185: Human Champion

Three days passed slowly amidst anxiety and anticipation.

For the Examinees who had just undergone the brutal baptism of the Abyss Trial, these three days were both a precious respite to treat their post-war Divine Realm trauma and adjust their mindset, as well as the final tranquility before waiting for the verdict. The entire Cloud City, and even the entire Star Sea Star Domain, was filled with a tense and excited atmosphere. Major media outlets had long been gearing up, with various predictive analysis articles flooding the scene, and street corners and tea houses were buzzing with speculation about this year's College Entrance Examination top scorer.

During these three days, Lin Zhou hardly stepped out of his house.

He declined all visits from those who were curious, prying, or trying to establish connections early—including school leaders, local chambers of commerce, and even some distant relatives. He set up a filter on his home communicator, allowing only a few select numbers to get through.

Most of the time, he stayed in a simple meditation room converted from his own bedroom, sitting cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed, his consciousness sinking into that still-devastated Divine Realm.

The shattering of his Godhead and the depletion of his Divine Power made it impossible for him to mobilize power, perform miracles, or carry out large-scale construction as freely as before. However, basic consciousness links, status checks, and certain operations through the Temple of Civilization that did not consume Divine Power were still possible.

His primary task was to attempt to repair his Godhead.

His consciousness sank into the depths of his Godhead, a void space filled with cobweb-like pale gold cracks. The Godhead's core crystal, which should have been rotating stably and emitting the glow of Order, was now dim and covered in cracks. Many fragments had even shifted, barely held together by a faint connection to his Origin. Every touch of his consciousness brought waves of stinging pain and a sense of weakness originating from his Soul's source.

[Godhead Status Panel (Severely Damaged)]:

Integrity: 12.7% (92% functional loss)

Stability: Extremely Low (At risk of further disintegration at any time, requires external stabilization)

Divine Power Conversion/Storage Function: Completely disabled

Rule Processing Capability: Dropped to basic perception level

Divine Fire: Extinguished (Embers remain in the deepest part of the core, needs to be reignited)

Budding divine office (Education/Law): Dormant due to Godhead damage, cannot be activated

Repairing such severe injuries via conventional methods was slow and dangerous. Fortunately, he had the divinity crystal rewarded from the trial.

Guided by his consciousness, a crystal the size of a pigeon egg appeared from the storage space of the Temple of Civilization. It was pure pale gold, with countless tiny rule runes seemingly flowing inside. This was a legendary-tier resource—divinity crystal (Faint). It emitted gentle and stable rule fluctuations; merely being near it caused the restless cracks within the Godhead space to calm slightly.

Lin Zhou did not use it rashly. He first used the Sanctuary to look up the precautions for using divinity crystals—this was content from the Temple of Civilization's basic database and did not require Divine Power.

[divinity crystal (Rule Fragment Aggregate)]:

Usage: Repairing Godhead damage, increasing Godhead Rank/potential, serving as high-level Divine Power reserves, forging rule-based Divine Artifact cores, etc.

Method of Use (Godhead Repair): Requires using one's own divinity (if any) or Origin consciousness as a guide to slowly lead the rule power within the crystal into the Godhead cracks for filling and bonding. The process must be extremely cautious; going too fast or using too much may cause rule conflicts, leading to secondary damage.

Single Safe Absorption Limit: Related to the current state of the Godhead and the user's control. During the Faint Divinity stage, it is recommended not to use more than 1 unit at a time, with an interval of at least seven days.

Estimated Repair Efficiency (Current State): 1 unit of divinity crystal can increase Godhead integrity by approximately 1.5%-2.5% and slightly improve stability.

"One unit increases it by 1.5% to 2.5%..." Lin Zhou calculated in his mind. "I have ten units. If I use them all, in an ideal situation, I can restore integrity to around 28% to 35%. Although it's far from a complete repair, at least I can escape the dangerous state of 'at risk of disintegration at any time' and restore some basic functions."

He didn't hesitate for long. Time waited for no one. After the College Entrance Examination results were announced, there would surely be more things to handle, and a shattered Godhead would severely limit his actions and abilities.

"Let's begin."

