Chapter 130: Governor-General Wang, You Are Too Kind | Eighth Update—Thank You

Xiao Nan looked a bit perplexed. "If I recall correctly, Teacher Tang, you should be at the peak of the Fourth Grade, right? That barbarian didn't seem like much, and even with a few dozen wolf-barbarians by his side, he shouldn't have posed much of a threat to you."

"Xiao Nan, there are some things you don't know. If the barbarian tribes only had this much strength, Wang Yuanzhi and his men would have razed this place to the ground long ago. Why would they need to carefully maintain a stalemate, not daring to make a move?"

Tang Zhixuan looked up at the sky. It was clear and azure, with white clouds drifting in the gentle breeze.

Xiao Nan realized immediately, "You mean the deities."

"Correct, you are teachable." Tang Zhixuan joked, then turned serious. "It's fortunate you ran quickly today and didn't kill too many barbarians afterward—especially since you didn't kill that leader of the God-blessed warriors. Of course, you couldn't have killed him anyway."

"What would happen if I did?"

"The Beast God would most likely intervene."

"It's like that? Do those deities have no sense of status? They keep stepping into the fray themselves." Xiao Nan cursed inwardly. Isn't that cheating? If a subordinate suffers a loss and the boss descends personally, that is truly shameless.

Tang Zhixuan smiled and said, "They don't exactly descend in person, but they manifest divine power or their consciousness, much like possession or seizing a body. Imagine having your strength suddenly multiplied tenfold in the same body—do you think that would be comfortable? In the past, our warriors often suffered heavy losses against such shameless attacks."

"I see. In the barbarian homeland, the Barbarian Gods respond to their believers at any time, granting them power. But on our side of the gateway, they can't do that..." Xiao Nan was startled at first, then started to smile. He suddenly understood the true purpose of the barbarians in Yuanjiang Prefecture. In fact, the clues had been there all along, but being caught up in the situation, he had overlooked them.

"Have you never considered that the barbarians might try to create a possessed divine vessel in Yuanjiang City?" Xiao Nan felt it necessary to enlighten Tang Zhixuan. If there were any mission in Yuanjiang City worth a top student from Qingning Academy lurking for, it would be events related to the barbarians.

"Impossible. The spatial rules on both sides are different; such a situation is hard to replicate. On our side, the Barbarian Gods are heavily suppressed, and their power is greatly diminished... They wouldn't bother wasting their divine energy. As for a true manifestation, that is even more impossible. In their homeland, a Barbarian God is nearly invincible, but in imperial territory, their power wanes. If an opponent times it right, they won't be easily deceived. They would likely be surrounded and killed."

***

By the time the main force from the base arrived and regrouped to return to camp, Xiao Nan discovered that most of his classmates had returned.

Some wore faces of unconcealable joy, presumably having achieved excellent trial results, while others looked ashen, perhaps failing to even qualify. However, this trial was only a process and not overly critical. Even with poor grades, the worst outcome would be failing to enter the top-tier martial arts universities; they would still have a path forward. After the three stages of martial arts exams, this group could, at the very least, enter a second-rate university. Even if it were a bottom-ranked, obscure school, it was still a decent outcome.

Among them, Xiao Nan noticed two acquaintances. Dong Cheng was dejected, his head hanging low; it seemed he was aware of his shame and had likely suffered a crushing defeat. Wei Yunyun, on the other hand, had eyes shining with excitement, her cheeks flushed, making her seem even prettier. She had clearly passed. Success, indeed, is the best beauty product. After the exams, this girl gradually began to radiate the brilliance she deserved.

It proved that background was not important, and talent was not the only factor. As long as one persevered, fate might grant a chance. Effort does not guarantee success, but a lack of effort guarantees failure. Like Wei Yunyun, without that intense, almost obsessive desire to improve, she likely would have faded into the crowd long ago. In his memory, this girl’s talent was actually quite mediocre.

