Chapter 28: Eternal Cardinal, Deity Bank (2/2)

Su Fu secretly sighed in relief.  

So it wasn’t just sent to her. 

Guess it was a mass invite during a special period.  

But then she thought—wait, mass invite?  

“Pfft! What a player!”  

After learning their purpose, Lin Mingxi immediately puffed out his chest.  

“Oh, so that’s why you’re here!”  

“Then you’ve come to the right person!”  

He launched into a proud, increasingly smug explanation:  

“What you got is just the first round of screening. Not like me—I’m already a core member!”  

“Core members, you know?”  

“We even have the authority to form teams!”  

“After you pass the initial assessment, you’ll still need to be chosen by a team leader like me to truly pass. That’s the final—”  

Mid-sentence, he realized—oh no, he slipped up!  

Why did he mention the team leader thing?!  

Crap, crap, CRAP!  

“Uh…” Lin Mingxi’s voice weakened, cold sweat breaking out. “Well, you see…”  

Ugh!  

Lin Mingxi wailed internally—he finally had a chance to show off in front of these two demons, but he got too carried away and spilled everything!  

“Team Leader Lin~” Su Fu drawled.  

“Please take care of us from now on, Team Leader Lin.” Jiang Qingyu also smiled—a rare sight.  

Lin Mingxi:”….”

Wiping tears… 

Ugh!  

“What if I said…” He tried to struggle, but Su Fu cut him off.  

“Enough.”  

“Let’s talk business. Explain the benefits and job details.”  

Lin Mingxi slumped, utterly miserable.  

Once the team was formed, wouldn’t he have to work with these two demons forever?!  

NOOO!  

But one look from Su Fu, and he deflated.  

Sighing, he resigned himself and began explaining:  

“The benefits really are good—a monthly base salary of 50,000 credit points, plus extra rewards per completed mission.”  

“For example, database access. The Eternal Cardinal controls the most comprehensive data network in the galaxy. From basic exam papers to detailed info on all kinds of deities—it’s all there.”  

“You get how valuable that is, right?”  

Su Fu and Jiang Qingyu exchanged glances, both flashing a hint of excitement.  

This was worth way more than just a salary! 

Just the exam data alone was priceless.  

“And the job itself?”  

“Well…” Lin Mingxi explained, “For remote branches like ours, it’s mostly fieldwork—running around collecting data.”  

“‘Running around’ basically means running exams.”  

Su Fu’s eyes lit up—running exams was perfect! 

She needed those!  

But Lin Mingxi, knowing exactly what they were thinking, poured cold water on it:  

“Don’t get too excited! It’s nothing like the safe, cushy exams at school—no life-saving mechanisms!”  

“And you’ll often have to go into dangerous zones…”  

“So that’s why they want strong team members?” Jiang Qingyu pointed out sharply.  

“Exactly,” Lin Mingxi nodded. 

“The reason you got invites is because of the provincial finals—that’s a C-rank exam. Night Owl just skimmed the Education Department’s resources and used it as the assessment.”  

“Tch,” Su Fu couldn’t help but remark. 

“So capitalist. Killing two birds with one stone.”  

“Probably everyone in the provincial finals got one. But the elite families wouldn’t care—they have their own resources.”  

“So if we pass, we’re basically in. No real competition.”  

Lin Mingxi nodded. “In theory, yeah.”  

“But,” he weakly raised a hand, “are you sure? This job’s actually pretty dangerous…”  

“What’s there to fear?” Su Fu grinned. “We’ve got Team Leader Lin to protect us, right?”  

Lin Mingxi:”…..”

Ugh! 

No escape!  

“Oh!” Lin Mingxi suddenly clapped. “Almost forgot the best benefit!”  

He pulled out a gold card from his drawer:  

“A loan card from the Divine Bank, under the Sacred Radiance Conglomerate.”  

“With this, you can borrow divine power at low interest!”  

“For example, me—”  

He pulled up his account info to show them:  

“I ‘boarded first, paid later’ at F-rank, borrowing a full quota of divine power.”  

“Normal people would pay over 100,000 credit points monthly for the same amount. I only paid a few thousand.”  

“The best part? I dragged repayment until D-rank, but the total interest was just tens of thousands.”  

“The advantage here—you get it, right?”  