Concentrating his consciousness, he carefully separated a wisp of his purest Origin intent, like the finest thread, and wrapped it around the floating divinity crystal. The crystal vibrated slightly, the rule runes inside accelerated their flow, and it emitted a brighter pale gold Glow.

Then, Lin Zhou guided this wisp of intent, carrying a trace of gentle and pure rule power stripped from the crystal, slowly approaching a relatively obvious but not yet completely severed main crack on the Godhead core.

The moment of contact!

Hum—

An indescribable complex sensation, as if cold and heat were intertwined, accompanied by numbness and stinging, fed back through that wisp of intent. The Godhead fragments emitted a subtle resonant vibration, and the edges of the crack began to slowly absorb that pure rule power, like parched earth absorbing sweet rain. The pale gold rule threads acted like the most precise nano-surgery, filling the gaps of the crack bit by bit, bonding and reinforcing them.

The process was extremely slow and required full concentration for microscopic manipulation. Any trace of impatience or instability could cause the rule power to dissipate or even impact other fragile areas.

Lin Zhou cast aside all distracting thoughts and devoted his entire mind to it. Time outside passed bit by bit; fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and his complexion turned pale at times and flushed unnaturally at others.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

It felt like just a moment, yet also like years.

"Phew—"

Lin Zhou exhaled a long breath of turbid air and slowly opened his eyes. The meditation room was still silent, and the sky outside was nearing dusk. The first absorption was over.

His consciousness sank into the Godhead space again. That main crack had clearly become much thinner and fainter, and the stability of the surrounding area had also improved slightly. He checked the panel:

[Godhead Integrity]: 14.3% (+1.6%)

[Stability]: Low (Out of 'Extremely Low' risk)

[Divine Power Conversion/Storage Function]: Still disabled

[Rule Processing Capability]: Faint recovery (Can perform extremely low-load rule analysis)

It worked! Although the increase wasn't large, he had indeed escaped the most dangerous situation. Moreover, the improvement in Godhead stability made the link between his consciousness and the Divine Realm a bit smoother, reducing that constant sense of crisis as if it would shatter the next second.

"I can't absorb continuously; I need intervals and adaptation." Lin Zhou felt the not-yet-fully-settled rule ripples from the Godhead and his mental exhaustion, so he decided to pause.

He turned his attention to the Temple of Civilization.

Inside the Sanctuary, due to the injection of a million civilization points, some areas that had been dim due to insufficient energy lit up again. The most prominent change was naturally the newly opened [Hall of Heroes].

Lin Zhou's consciousness stepped into this hall emitting a warm white light. The hall was empty, with a simple and solemn style; on the walls were faint reliefs depicting the deeds of ancient sages, but most were blurred. In the center of the hall, the true spirit halo belonging to Elwin was still blurry, but it seemed a tiny bit more solid than three days ago.

[Heroic Spirit · Elwin (Nurturing)]

[Status]: True Spirit Remnant (Integrity 12.9%, +0.2%)

[Nurturing Progress]: 0.02%/day (Affected by Sanctuary civilization aura concentration and civilization point supplementation; efficiency doubled due to civilization point injection)

[Estimated Full Awakening Time (Current Rate)]: Approximately 173.5 years

[Ways to Accelerate]: Invest civilization points, integrate civilization-related wonders/sacred objects, complete specific civilization propagation achievements, etc.

The nurturing speed doubled! It increased from 0.01% to 0.02%, and the estimated awakening time was cut in half! This was clearly the result of the million civilization points injection increasing the overall civilization aura concentration of the Sanctuary.

Lin Zhou felt slightly comforted. 173 years was still long, but he could now see hope. Moreover, there were ways to accelerate it.

He tried to focus his consciousness on the "Invest civilization points" option. Immediately, a simple interface appeared:

[Do you want to consume civilization points to accelerate the nurturing of Heroic Spirit · Elwin?]

[Current Exchange Rate]: 1,000 civilization points ≈ 0.001% integrity increase (or equivalent acceleration)

[Warning]: Large and rapid injections of civilization points may lead to the true spirit becoming "unstable"; it must be combined with natural nurturing. It is recommended not to inject more than 10,000 points daily.

