly retracting within his body.

After seven days, his aura was even more stable, and the spiritual energy circulation at the edge of his Divine Kingdom had gained some depth.

His gaze swept across the Divine Kingdom panel.

The area of his Divine Kingdom remained four thousand square kilometers, but the interior had undergone earth-shaking changes.

Pills, heavy armor, formation patterns, weaponry, spiritual plants, and blood medicines—all systems had formed an internal cycle.

During these seven days of seclusion, the outside world remained calm, but twenty-one years had passed within the Divine Kingdom.

Wang Pingan retracted his divine sense and pushed open the secret room door.

Outside the door, Wang Cang had been waiting for a long time.

This Tier 3 Deity did not show any impatience, and upon seeing Wang Pingan appear, he immediately handed over a reminder notice from the Freshman Management Hall.

"Dao Child, there is only half a day left to accept the Grade A Sequence review mission."

Wang Pingan took the paper, his gaze sweeping over the conspicuous red countdown.

Half a day.

For ordinary freshmen, this timeline was approaching the limit.

His expression remained normal, and he just casually asked, "How many people are watching outside the mansion?"

Wang Cang's gaze narrowed slightly: "At least six Central Star Region factions have sent eyes to guard the vicinity, and intelligence personnel from several chambers of commerce are also waiting for you to come out."

Wang Pingan nodded slightly.

Before his seclusion, news of his S-rank evaluation in the first battle had already spread.

Now that the Grade A Sequence review deadline was approaching, those people were naturally watching closely.

Top hundred freshman, Grade A Sequence candidate, Remote Star Region champion—these titles combined were enough to make many people feel resentful.

Wang Cang looked at him with a serious expression: "Dao Child, I suggest taking two Tier 1 Deities with you. On the road from the mansion to the Management Hall, we cannot let people deliberately delay you. The freshmen from the Central Star Region dare not truly kill, but they will certainly use disgusting tactics like provocation, blocking the road, and issuing challenges."

Wang Pingan put away the reminder notice, his tone calm: "There is no need to escort me into the hall."

Wang Cang pondered for a moment.

Wang Pingan continued, "Just have the family members follow in secret. The threshold of the Grade A Sequence should not make others think I rely on the family to hold my ground."

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of realization appeared in Wang Cang's eyes.

Wang Pingan did not just want to win.

He wanted to let everyone see that he could stand here on his own.

In Xinghe University, resources and prestige were tightly bound; only by displaying power would resources actively gather, and only by convincing others would various teams and channels yield.

Wang Cang replied: "Understood, I will arrange for people to follow in secret and never reveal themselves."

Wang Pingan stepped out of the mansion.

The outside of Galaxy City was still bustling; divine light streaked across, merchant caravans came and went incessantly, and long lines formed in front of resource shops.

As soon as he appeared, several gazes immediately gathered on him.

Freshmen, guardians, chamber of commerce spies—people of all kinds were present.

Wang Pingan did not stop and walked straight towards the Freshman Management Hall.

Many freshmen along the way recognized him.

"That's Wang Pingan, the one who soloed the Blood Moon Wreckage."

"He finally came out after seven days of seclusion. The Grade A Sequence review must be expiring soon, right?"

"What's the panic? He cleared a demigod's Divine Kingdom in five days; he has plenty of confidence."

"Don't exaggerate so much; the Blood Moon Wreckage was just a broken Divine Kingdom. If he encounters a complete high-risk Divine Kingdom, his heavy armor advance strategy might not work."

"If you're so capable, go solo a broken Divine Kingdom yourself and try; stop flapping your tongue here."

Confused discussions followed him all the way.

Some were jealous, some were wary, and some deliberately raised their voices, attempting to test his reaction.

Wang Pingan ignored them the whole time.

He understood clearly that Xinghe University was never short of gossip.

Only battle achievements could shut everyone's mouth.

The Freshman Management Hall was located at the junction of the outer city and the inner district of Xinghe University.

The hall was built of pure black divine gold, and a huge battle achievement light screen hung above the main entrance.

Freshman missions scrolled on the light screen, with red, silver, and gold light points flashing frequently.

Just as Wang Pingan arrived outside the hall, he saw Lu Ming standing by the steps.

Lu Ming had changed a group of teammates, whose auras were far superior to the previous ones.

Mechanical style, beast-riding style, magic-cultivation style, formation support—the configuration was clearly more comprehensive.

This time, Lu Ming had restrained his previous arrogance.

He watched Wang Pingan approach, his face tense, but he did not mock him in public.

"Wang Pingan, the review mission is not on the same level as the Blood Moon Wreckage. If you die inside, the announcements won't be able to save you."

This sounded like a reminder, but the surrounding freshmen could all hear the suppressed anger in Lu Ming's heart.

Wang Pingan stopped and glanced at the new team behind Lu Ming.

"Have you finished your first real battlefield?"

Lu Ming's face stiffened slightly.

Several freshmen nearby couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The teammates behind Lu Ming looked embarrassed.

In the past few days, they had been busy screening targets and agreeing on profit distribution, so they indeed hadn't truly entered the field yet.

This sentence from Wang Pingan hit Lu Ming's sore spot directly.

Lu Ming's eyes darkened, but he was speechless.

Wang Pingan ignored him and stepped directly into the Freshman Management Hall.

The formations inside the hall circulated, isolating all the noise from the outside.

Projections of the battle achievements of past Grade A Sequence students floated on the walls.

Some had slain alien demigods single-handedly.