He gave the simplest example:  

“Getting 100 units of divine power at F-rank vs. D-rank—the difficulty is worlds apart!”  

Su Fu and Jiang Qingyu were instantly tempted.  

Low interest was basically free!  

Once they reached A-rank, D-rank divine power would be pocket change—just a quick run through a D-rank dungeon.  

The easiest comparison: by then, they could crush D-rank dungeons with A-rank strength!  

But this was too good.  

Su Fu eyed Lin Mingxi suspiciously. “That’s it? No fine-print traps?”  

Gotta watch out for capitalist tricks!  

“Right,” Jiang Qingyu added coolly. “It sounds too generous.”  

Lin Mingxi rolled his eyes, looking at them like country bumpkins. 

“Hello? This is one of the Big Five Conglomerates! Not some shady company!”  

“Plus, all terms are clearly stated.”  

“Also, you’re Divine Academy students—backed by the Education Department. Who’d dare scam you?”  

(The Big Five vs. the Education Department? The Department wins.)  

What Lin Mingxi didn’t say was that this program struggled to recruit every year.  

There just weren’t many commoners, and elite family kids wouldn’t care for these benefits.  

If they added shady clauses, even fewer would come.  

Sigh… 

The market just didn’t allow it.  

“Besides,” Lin Mingxi puffed his chest, “you’re worrying too early! Focus on passing the assessment first!”  

Unlike them, he wasn’t just in—he was a team leader!  

And about to have his own squad!  

Su Fu: “……”  

Jiang Qingyu: “…………”  

“Getting cocky now, huh?”  

Lin Mingxi: “……”  

“AAAHHH! HELP!!”  

***  

The next day…  

The group gathered at the dorm entrance. 

Zhou Nanyuan was already there.  

Seeing the three, he noticed their dynamic had changed—they actually felt like a team now.  

He nodded in approval. “Good. Seems you’re prepared.”  

That was a relief. 

Last night, he’d heard rumors—the exam difficulty might’ve increased, but the higher-ups were still arguing. 

No final decision yet.  

Quickly, he gathered his thoughts and waved his hand: “Let’s go!” 

To collect the divine power reward! 

After passing through numerous teaching buildings, everyone finally arrived at the sanctuary.

On either side of the main entrance of the sanctuary, huge statues stood proudly.

Those were the statues of two of the earliest deities to descend upon Earth: Odin and Zeus.

Zhou Nanyuan pointed to the long queue ahead and said: 

“This is the place to collect divine power. You line up according to your numbers and collect the divine power.” 

Su Fu only then noticed the long queue inside the sanctuary. 

The interior space of the sanctuary was much larger than it appeared from the outside. 

The walls were inlaid with crystal-clear divine power crystals, emitting a soft golden glow. 

Those glows drifted in the air, like countless fireflies decorating the entire space. 

Students entered individual spaces one by one, and then the divine power crystals began to shine. 

The light converged into a beam, shining on the students. 

Su Fu was amazed: “So this is how divine power is collected.” 

She had never seen such a scene before. 

With so many people queuing up and down, she felt like she was collecting not divine power but eggs! 

The provincial academy was really wealthy. 

Soon it was Su Fu’s turn. 

The moment she stepped into the space, an inexplicable force rose from beneath her feet, gently lifting her up. 

The originally aimlessly drifting golden light points suddenly seemed to have found a direction, rushing towards her. 

“According to your assessment results, the system will condense 3,000 units of divine power for you.” A mechanical voice sounded in the space. 

The golden light flowed around her, gradually condensing into a solid form. 

She felt as if she was being embraced by a deity, clearly sensing the warm power continuously flowing into her body. 

Is this the purest divine power? 

At that moment, the Shen Yan prompt sounded: 

[The current divine power is sufficient to upgrade a primary divine skill level] 

[Please select the divine skill to upgrade] 

All the upgradable divine skills automatically surfaced in Su Fu’s mind [Ruyi Jingu Bang • D-level], [Buddha’s Light Shining • Weak] 

She hesitated a bit, whether to upgrade attack or control?

The scene of the previous exam paper flashed through her mind. 

She thought about it and still chose Ruyi Jingu Bang, after all, attack is the king. 

Otherwise, even if you control it, without enough output, it’s useless. 