"1,000 points for 0.001%..." Lin Zhou did the math. If he wanted to directly increase integrity from 12.9% to 100%, he would need to consume... 871 million civilization points! This was clearly not something he could afford now. And there was the "unstable" warning.

"A maximum of 10,000 points daily..." Lin Zhou thought for a moment and decided to try investing 10,000 points first.

Confirmed with a thought.

Instantly, the civilization points in his account decreased by 10,000. Within the Hall of Heroes, a large number of milky white light spots containing a thick civilization aura emerged out of thin air, swarming into Elwin's true spirit halo like fireflies. The halo brightened and solidified a bit at a speed visible to the naked eye!

[Heroic Spirit · Elwin (Nurturing)]

[Status]: True Spirit Remnant (Integrity 13.0%, +0.1%)

[Nurturing Progress]: 0.021%/day (Temporary increase, will last for 3 days)

[Current Integrity Bonus Effect (Estimated)]: True spirit outline is slightly clearer, resonance with Confucian classics enhanced.

It worked! Although consuming 10,000 points only increased integrity by 0.1% and was just a temporary acceleration, it was indeed effective. Moreover, after the integrity increased, the base nurturing speed seemed to have a permanent tiny increase (from 0.02% to 0.021%).

"Investing 10,000 points every day, persisting long-term, and cooperating with the Sanctuary's natural nurturing and possible future wonders and sacred objects, the time for Elwin's return might be significantly shortened." Lin Zhou had a plan in mind. Although civilization points were precious, using them on nurturing a Heroic Spirit was worth it.

After handling these two most important matters, Lin Zhou inspected the recovery situation of the Divine Realm.

Under his instructions (by giving vague Orders to the remaining heroes Fire Hammer, Qing Lin, and others, who then executed them specifically), the Divine Realm began a slow and orderly reconstruction.

The surviving ten thousand plus followers demonstrated amazing resilience and unity under the basic Order maintained by Legalist Law and the grief-soothing influence of Confucian ideology.

The Tiangong Dwarves and Mechanical Goblins (some of the cooperative units left by Li Mo) joined forces to first clear the ruins. Using the remaining Materials, they built simple shelters and basic workshops. On the ruins of the Tiangong Workshop, several smoking blacksmith furnaces and carpentry benches had already been set up, starting to produce basic tools and repair Materials.

The Literary Heart Elves, led by a newly promoted young Elwin scholar named "Huiyan" (one of Elwin's former Disciples, Rank LV28, talent [Encyclopedic Memory], with a high comprehension of Confucian classics), set up a simple school next to the ruins of the Jixia Academy that hadn't completely collapsed. They began providing enlightenment Education for the children who survived the disaster while organizing and salvaging some of the classics. The fire of Education was never extinguished.

Although the Law Fishmen Law enforcement squad had suffered heavy casualties, under the leadership of the new Law enforcement officer "Tiemian" (a Fishman warrior who stood out from the Ranks due to military merit and strict discipline, Rank LV30, talent [Impartiality], with extremely high execution of Legalist Edicts), they patrolled day and night to maintain basic Order and safety within the Divine Realm, preventing any possible riots or looting. Although the Net of Law could not manifest due to the damaged Godhead, the invisible majesty remained.

Under the remote guidance of Qing Lin (whose main body still needed bed rest), the Medical Apprentices opened a new medicinal garden at the former site of the Imperial Hospital. They carefully planted the remaining Spirit Medicine seeds and herbs collected from the wild while continuing to care for the wounded. The power of life was tenaciously recovering.

School of Agriculture Ideology also began to play a role. Several dwarves and elves skilled in farming, in the river valley areas that were relatively less damaged, utilized the remaining influence of the School of Agrarianism's Fertile Soil Technique (the miracle building Altar of Shennong was destroyed, but the ideological imprint remained) to reclaim new small plots of land. They planted crops with shorter growth cycles in hopes of replenishing food reserves as soon as possible.

Everything was developing in a positive direction, though slowly and with difficulty.