Some had led armies to break through high-risk Divine Kingdoms.

Some had even completed three consecutive real invasions during their freshman period and retreated unscathed with zero combat losses.

Below each battle achievement, a conspicuous evaluation and mortality rate were marked.

Wang Pingan's gaze swept past and quickly landed on the mission acceptance window.

Behind the window sat a deacon in a grey robe, his aura restrained but giving people a sense of stability like a mountain.

The deacon looked up at Wang Pingan, and after verifying his identity, his attitude was obviously more serious than when treating ordinary freshmen.

"Wang Pingan, your S-rank evaluation in the first freshman battle has triggered the Grade A Sequence qualification review."

His tone shifted, becoming stern: "The Grade A Sequence is not a reward, but a sieve. If you pass, the school will increase resource allocation; if you fail, your battle achievements will be wiped, and no one will feel sorry for you."

Wang Pingan nodded slightly: "I accept the mission."

The deacon did not try to persuade him further and raised his hand to open the review light screen.

As the light and shadow shifted, an image of a pitch-black swamp appeared before Wang Pingan's eyes.

Poisonous fog rolled, muddy water bubbled, and dark green vertical pupils were vaguely visible in the depths of the swamp.

Mission information appeared line by line.

[Review Mission: Black Swamp Scale Nest.]

[Target Level: Demigod-level Alien Divine Kingdom.]

[Divine Lord: Black-scaled Swamp Lizard Demigod.]

[Divine Kingdom Environment: Poisonous Swamp, Corrosive Water, Hot and Humid Miasma, Gravity Mud Pit.]

[Danger Record: Has killed five Xinghe University students.]

[Mission Requirements: Breach the enemy's Divine Core within twenty days in the outside world.]

[Failure Result: Review qualification canceled, forced evacuation with no recorded achievements.]

Wang Pingan stared at the light screen, his gaze narrowing slightly.

The Blood Moon Wreckage belonged to a broken Divine Kingdom; the enemy relied on numbers, blood mist, and origin burning.

The Black Swamp Scale Nest was completely different.

This Divine Kingdom not only had a more complete construction of laws, but its environment was also a natural counter to heavy armor legions.

Once heavy armor fell into the mud, shield walls could not advance, the Artillery Battalion was difficult to set up, the Cavalry lost room for charging, and even rescue efficiency would drop significantly.

The deacon pointed to the light screen image: "The Black-scaled Swamp Lizards in the Black Swamp Scale Nest are adept at ambushes, venom spitting, and swamp stealth, and are especially good at dragging down heavy armor units."

"There was once a mechanical-style freshman with a quite powerful firepower system. As a result, his main artillery position was swallowed by the mud, the Divine Kingdom passage was flooded with corrosive water, and in the end, his Divine Core was damaged; the school only managed to barely recover his remaining divinity."

The temperature in the hall did not drop, but these words carried a chilling coldness.

Wang Pingan's gaze did not leave the light screen: "Is the intelligence limited to this?"

The deacon nodded: "Basic terrain, general unit types, and the death records of five students; the school only provides this much."

"The Grade A Sequence review tests not only combat power but also values reconnaissance, adaptation, logistics, combat damage control, and on-the-spot contingency."

"If you only know how to blindly push forward, your fate after entering will be extremely miserable."

Wang Pingan did not get angry; instead, he nodded.

This mission was indeed tricky.

But only such difficulty was worthy of the name of the Grade A Sequence.

He raised his hand and pressed the mission confirmation light screen.

"I accept."

The deacon looked at him: "After confirmation, the twenty-day countdown starts from the moment you officially initiate the teleportation, not now."

Wang Pingan put away the coordinates and turned to leave.

As soon as he stepped out of the Management Hall, the giant light screen outside the hall automatically popped up a school-wide announcement.

[Freshman Wang Pingan has accepted the Grade A Sequence review mission: Black Swamp Scale Nest.]

As soon as the news came out, the circle of freshmen outside the hall was in an uproar.

"Black Swamp Scale Nest? The school must be crazy; that place has claimed five students!"

"I checked the records; one of them was ranked in the top two hundred upon admission, led three thousand mechanical legions inside, and when they came out, there was only a pile of relics left."

"This is no ordinary review; it is clearly a bloody gateway to the ghost realm."

"If Wang Pingan's heavy armor legion enters the poisonous swamp, I'm afraid they will lose half their combat power to the terrain."

Lu Ming also saw the mission name clearly.

His expression changed suddenly.

Originally, he thought Wang Pingan would at most accept an ordinary high-risk mission.

In that way, he could take the opportunity to complete his first battle and find an excuse to steal the spotlight back.

Who would have thought the school would throw out the Black Swamp Scale Nest directly.

This name carried too much weight.

A teammate beside Lu Ming lowered his voice: "Brother Lu, this target is too insidious. Once a heavy armor legion gets stuck inside, the swamp can waste half their combat power."

Lu Ming felt no joy.

Instead, his heart grew heavier.

If Wang Pingan could really clear the Black Swamp Scale Nest, the Grade A Sequence position would be almost solidified.

By then, those families with deep foundations in the Central Star Region would have to look at him squarely.

Lu Ming stared fixedly at Wang Pingan's retreating back, his fists clenched tightly in his sleeves.

Wang Pingan did not look back.

The mission was already in hand.

The next proper thing to do was not to engage in a war of words with Lu Ming.

But to go and crush that high-risk Divine Kingdom that had buried five Xinghe University students, tearing it apart bone and marrow.