3.3 Journey to the West: The Four Pilgrims

The surveillance room was engulfed in complete silence.

“This… this can’t be!” Lin Wenyu abruptly stood up from his seat. “She actually matched with the gods?”

On the screen, four beams of divine power intertwined in the void.

“And all four gods manifested simultaneously!” Jiang Yuqing’s voice trembled slightly. “This kind of situation…”

In the footage of other candidates, a summoning usually manifested only one deity at a time.

Even a genius like Jiang Qingyu only achieved a dual-god resonance.

But here, four gods appeared at once? The Chinese pantheon gods were matched to this D-level test paper?

“Could she be even more talented than Jiang Qingyu?” Jiang Yuqing muttered.

Zhou Nanyuan’s expression grew serious as he fixed his gaze on the screen.

He had never witnessed such a phenomenon before.

Not to mention a D-level test paper, even an A-level one would not summon four gods simultaneously.

How on earth did this candidate, Su Fu, manage it?

Lin Wenyu’s face darkened. “Even if she summoned them, there’s no way she could recognize them.”

“The Chinese pantheon is the hardest to identify. There have been previous manifestations, but no one could name them.”

“Recognizing even one would be a fairy tale, let alone four!”

He spoke the truth.

The greatest challenge of the Chinese pantheon lies in this.

When a god manifests, only a vague outline appears. One must correctly pronounce the deity’s name and title to establish a connection and receive divine blessings.

Otherwise, even if the god appears before one’s eyes, no divine power can be obtained.

But for candidates of the Chinese pantheon, who lack such information, this task is nearly impossible.

Then, from the assessment space came Su Fu’s faint voice:

“Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong!”

Boom!

The first golden light flared.

Lin Wenyu’s expression froze.

“Reincarnation of the Golden Cicada, Tang Sanzang!”

The second golden light dazzled.

Jiang Yuqing’s expression grew even more serious.

“Marshal Tianpeng, Zhu Bajie!”

The third silver light shot skyward.

Zhou Nanyuan slowly stood.

“General Who Unrolls the Curtain, Sha Wujing!”

The fourth blue light exploded.

The monitoring room fell silent.

Everyone held their breath—Chinese gods, all successfully summoned!

After a long while, Zhou Nanyuan broke the silence.

His throat tightened. “If I recall correctly… this is the first successful summoning of the Chinese pantheon in Lingxiao Province.”

Jiang Yuqing gasped. “You mean…”

“Exactly,” Zhou Nanyuan’s expression was complex as he stared at Su Fu on screen. “According to divine regulations, when a god system is successfully summoned for the first time in the province, an official announcement will be made across the entire province.”

“After this exam concludes, the Divine Evolution Council will spread this news throughout Lingxiao Province.”

“Everyone will know her name.”

Su Fu, the first candidate to successfully summon the Chinese pantheon.

This marked the arrival of faith in the Chinese pantheon within Lingxiao Province.

…

After the shock subsided, Jiang Yuqing eagerly shifted her gaze to Su Fu’s skills.

Although only the names were visible and the specific effects known only to the candidate, as an experienced invigilator, she could roughly infer from the titles.

Perhaps her expectations had been too high; upon seeing these skills, she shook her head in disappointment.

“Club weapons and pitchforks are the most basic weapon skills.”

“They are most common in D-level exams, almost every candidate draws one or two.”

“As for the Quicksand Crossing Technique, it’s probably some kind of support skill, also quite ordinary.”

She had expected some impressive abilities from these four Chinese gods, but this was it?

This realization brought some solace to Lin Wenyu. After all, although Su Fu summoned the Chinese gods, this was only a D-level test paper with inherent limitations.

Seeing the skill names, he nodded knowingly and added, “The most useful seem to be ‘Buddha’s Radiance’ and ‘Doom of Demons.’ Especially the latter; judging by its name, it’s a skill specifically countering demon anomalies.”

“However…” He paused, eyes fixed on the four silhouettes, “these gods probably aren’t of a high rank.”

It was well known that gods have ranks.

High-level gods were unlikely to appear on such low-level test papers. The reasoning was simple: high-level gods have their pride and wouldn’t lower themselves easily.

But there were exceptions, such as noble families who could pay the price.

“Also, look at the silhouettes,” Lin Wenyu pointed at the screen, “aside from the humanoid figure, the other three appear to be animal forms.”

According to current consensus, animal-form gods were much weaker than humanoid ones.

That was almost universally accepted.

—

“So, that humanoid god should be the strongest,” Jiang Yuqing concluded, “and I recall the ‘Doom of Demons’ skill was bestowed by him.”

Zhou Nanyuan’s eyes darkened, deep in thought.

“The test begins.”

…

Following the Divine Evolution’s prompt, the void before Su Fu began to warp, swiftly constructing a forested mountain scene.

Distant peaks loomed faintly through swirling mist. A winding mountain path snaked upward.

That path led to Mount Ling.

Her assessment was to proceed step by step along this demon-infested mountain trail to the end.

She flexed her wrist and took a deep breath.

With her movement, her school uniform gradually transformed into a simple azure robe.

She had entered the test.

A prompt sounded in her ear:

[Assessment Scoring Criteria: Number of Anomalies Eliminated]

[Current Location: Mount Ling Branch Range - Eastern Edge]

[Nearby Anomalies: 0]

Su Fu remained calm. Zero anomalies meant safety.

But ten minutes in…

Why hadn’t she seen a single demon anomaly?

Without demons, how could she eliminate anomalies? How could she score?

She stopped, looking at the empty mountain path, doubting her fate.

“Surely… I can’t be this unlucky, right?”

The invigilators watching had mixed expressions.

For D-level papers, they could see all exam locations and anomaly distributions.