Not to mention those formidable demons and evil spirits, if you can’t even break through the defense, what’s the point. 

Su Fu made up her mind: 

“Upgrade [Ruyi Jingu Bang • D-level]” 

[Divine power allocation complete] 

[Divine skill upgrade selected] 

[Ruyi Jingu Bang • D-level] → [Ruyi Jingu Bang • D+ level] 

[Divine power consumed] 

As expected, Su Fu thought, these divine powers can only upgrade one level of divine skill.

Her divine power reward exchange was completed. 

Su Fu walked out of the space, followed by Jiang Qingyu and Lin Mingxi. 

Ten minutes later, the three of them had completed the collection of divine power. 

Zhou Nanyuan looked at everyone and smiled: “Not bad, everyone has improved!” 

“So next, it’s time to go to the Seven Great Sanctuaries.” 

“To seek the blessings of the deities.” 

Su Fu was a bit puzzled, the Seven Great Sanctuaries? 

Seven? 

Isn’t there only one in the high school? 

Soon, Zhou Nanyuan led everyone to the Seven Great Sanctuaries. 

Seven majestic sanctuaries stood before them, each ten times the size of the small sanctuary in high school. 

Su Fu realized: “Whoa, so a normal sanctuary should be one for each pantheon?!”

Not like in high school, where one sanctuary contains seven pantheons! 

She looked over—— 

The Greek pantheon’s sanctuary was full of towering white columns, exuding a classical atmosphere. 

The Nordic pantheon’s hall was built with thick stone blocks, showing a sense of vicissitudes and power. 

The Indian pantheon’s architecture was resplendent and mysterious. 

The Egyptian pantheon’s pyramid pierced the clouds, as if leading to the sky. 

Su Fu couldn’t help but marvel: “This is really impressive!” 

However, there was still no Chinese pantheon in the provincial academy. 

Zhou Nanyuan pointed to the last slightly smaller but equally grand sanctuary: “That’s for deities outside the Seven Great Pantheons, such as the Chinese pantheon and other niche pantheons.” 

Although the interstellar always talks about the eight great pantheons and so on, in fact, other pantheons do exist, but the number of believers is too small, so they are directly classified as niche pantheons. 

Su Fu raised an eyebrow, niche? 

Is the Chinese pantheon niche? 

She looked at the last sanctuary, her expression strange. 

She finally sighed. 

The divine blessing could only be obtained by queuing outside the sanctuary. 

It was said that the students of the provincial school were currently receiving the blessing. 

So, they had to stand further back. 

Su Fu and the others finally saw students from other high schools. 

The students from the top three high schools were the most recognizable, standing at the front of the queue. 

Klaus, standing at the very front, was in a straight white uniform, with blond hair and blue eyes, exuding the unique holy aura of the heavenly pantheon. 

The second was Asuka Amakawa, a girl with long black hair down to her waist, quietly standing there in a modified kimono. 

As for the last one………………….

Su Fu almost burst out laughing. 

It should be said that Ramses/Zhou Tinlin was really into his role, still maintaining the posture of a pharaoh to this day, with a replica of the ancient Egyptian crown on his head, standing out among the candidates.

What a joker!  

The three of them occasionally exchanged a few words in low voices, but they were clearly separated from the others by a large distance, and no one dared to approach. 

Just at that moment, Klaus suddenly turned his head and his gaze fell on Su Fu. 

Those bright blue eyes glanced at her and then turned away, as if it was just a casual look. 

Klaus thought to himself, as far as he knew, besides the three of them, Su Fu was the only one who caused a commotion in the exam room. 

It was said that she believed in the almost unseen Chinese pantheon? 

That was a bit curious. 

“Klaus,” Asuka Amakawa suddenly spoke, “what are you looking at?” 

“Nothing,” he replied indifferently, “just a bit curious about the Chinese pantheon, such a niche pantheon.” 

Zhou Tinlin spoke in a tone that deliberately imitated the ancient Egyptian accent: “Horus above, is such an obscure pantheon worth your attention?” 

“Compared to this, Klaus, which deity’s blessing are you going to choose next?” 

“It won’t be the archangel Michael again, will it?” 

“God, you should change it!” 

Klaus: “…… God ………………? What on earth do you believe in!”