26: Chapter 26 The Opening of the Prodigy Tournament

The news that the school's Prodigy Tournament was about to begin was like a massive boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up immense waves throughout Jiangcheng No. 3 High School.

It was not just a competition, but a stepping stone to a higher stage, the only opportunity for a carp to leap over the dragon's gate.

Especially the champion's prize of one million Faith Points, which was enough for any commoner god to completely change their destiny.

Almost the moment the broadcast ended, unprecedented enthusiasm erupted in every corner of the campus. Countless students rushed out of classrooms, libraries, and training grounds, their faces filled with fanaticism and longing, surging like a tide toward the Academic Affairs Office.

By the lake.

The heavy atmosphere between Jiang Xun and Xu Qingran was also broken by this sudden clamor.

Xu Qingran took a deep look at Jiang Xun, left behind the words "I will see your 'Dao' with my own eyes during this tournament," and then turned, merging into the stream of people heading to the Academic Affairs Office without hesitation.

Her back carried a sense of resolute fighting spirit.

Jiang Xun adjusted his glasses, watched her disappear into the crowd, and then looked at the ordinary students arguing over resource allocation not far away, before finally stepping forward and following at a leisurely pace.

The registration area was packed with people, but when Jiang Xun appeared, they automatically parted to create a path.

Those who had once dared to mock him now subconsciously lowered their heads, their eyes darting away, not daring to meet his gaze.

Having crushed Monitor Zhou Yi in one fell swoop during the monthly assessment, the name Jiang Xun had already become synonymous with strength and mystery.

The Prodigy Tournament officially opened a week later.

The format was a round-robin point system; all participants were randomly matched, with three points for a win and zero for a loss. The top two in the final point rankings would enter the finals.

Inside the massive open-air stadium, the crowd was boisterous, and on the rostrum, the principal and a group of instructors wore serious expressions.

Jiang Xun's first match began quickly. His opponent was a student from the Key Class ranked in the middle, possessing an A-grade talent, the Lava Civilization.

That student had clearly done his homework. As soon as the match started, he summoned several volcanoes in his Divine Kingdom sandbox, with rolling lava forming a natural defensive line, attempting to use high temperature and terrain advantages to restrain Jiang Xun's human ground forces.

"Jiang Xun, no matter how strong your believers are, they are ultimately flesh and blood. Do you really think they can step across the lava!" he shouted, a hint of confidence on his face that his scheme had succeeded.

The watching students also discussed it, believing this move to be truly brilliant.

However, Jiang Xun merely issued an order calmly.

"Orc Legion, charge."

As the words fell, the one hundred believers in his Divine Kingdom sandbox instantly expanded, their muscles knotted, their skin turning crimson, and they let out beast-like roars.

That was the Orc "Berserk" ability Jiang Xun had plundered from Wang Qiang, now a perfect version after having its side effects removed by [Civilization Deduction]!

Boom!

The next second, this temporarily transformed "Orc Legion" ignored the scorching lava beneath their feet and, like a torrent of red-hot steel, rushed directly through the lava defensive line at a completely unreasonable speed!

Their skin sizzled in the high heat, yet not a single person stopped for even a step!

"What?!" The student's eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.

Before he could react, the berserk legion had already crushed his fragile backline troops, and in less than three minutes, they had destroyed his Divine Kingdom core.

[Jiang Xun, victory!]

The cold notification sound rang out.

The entire arena was deathly silent at first, then erupted into a roar of discussion like a tidal wave.

"Did I see that right? Isn't he a Human Civilization? How can he turn into Orcs?!"

"What is this? Dual civilization? No, that doesn't conform to the laws of gods at all!"

On the instructor's podium, several instructors looked at each other, and the recording pen in one of their hands fell to the ground with a "clatter."

Xu Qingran sat in the corner, her eyes flickering.

She could see that it wasn't a true Orc Civilization, but a more sophisticated application of laws, forcibly grafting the "Berserk" characteristic of the Orc Civilization onto his human believers!

This method was a hundred times more terrifying than simply possessing a dual civilization!

This meant that Jiang Xun's civilization possessed infinite plasticity!

The shock of the first match had not yet subsided when the second match followed immediately.

This time, the opponent was a prodigy of the Elf Civilization who excelled at long-range kiting.

He had learned to be smart; at the start, he had all his Elf Archers pull back, unleashing a volley of ten thousand arrows, attempting to strangle Jiang Xun's believers on their charge.

However, Jiang Xun merely spat out two words calmly.

"Resilience."

A layer of imperceptible black aura enveloped all the believers. The dense rain of arrows landed on them, but only produced "clinking" sounds of metal collision, failing to even pierce their skin!

Immediately after, Jiang Xun ordered again.

"Queyue Formation, volley."

The believers quickly formed an arcane half-moon formation, with bows and spears intertwined, constructing a three-dimensional net of fire with no blind spots.

Five minutes later, all of the opponent's Elf Archers had been slaughtered.

Jiang Xun, another victory!

If the first match was shocking, then the second match plunged the entire arena into an eerie silence.

The strength of the Orc Civilization, the defense of the Undead Civilization, combined with the tactical discipline of humans themselves.

Just how many trump cards did this Jiang Xun still have hidden?

He was like a war maniac possessing an entire arsenal, while everyone else only had a small pistol in their hands.

This was not a battle on the same level at all; the subsequent matches completely turned into Jiang Xun's personal show.

In the third match, facing an opponent with a Rock Civilization, he used the "Oscillation" law derived from [Civilization Deduction] to easily shatter the opponent's pride-and-joy defense.

In the fourth match, facing an Illusion Civilization, he directly activated his divine power shield, ignored all illusions, and steamrolled straight through.

One afternoon, four matches, four crushing victories.

No one dared to discuss or question him anymore. All the gazes directed at Jiang Xun were left only with deep awe and fear.

The day's matches all ended, and the massive scoreboard refreshed.

Jiang Xun's name, with a perfect record, hung high in first place, followed by Xu Qingran, who also maintained a perfect record.

Just as everyone was preparing to leave, the organizers announced part of the next day's match list.

When they saw his next opponent appear after Jiang Xun's name, the entire arena was in an uproar again.

Wang Tao, A-grade talent [Black Tortoise Shield], ranked fifth in comprehensive strength in the Key Class!

A burly youth with a resolute face slowly stood up; his gaze, like something tangible, shot toward Jiang Xun.

The god recognized by the whole school as possessing the strongest defense.

"Jiang Xun."

Wang Tao's voice was as loud as a bell.

"Your winning streak ends here."

"No matter how many flashy tricks you have, they are meaningless in front of my absolute defense."

Facing this confident declaration of a challenge, the eyes of the whole audience focused on Jiang Xun.

Jiang Xun merely adjusted his glasses calmly, a curve imperceptible to anyone appearing at the corner of his mouth.