Chapter 123: Difficulty of the Trial Upgraded—How Can You Proceed Without a Stakes?

"Old Xu…"

"I know this kid is a freak, and I know he's the strongest in this year's Dragon Order class."

"I know about those Flame Pillars, Spiral Dragon Bullets, Quicksand Domains… even that Fire-Earth combo technique. To master all these in such a short time is already insane enough."

Guhe shifted his tone, jabbing his finger hard against the document:

"But these new additions on here—aren't they a bit too much?"

"Thunder Chain Prison? Earthshaking Thousand Rock Spears? Death Thorn Rock Spear? New Thunder-Fire combo techniques? Even special techniques have appeared?"

"You're telling me this is a freshman?"

Guhe turned his gaze to Xu Wenchang, eyes blazing:

"Old Xu, be honest with me—is this kid just filling out forms for fun, or did he hold back during the entrance exam?"

"Hahahaha."

Xu Wenchang burst into laughter, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

It felt like the monster he'd raised had finally startled someone else—some strange, satisfying pleasure stirred inside him.

"Principal, I didn't fill out the form randomly, and he didn't hold back during the exam—he genuinely couldn't do any of it back then."

"The Thunder Chain Prison? He just unlocked it yesterday on the train, to deal with the beast surge."

"As for the rest… he learned them all today."

At these words,

Guhe's mouth dropped open, his aged face etched with shock.

After a long silence, he finally spoke:

"In one day, he mastered all these techniques? Including combo techniques and special techniques?"

"No, is Lin Mo even human?"

Xu Wenchang shrugged, expression utterly matter-of-fact:

"Well, that's just how geniuses are."

"Genius?"

Guhe frowned, countering:

"Old Xu, have we never seen geniuses before? This year's Space System student, Ye Kong—genius enough? He only knows five techniques."

"And Chen Tianming a few years ago—he was brilliant back then, but how long did it take him to unlock his first combo technique? A whole month!"

"Look at Lin Mo! He learned this whole pile of techniques in one day—and threw in a special technique on top!"

"You call this genius?"

"Tell me, which genius ever did anything like this? This is just… just…"

Guhe struggled for a long time, unable to find a suitable word to describe it.

Xu Wenchang watched the furious Guhe, and spoke slowly:

"So, Principal."

"Before Lin Mo, those so-called geniuses were just… ordinary people with a bit of talent."

Guhe: "…"

He fell silent.

Though the words stung, crushed the ego,

he looked at the skill sheet on the desk—and had to admit Xu Wenchang was right.

Guhe stared at the skill sheet for a long while, then finally spoke:

"You're right. Before meeting Lin Mo, they were all geniuses. But now that we've seen Lin Mo… there's only one genius."

"Huh…"

Guhe exhaled deeply, sinking back into his chair.

His expression regained some calm, but the shock still burned in his eyes:

"Old Xu, tell me in detail—what exactly happened today?"

Xu Wenchang nodded.

Then,

he briefly recounted everything that had occurred that day.

After listening to Xu Wenchang's account,

Guhe leaned back in his chair, silent for a long time.

Much later,

he shook his head, letting out a bitter laugh:

"Perfect absorption in one try, mastered the Thunder-Fire combo after a single night's sleep…"

"Looks like the God Sect of Ying Country is in for a rough time at this year's 30th-level World Battlefield."

The two exchanged a knowing smile.

After a brief silence,

Guhe seemed to remember something, and changed the subject:

"By the way, Old Xu."

"Isn't the Freshman Trial coming up the day after tomorrow?"

Xu Wenchang paused, then nodded:

"Yes, at nine a. . the day after tomorrow."

"As usual, twenty Dragon Order freshmen face two hundred elite second-year students from regular classes."

At this, Xu Wenchang's face broke into a relaxed grin:

"Honestly, in past years, the Dragon Order freshmen never won—level gaps are too wide, and their coordination is terrible."

"But this year…"

Xu Wenchang chuckled, "With Lin Mo, plus that Space System kid Ye Kong, and the Han sisters…"

"I feel sorry for those two hundred selected second-years."

Yet,

Guhe frowned, shaking his head slightly.

"Old Xu, what's the point of a trial with zero suspense?"

Xu Wenchang blinked:

"What do you mean, Principal?"

Guhe stood, hands behind his back, pacing the office:

"The Freshman Trial's purpose is to let them feel the brutality of the battlefield."

"To make them understand how insignificant individual strength is against overwhelming numbers, to force out their potential, to teach them teamwork."

"If Lin Mo alone can effortlessly wipe out two hundred second-years, what's the point?"

Guhe stopped pacing, turning to face Xu Wenchang: "We're training warriors who will fight on the World Battlefield."

Xu Wenchang looked at Guhe, his heart sinking:

"Principal… you're not thinking…"

Guhe's lips curled slightly: "Let's change the rules this year. The entire second-year cohort… fights together."

"Cough! Cough! Cough…"

Xu Wenchang choked on his own breath: "The entire second-year cohort? Principal, are you serious?"

"Twenty people against two thousand? That's a hundred-to-one ratio!"

Guhe waved his hand dismissively: "Calm down, calm down."

"Old Xu, think about the World Battlefield—is there ever any fairness?"

"Ambushes happen anytime, anywhere. Facing enemies three, five, even fifty times your number—that's routine."

"And I want to see just how far Lin Mo's limits stretch. Can he still create miracles?"

"I want to see whether Ye Kong, Han Mengyao, and other arrogant geniuses can drop their pride and truly learn to fight around a core."

"That's what makes it interesting. A trial with no suspense? What's the point?"

Xu Wenchang opened his mouth to argue, yet found Guhe's logic undeniable.

Xu Wenchang opened his mouth to refute, but felt Guhe's words made sense.

Two thousand people!

One fireball each would drown them!

"This… this is insane…"

Xu Wenchang muttered to himself.

Guhe smiled:

"No madness, no survival."

"Since this is the generation where the Gods Descend, they deserve the treatment of Gods Descending."

"Since this is an era of the Gods' Descent, it must be treated with the honor befitting the Gods' Descent."

Guhe flipped his wrist.

A violent surge of thunderous energy instantly filled the entire office.

A wild surge of thunderous energy instantly filled the entire office.

Xu Wenchang glanced instinctively.

There, floating in Guhe's palm, was a blue crystal the size of a fist.

The crystal was utterly translucent, with countless tiny lightning serpents darting and colliding within it.

Xu Wenchang's pupils shrank sharply; he blurted out: "A lightning element shard? Where did you get this?"

"Hahaha, you don't need to know. I just had good luck a few days ago."

Guhe laughed heartily.

Xu Wenchang didn't care where it came from—only that, at this moment, he'd brought out this shard…

"Principal, are you planning to…?"

Guhe smiled faintly:

"Since the difficulty has increased, how can we proceed without a worthy prize?"

"This lightning element shard will be the final reward for this trial."

"Whoever wins, it belongs to them."