Scanning the others, Xiao Nan calculated that they lacked real competitiveness and posed no threat to his claim on the top spot. Then, he saw the base commander, Wang Yuanzhi.

The middle-aged officer abandoned his previous stern demeanor and said with a smile, "Student Xiao Nan, first, I must apologize... I previously misunderstood you as being cowardly and afraid of death. It turns out I am the one who failed to judge character correctly."

"Commander Wang, you are too kind," Xiao Nan replied quickly, though he felt quite satisfied. Deep down, however, he sighed. Since the base’s highest commander had lowered himself to speak this way, could he really bring up the earlier unpleasantness? He had originally intended to hold a grudge, but as for who had instructed that thick-browed Blood Blade Guard, it no longer mattered. He trusted that Wang Yuanzhi, having lost face, would get to the bottom of it. There was no need for him to intervene, nor even to ask.

Sure enough, a moment later, a grim-faced three-star officer walked over and saluted Wang Yuanzhi: "Commander, it has been verified that the incident where Han Zeng disrupted the trial and framed a student is linked to Staff Officer Jiang Weicheng."

"And Jiang Weicheng? Why wasn't he brought in?" Wang Yuanzhi's eyes flashed with cold light.

"He disappeared during the mission. No one knows where he went; he may have changed his name and fled far away."

"Hmm?" Wang Yuanzhi's pupils contracted. He let out a long breath and, after a moment of contemplation, smiled as if nothing was wrong. "Let's leave it at that. Considering Staff Officer Jiang has killed barbarians and earned meritorious service over the years, find him quickly and ensure he receives a proper burial."

Hearing this sent a chill down one's spine. How ruthless. Xiao Nan watched coldly, knowing that the commander was already suspicious and suspected there was more to the incident. Clearly, this was not the right time; perhaps he did not want to implicate more of his subordinates and make a laughingstock of the Yuanjiang No. 1 High School teachers and students. This outcome was expected, and Xiao Nan was not disappointed. If the person behind the curtain could be caught so easily, they would lack any real cunning.

He was concerned about someone else: Li Shaohua. He hadn't seen a trace of him yet.

Just as he was wondering, Wang Yuanzhi walked over and clapped a heavy hand on Xiao Nan's shoulder, laughing, "This time, Student Xiao Nan, your performance has truly opened my eyes. You haven't even broken through to a First Grade warrior, yet you managed to fight your way out of a siege alone and inflicted heavy casualties on the Yelang Wolf tribe."

Hearing this, the officers and the others remaining in the camp nodded with smiles, but the other students who had participated in the trial were shocked.

"I worked hard for ages just to kill one captain-level barbarian and got a 'Good' rating, and I thought I could compete for first place. He..."

"Save it," someone said gloomily. "He’s at least an 'Excellent,' and possibly even a 'Special Grade A+.' "

Some were so demoralized they didn't even want to speak, staring at their own shoes—these were the ones who hadn't even qualified. Wang Yuanzhi, for some reason, was unusually talkative. He gestured to Xiao Nan and laughed, "The student not only broke out of a large tribe and wiped out many first and second-grade beast-barbarians, but also slew a wolf-barbarian priest—a magic unit equivalent to a Third Grade warrior. That alone would be enough, but he even escaped from an elite barbarian leader who practiced battle qi at the peak of the Third Grade, and he even wounded his opponent."

He pointed to the wound on Xiao Nan’s chest, still stained with blood, and chuckled, "Although you are injured, it is a badge of honor. I think it will be quite difficult not to give you first place this time."

A roar of commotion broke out in the surroundings, and the gazes directed at Xiao Nan were filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment.

"Commander, there is another one. You haven't looked at the results of one more person yet," an officer leaned in and whispered to Wang Yuanzhi, terrified that his superior would misjudge again and cause them to lose what little face the base had left.

"What? Is there someone with even better results?" Wang Yuanzhi asked, puzzled.