[Divine Realm Three-Day Recovery Data]:

Natural Population Growth: +27 people (newborns)

New Buildings: Simple Dwellings x120, Elementary Workshop x8, Temporary Schoolhouse x1, Sentry Watchtower x15

Daily Resource Production Recovery: Wood +200 units/day, Stone +150 units/day, Iron Ingots +50 units/day, Food temporarily self-sufficient (low standard)

Average Rank: Survivor average Rank increased by 0.5 (digestion of combat experience)

Daily Faith Production: Stabilized at around 85,000 units/day, showing a slight recovery

Special Status: Post-war Weakness (27 days remaining); Glow of Civilization effect persists; New status "Hope of Reconstruction" (Work Efficiency +5%, Morale +10%)

Looking at these data, Lin Zhou felt slightly at ease. The Foundation was not destroyed; the sparks still remained. As long as he was given time, the Divine Domain would surely recover and even become stronger... The third day, early morning.

July 18th, the day the College Entrance Examination results were announced.

As the sky began to brighten, Lin Zhou had already woken up. He did not continue to Cultivate or handle Divine Domain affairs, but simply washed up and ate the breakfast his mother had prepared—which was much more sumptuous than usual. Clearly, although his parents didn't say it, their hearts were also filled with tension and anticipation.

His father, Lin Jianguo, patted his shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Relax, son. No matter the result, you are our pride." His mother, Zhang Xiulan, kept piling food into his bowl, her eyes full of concern.

"I know, Dad, Mom," Lin Zhou nodded.

8:50 AM.

Lin Zhou returned to his room, turned on his personal terminal, and accessed the Star Sea Star Domain Education Department's official channel. The screen lit up, showing a live broadcast of the giant plaza in front of the Education Department headquarters. The plaza was already a sea of people, with broadcasting equipment from major media outlets standing tall and dozens of drones circling in the air. The atmosphere was both enthusiastic and solemn.

Countless families, at this moment, were just like Lin Zhou, waiting before their screens with bated breath.

Time ticked away toward nine o'clock.

Finally, when the clock hand pointed precisely to nine o'clock—

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The giant clock atop the Education Department headquarters building let out three heavy, distant tolls that spread throughout the Star Domain's main planet and reached countless corners via the network.

The live broadcast switched.

A senior official from the Education Department, wearing a solemn ceremonial robe and looking grave, appeared in the center of the screen. Behind him was an incredibly massive silver screen, smooth as a mirror, with pale blue data streams flowing along its edges.

"Star Sea Calendar year 3478, the Universal Human Race Unified Higher Education Entrance Examination results and admission list are now officially announced!"

The official's voice resounded through the plaza via an amplification formation and also spread across the Star Net.

"First, we will announce the results of the top one thousand outstanding Examinees from each Star Domain in this year's College Entrance Examination!"

As his voice fell, the giant silver screen behind him suddenly lit up! Countless golden characters and data began to scroll and refresh rapidly like a waterfall! It was the rawest data stream, containing examination numbers, names, affiliated Star Domains and cities, trial ratings, comprehensive evaluation scores, and other information.

A huge clamor arose in the plaza as countless people craned their necks, nervously searching for familiar names or examination numbers in the fast-scrolling data. Before their personal terminals, the hearts of countless Examinees and parents leaped into their throats.

Lin Zhou watched the screen calmly. The data stream refreshed extremely quickly, but his dynamic vision and information processing capabilities far exceeded ordinary people, allowing him to clearly capture every line of flashing information.

He saw some familiar names appearing in lower positions. Chen Hai's examination number flashed by, followed by a score of [71.5], ranking in the upper-middle of the Cloud City examination district; for his Ratman Divine Domain, it was a decent score. Zhao Hao's name appeared at some point with a score of [88.3], ranking within the top three hundred of the Star Sea Star Domain, which was quite brilliant. Wang Meng [85.7]... Qin Qing [89.1]... The data stream continued to scroll upward, the scores getting higher and the names appearing fewer, and the scrolling speed gradually slowed down.

Above 90 points... above 92 points... above 95 points... When the score exceeded 97 points, a new name appeared on the screen almost every few seconds, each name eliciting a gasp of surprise. These were the true Prodigies, the top Geniuses from major Star Domains, possessing follower races and resources unimaginable to ordinary people.