Jiang Yuqing eyed the obvious map. “Shen Yunling is so lucky, positioned near the center where anomalies are densest.”

Flickering dots marked Shen Yunling’s location, surrounded by a dense cluster of red points.

Those weren’t anomalies—they were abundant points!

“Jiang Qingyu’s position is a bit worse, but the anomaly count is still considerable.”

As for Su Fu…

Lin Wenyu leaned closer and laughed. “Is there really someone this unlucky? At the very edge of the map, not a single anomaly in sight.”

On the map, Su Fu’s vicinity was a blank expanse; the nearest demon anomaly was at least half a day’s walk away.

Lin Wenyu breathed easier, his tone relaxed. “I was hoping to see her skills in action, but now it seems she might not even get the chance.”

There were two ways to complete the test: one, reach the endpoint according to anomaly rules; two, eliminate all anomalies and end early.

If no anomalies remained, the test’s rules would end.

With Su Fu’s terrible position, by the time she encountered her first demon, Shen Yunling might have already eliminated all anomalies and finished early.

At that moment, in Shen Yunling’s exam footage, the Apollo statue slightly raised its hand.

Golden arrows condensed in the void.

A confident smile curved on his lips. With his gods and skills, surely all invigilators’ eyes were on him now.

So…

[Sun God’s Arrow · D-Level] activated!

In an instant, golden light radiated in all directions.

Arrows streaked through the sky like meteors, shooting outward in every direction.

Before the demons could react, they were pierced by the arrows, dissolving into points of starlight.

[Ding!]

[Score +10]

Shen Yunling advanced while shooting, his score skyrocketing like a rocket.

In the monitoring room,

“With this progress…” Lin Wenyu’s eyes lit up. “Maybe this exam, Shen Yunling can truly surpass Jiang Qingyu.”

His luck was extraordinary; such demon density was a gift for him.

Jiang Yuqing sighed. “What a pity. In terms of strength, Jiang Qingyu should be superior to Shen Yunling.”

On Jiang Qingyu’s screen, Artemis and Hecate appeared simultaneously.

Artemis’s silver arrows intertwined with Hecate’s curses, forming a deadly hunting net.

Wherever it passed, demons vanished into points of light.

[Ding!]

[Score +8]

Jiang Yuqing analyzed, “The two gods she randomly drew have complementary skills—one increases speed, the other boosts power.”

“Very strong.”

But it was useless. No matter how fast Jiang Qingyu killed, her total was still less than Shen Yunling’s.

As for Su Fu…

Everyone looked over to see her still focused on… climbing the mountain.

Lin Wenyu chuckled, “If this were an S-level dungeon, this would be lucky.”

“At least she’s alive.”

His intense interest in Su Fu had a reason.

Lingxiao Province High School had begun a special recruitment program. All students from twelve cities competed to enter.

Traditionally, their school had only two spots, likely taken by Shen Yunxi and Jiang Qingyu.

But this year was different.

The Education Bureau reformed allocation by god system.

They happened to have a Chinese pantheon student, so they gained an extra spot.

Three spots were set, but the candidates weren’t fixed.

Lin Wenyu’s lips curled into a smile. If Su Fu failed, that spot would be vacant.

Then the Shen siblings would both enter the province’s top school, and he would gain much credit and benefits.

Right now, it seemed Su Fu had no chance.

Yet then, Su Fu began to activate a skill.

Behind her, Tang Sanzang’s silhouette appeared, slowly bringing his hands together.

[Doom of Demons] activated!

“Huh?” Lin Wenyu was stunned. “Using a skill already? But there aren’t any demons nearby…”

Before he finished speaking, a golden light shot skyward.

The light was as dazzling as the midday sun, enveloping several miles around.

Wherever it passed, faint Buddhist chants echoed.

“Such a wide radius…”

Su Fu was also shocked by the effect. The skill was simple—it attracted all demons within range, lasting five minutes.

She could only say: well deserved, Demon Attractor Tang Sanzang!

From the start of the test until now, she was still at zero points. Su Fu was numb—now she had to give it her all!

If luck wasn’t enough, she’d rely on strength.

The overwhelming aura instantly drew every candidate’s attention.

“Whoa! What skill is that? Such a huge range?”

“Shen Yunling? Or Jiang Qingyu?”

“No, that light doesn’t look like Apollo’s…”

“Then it must be Jiang Qingyu?”

“Is this person crazy? Such a commotion will attract so many demons? Reckless!”

Sure enough, moments later, the ground began to tremble.

Countless dark shadows surged from all directions, running wildly toward the golden light.

On D-level test papers, demons had some intelligence but not much. They couldn’t resist Tang Sanzang’s attraction, acting purely on instinct.

As more demons ran in, candidates watching suddenly noticed something was wrong.

“Huh? Where’s my demon?”

“Damn! I still had three over there, how did they all vanish?”

“Wait… don’t run! My points!”

Watching their once-secure points vanish instantly, the onlookers were dumbfounded.

Almost without hesitation, they began chasing after the fleeing demons.

Thus, a strange scene unfolded.

Demons ran wildly ahead, candidates frantically pursued behind.

Those still watching were shocked. “Whoa, what’s going on?”

“Aren’t we supposed to avoid demons? Why are they all chasing after them?”

“Unbelievable! This is completely against the rules!”

But soon, their laughter died.

They realized the demons around them… had vanished too.

“Hey! Wait for me!”

Gradually, the entire assessment space grew chaotic.

Demons that should have scattered all sprinted in one direction, followed by a group of frustrated candidates.

Demons ran themselves ragged; candidates chased, crying for mercy.

“You chase your demon, don’t follow me!”

“Nonsense! I spotted it first!”

“Bah! It’s clearly mine!”

The monitoring room remained utterly silent.

Lin Wenyu opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a word for a long time.