Chapter 7: Divine Gift

"Divine gifts are unfathomable."

Jiang Jian lay on his bed, pulling up his identity device screen: "Rather than worry needlessly, it’s better to spend the time improving my theoretical scores."

"Jiang Jian, you’re right."

Ji Ming nodded, tucked away the form, and said, "I’m going downstairs to buy something to eat, then I’ll study when I get back."

A few seconds later.

The dorm fell silent.

A semi-transparent screen emitted a faint glow, illuminating Jiang Jian’s face.

Beep.

A notification sound chimed.

An icon flickered in the corner of the screen—a new message.

Jiang Jian stared at the message’s annotation: “Black Market,” paused, then tapped it.

A low voice echoed: "There’s a big job—the client specifically requested you."

Jiang Jian smiled and replied: "Not taking any assignments for now."

Two seconds later.

The message pinged again, the voice brimming with confidence: "The client’s reward is 200 Alliance Coins."

Jiang Jian extended his finger, halting it midair.

After a brief pause, he replied: "Sorry."

After sending the reply, Jiang Jian swiped the message straight into the trash.

His gaze, however, unconsciously drifted to his assignment log.

"Nickname: Master."

"Assignments accepted: 39."

"Assignments completed: 39."

"Positive rating percentage: 100."

Jiang Jian stared at the log for several seconds.

Still, he tapped “Deactivate.”

A mechanical voice sounded: "Are you sure you wish to deactivate your assignment account?"

Jiang Jian tapped Confirm.

Beep.

Beep.

Instantly, two new messages flashed.

Jiang Jian swiped his finger, tossing the Black Market message directly into the spam folder.

"Seven years have passed."

"The story of the 'Master' in the Shadow Zone ends here."

Jiang Jian reached out, gripping the cold wooden sword’s hilt, and smiled to himself.

Clang.

The dorm door opened.

"Jiang Jian, I bought you dinner—come down and eat together."

Ji Ming held a heavy lunch box, grinning: "Spicy braised pork knuckle rice, braised meat noodles, red-braised lamb ribs, and tofu pudding soup."

"Did you win the lottery?"

Jiang Jian sat up, raising an eyebrow: "These items cost at least ten Alliance Coins."

Ji Ming chuckled and said, "I’m preparing to review 'Stellar Analysis.' If I run into anything I don’t understand, I’ll need you to explain it to me."

Jiang Jian didn’t pretend modesty: "I’ve annotated both books—they’re with my sister. I’ll send you an electronic copy tomorrow. Ask me if anything’s unclear."

With that, Jiang Jian sent a message to his sister.

He got up, washed his hands, and the two began eating their late-night meal.

"Jiang Jian, what do you think the Mirror Spirit went off to do?"

Ji Ming held a greasy piece of red-braised lamb ribs, talking as he stuffed it into his mouth.

Jiang Jian lifted his tofu pudding soup, took a small sip, and smiled without replying.

The pre-exam holiday lasted fifteen days.

Not many students remained on campus to prepare.

For ten consecutive days,

Jiang Jian and Ji Ming moved only between their dorm and the library—two points, one line.

Perhaps the wooden sword held enough stored Qi.

Jiang Jian carried it with him constantly, and no longer suffered any attacks.

Sixth floor of the library.

"It’s Teacher Zhou’s message."

The notification chimed. Jiang Jian set down his textbook and opened his identity device.

"Jiang Jian, where are you?"

"I applied for something amazing—come to my office right away!"

Zhou Yu’s excited voice rang out.

Jiang Jian blinked, exchanged a glance with Ji Ming, and asked: "Teacher Zhou, Ji Ming and I are in the library—what’s up?"

Zhou Yu seemed to be fiddling with something: "Both of you come over. I’ll explain when you get here."

The call ended.

"Jiang Jian, following you is always good."

Ji Ming grinned teasingly: "Out of hundreds of this year’s exam candidates, Teacher Zhou has a special fondness for you—he always thinks of you first when something good comes up."

Jiang Jian patted his shoulder, closed his textbook, and said: "Let’s go."

The two left the library and headed toward Zhou Yu’s office.

On the way,

Ji Ming couldn’t resist his curiosity: "What’s this amazing thing Teacher Zhou mentioned?"

"I don’t know," Jiang Jian shook his head. "But from the tone of his voice, he’s thrilled—this thing must be significant."

As they spoke, they arrived in front of the teaching building.

Jiang Jian looked up, swiped his identity device, and added: "I think it’s related to the Divine Gift Exam."

A mechanical voice announced: "Verification successful."

The elevator doors opened, and the two stepped inside.

Ji Ming nodded in agreement: "Teacher Zhou devoted tremendous effort preparing special courses for this exam."

Jiang Jian said: "Whatever it is, we’ll find out when we get there."

Outside Zhou Yu’s office.

Jiang Jian knocked first: "Teacher Zhou, it’s me."

The next second,

A disheveled young man in slippers opened the door, saw Jiang Jian, and immediately grinned: "Come in! Look at what I got!"

Jiang Jian and Ji Ming entered the room, looked up—and froze in shock.

A massive machine stood before them, surrounded by a transparent glass enclosure, glowing with blinding blue light.

Zhou Yu exclaimed: "This is a simulation exam machine! I applied for it specially from Anhezhou! There’s only one in the entire Shadow Zone—and even in the Divine Illumination Zone, there aren’t more than ten!"

Ji Ming stared in awe, stepping forward to touch the smooth glass: "Teacher Zhou, I’ve only seen this in records—I never imagined you actually got one!"

Zhou Yu laughed: "I went through hell just to secure a one-week loan. After the Divine Gift Exam, I have to return it."

Here, he paused.

His gaze fixed on Jiang Jian, filled with anticipation: "Jiang Jian, get in and try it—I’ve already calibrated everything!"

The massive machine emitted a low, resonant hum, its glow making the air feel heavy.

Jiang Jian studied it carefully, staring at the answer sheet on the screen: "Teacher Zhou, how is this different from regular practice tests?"

Zhou Yu smiled mysteriously: "For theoretical exams, the difference is minimal."

"Its true value lies in simulating Divine Gift outcomes!"

He pulled out a control screen and swiped rapidly: "This machine contains Divine Gift data from past examinees in Guangling City—hundreds of thousands of samples!"

"After you complete a randomized theoretical exam,"

"It matches your answers and response speed to predict the most likely Divine Gift to manifest for you!"

"Jiang Jian, you’re my most outstanding student—I have no concerns about your theoretical scores."

Zhou Yu stepped forward, opened the glass door by hand, his expression eager: "But Divine Gifts? No one can predict them."

"Stay here today. Run multiple simulations. I’ll help you analyze which Divine Gift is most probable."

As he finished speaking,

He glanced at Ji Ming and quickly added: "When you’re not busy, Ji Ming, you can try too."

Ji Ming chuckled bitterly: "Teacher Zhou, I’m not in a hurry."

Jiang Jian stepped into the machine; the glass door slowly sealed shut.

Silence fell all around.

Blue light flickered above.

The once-transparent glass gradually fogged over, blocking the view.

A mechanical voice came: “The written exam has begun. Please answer the questions. Full score: 50.”

(End of chapter)