97.5... 97.8... 98.1... Finally, the data stream scrolled to the end, the very top position. The speed became extremely slow.

The clamor in the plaza had subsided at some point. Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the few names at the top of the screen that had not yet fully appeared, though their golden light was already the most dazzling.

The final rankings of the Universal Human Race College Entrance Examination!

Third place, revealed:

[Name]: Huangfu Lingyun

[Star Domain]: Central Star Domain

[Comprehensive Score]: 99.1

[Follower Race Type]: Holy Angels (Seraphim Bloodline)

[Special Note]: Successfully purified a large-scale Abyssal node during the trial; initial manifestation of "Light" divinity comprehension.

Second place, revealed:

[Name]: Dongfang Xuan

[Star Domain]: Penglai Star Domain

[Comprehensive Score]: 99.3

[Follower Race Type]: Ancient Sword Immortals (Innate Dao Body)

[Special Note]: Realized a prototype of "Supreme Sword Intent" during the trial, destroying the Abyssal Legion's command core with a single sword strike.

First... everyone's heart felt as if it were being squeezed tight.

At the top of the screen, the most dazzling golden light suddenly erupted! It was no longer a simple display of text, but rather, like a brand, it condensed in the center of the giant silver screen into two massive, gold-leafed characters with vigorous strokes that seemed to contain infinite Dao charm—

Lin Zhou!

The moment the name appeared, the clear roar of a Dragon could be heard faintly from the Void Realm! Two lifelike phantoms of Five-Clawed Golden Dragons with flying scales and claws spiraled out from both sides of the name, circling it several times before turning into specks of golden glow that merged into the name, making its light even more brilliant, like a scorching sun!

At the same time, beneath the name, lines of detailed data flashing with various colors emerged one by one, each triggering bursts of exclamations from the scene and the Star Net!

[Top Scorer]: Lin Zhou

[Affiliated Star Domain]: Star Sea Star Domain · Cloud City

[Final Comprehensive Score]: 99.8 (Abyssal Survival Trial Score: 99.8)

[Godhead Rank]: Faint Divinity (LV201, Breakthrough during the trial)

[Core Follower Composition]:

Literary Heart Elves (Confucianist ideology enlightenment, average Rank LV33, hero unit once used Words of Power exceeding their Rank, Rating: A+)

Tiangong Dwarves (Mohist Mechanisms Legacy, average Rank LV32, abnormal technological R&D and construction efficiency, Rating: A)

Law Fishmen (Legalist Edicts execution, average Rank LV31, extremely high discipline and rule resistance, Rating: A-)

[Divine Domain Traits]:

Civilization Diversity (Detected more than ten highly synergistic unique ideological systems; specific categories encrypted)

Rule Compatibility (Successfully resisted and inversely eroded Abyssal rules; manifestation of the river of civilization phantom, Rating: S+)

Development Potential (Post-war recovery speed differs from the norm; deep civilization Foundation, Rating: S)

[Core Trial Performance]:

Successfully resisted all twelve waves of the Abyssal Demonic Tide (100% completion)

Killed the final boss [Abyssal Lord · Ruler of Magma and Earth (Demigod/LV190)] (Successful challenge across Ranks)

Creatively applied multi-ideological tactical combinations to form a prototype attack of "principles of civilization" (Originality Rating: S+)

Successfully attracted and signed a temporary alliance (Earth Element · Stone Spirit Guards), demonstrating excellent diplomatic and integration capabilities (Rating: A+)

Follower hero units showed extremely high loyalty and spirit of sacrifice (related deeds recorded)

[Total Ranking]: 1st Place (Leading by a wide margin)

[Historical Ranking]: Historically first in the Abyssal Survival Trial individual category (New record)

[Zhuangyuan Rewards]:

Awarded the honorary title of "Human Race College Entrance Examination Top Scorer," to be recorded on the first page of this year's "Human Race Talents Record."

Awarded unconditional admission qualifications to nine top academies including [Xinghai University], [War God Academy], and [Penglai Immortal Sect], along with the highest-tier "Prodigy" cultivation agreement (resource tilt starting from 300%).

Awarded 100,000 [Human Race Contribution Points] (can be exchanged for rare resources, cards, Cultivation Techniques, etc., in the Human Race Treasury).

Awarded one [Exclusive Mythic-grade Resource Card Draw Opportunity] (to be delivered and activated by an Education Department commissioner within three days).

Awarded reading access to the [Human Race Council Library · Secret Vault Area] (limited to one year).

The affiliated city (Cloud City) receives a 50% increase in this year's educational resources and policy support quota; the affiliated high school (Cloud City No. 3 High School) is promoted to a "Star Domain Key Demonstration High School."

Silence.

A deathly silence enveloped the Education Department plaza and seemed to also envelop the entire Star Net.

After a full three seconds.

BOOM—!!!

A wave of sound like a mountain collapse and a tsunami suddenly erupted! It almost overturned the ground of the plaza!

"Lin Zhou! It's Lin Zhou! He's from our Star Sea Star Domain! From Cloud City!"

"99.8 points! My god! Historically first!"

"Leading by a wide margin! 0.5 points higher than second place! 0.7 points higher than third place!"

"Literary Heart Elves? Tiangong Dwarves? Law Fishmen? What kind of follower races are these? I've never heard of them!"

"Civilization Diversity? Rule Compatibility? S+ rating?!"

"He killed a Demigod Lord?! While at the Faint Divinity stage?!"

"Top Scorer! It's really the Top Scorer! Cloud City has produced the Top Scorer!!!"

The plaza was completely boiling! Before the live broadcast screens in Cloud City, countless families burst into ecstatic cheers! Within the Cloud City No. 3 High School campus, it was instantly flooded with cheers and tears! On the streets, those congratulatory banners seemed to have been infused with Souls, dazzling in the sunlight!

Inside Lin Zhou's home.

Lin Jianguo suddenly stood up from the sofa, his fists clenched, his whole body trembling slightly, and his eyes instantly turned red. He repeatedly muttered: "Good! Good! Good!" Zhang Xiulan had already covered her mouth, crying tears of joy.

Inside the room, Lin Zhou looked at the gold-leafed name surrounded by Dragon shadows on the screen, as well as the shocking data lines below, and his heart was also surging with waves.

It was done.

The Human Race Top Scorer.

What this title brought was not just supreme glory, but also solid, massive resources sufficient for him and the Divine Domain to quickly recover and soar! The "Prodigy" agreement from Xinghai University, one hundred thousand contribution points, a mythic-grade card draw opportunity, access to the Human Race Council Library... any one of these was enough to make an ordinary True God go crazy!

More importantly, this title was a banner, an announcement!

It announced that he, Lin Zhou, and The Way of the Hundred Schools he carried, had officially stepped onto the center stage of the Human Race and even the Universe! In the future, he would attract countless gazes, bear more expectations, and inevitably face more challenges and storms.

But, so what?

A path is meant to be walked out step by step. Since he had chosen this path of inheriting civilization and letting the hundred schools contend, he had long been prepared to face everything.

Just then, a series of urgent notification sounds came from his personal terminal. Communication requests were instantly overflowing! There were some from the school, some from the Education Department, some from local media, some from unknown numbers, and even official communications labeled "Xinghai University Admissions Office," "War God Academy Special Envoy," and so on.

At the same time, the Divine Domain link also sent a faint wave of joy and excitement. It was the congratulations and uncontrollable excitement sent by Fire Hammer, Qing Lin, and others through the faith link. The surviving followers in the entire Divine Domain must also be immersed in immense glory and joy at this moment.

Lin Zhou took a deep breath and did not immediately answer any communications.

He first looked at the screen. The list was still scrolling to show subsequent rankings and detailed information, but his name was already eternally engraved at the very top.

Then, he looked out the window.

The morning sun was just right, passing through the glass and spilling onto the desk, bright and warm.

Xinghai University... Su Yueyao... Hundred Schools Society... Godhead repair... Hero recall... Civilization dissemination... Countless future scenes seemed to slowly unfold in this dazzling sunlight.

The Human Race Top Scorer was only the starting point.

His journey was that vast and boundless sea of stars, the distant place where the river of civilization flowed.