The School Assessment, the Ten-Day Deadline Arrives

Deep within the long river of time, Shi Chen slowly raised his head, the ages reflected upon him.

At the other end of the boundless void, Yang Mei, a Daoist in azure robes, sensed it too.

He merely glanced to the side, and the Fire Domain, separated from him by endless chaos, appeared before his eyes.

The two innate divine beings gazed across the distance for a moment, their eyes both settling on the newly born Daoist in crimson robes.

Chi Li seemed to sense them. He nodded slightly in the direction of his two fellow Daoists, then lowered his gaze to his palm.

A wisp of crimson divine flame silently appeared.

The divine flame was only an inch tall, yet countless fire-aspect Dao patterns flowed within it, as though it contained the entire boundless realm of fire in that tiny space.

Chi Li flicked his finger, and the divine flame dispersed into the chaos, transforming into a surging sea of fire in an instant.

When he withdrew his hand, the boundless blaze fell silent once more.

From creation to destruction, he released and recalled it at will.

This was no ordinary divine ability for controlling fire, but the profound and wondrous manifestation of the innate Great Dao of Fire in his hands.

Chi Li gazed at the sea of fire beneath his feet, seemingly quite satisfied. Then he sat cross-legged at the center of the Domain, closed his eyes, and contemplated his own Great Dao.

Gu An took in the entire scene, and joy welled up in his heart.

Shi Chen, Yang Mei, Chi Li.

With this, three of the three thousand innate Chaos Demon Gods had been born, truly setting foot on their own paths in pursuit of the Dao.

And as Chi Li settled in the Fire Domain, a familiar golden screen appeared before Gu An's eyes.

[The Great Dao of Fire has completed its current stage of gestation.]

[Innate Fire Demon God: Chi Li has been born.]

[Feedback from the natal world obtained: Innate Divine Flame.]

[Current remaining Creation Origin: 0.]

Gu An's eyes lit up at once.

Innate Divine Flame!

Previously, Shi Chen and Yang Mei had been born.

The interaction between the Daos of time and space had granted him the divine ability to briefly foresee the future.

And now, the birth of the Fire Demon God had actually brought him a genuine offensive power!

At the same time, a wisp of warm qi came from the chaos.

Following the connection between the natal world and its creator, it silently merged into his body.

It was not the full might of fire that Chi Li wielded, but a wisp of Innate Divine Flame that Gu An, as he was now, could withstand.

Even so, it was enough to fill him with joy.

During his earlier fight with Tang Xiaosan, he had been able to seize the initiative by foreseeing the future.

But in the end, he had lacked a powerful means of direct attack and could only rely on skill and timing to win.

Now that he had the Innate Divine Flame, if he could use the two abilities together, he would naturally have many more options in actual combat.

Gu An was in high spirits and was just about to carefully experience this new feedback from the Great Dao when a faint sound suddenly reached his ears.

In the hospital room, Gu An slowly opened his eyes.

It was already late at night outside, and the dim yellow bedside lamp cast its light on the white wall.

Gu Xi had woken at some point. She was turned slightly on her side, looking at her elder brother in the visitor's chair.

Seeing him open his eyes, the girl called softly, "Brother?"

"Why are you awake? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"

Gu An hurriedly sat up straight.

"No."

Gu Xi shook her head, her gaze resting on him as curiosity suddenly appeared in her eyes.

"I just had a dream, and when I woke up, I saw you were still sitting there, not moving at all."

"I was observing my natal world just now. I got lost in thought."

Gu An got up and poured her some warm water. After she had taken a couple of sips, he put the cup back by her bed.

Seeing how relaxed he looked, Gu Xi asked curiously, "Has your world gotten stronger again, Brother?"

Gu An nodded gently and said with a smile, "You could say that."

"Are there any really powerful immortals?"

Gu An was taken aback for a moment, then laughed. "Yes, and another one was born just today."

The girl's interest was immediately piqued, and even her sleepiness faded somewhat.

"What can he do?"

"He can make fire."

"...Huh?"

Gu Xi blinked.

She had waited so long, thinking her brother would tell her about some earth-shattering ability, only for it to turn out to be making fire?

Seeing her look as though she were questioning everything, Gu An finally couldn't hold back his laughter.

"All right, once you've recovered, I'll tell you all about it when I get the chance. It's time to sleep now."

"Brother, you're keeping me in suspense again..."

The girl murmured a complaint, but didn't press him further.

Just before lying back down, however, she suddenly reached out and gently hooked her little finger around his.

"It's a promise, then. When I'm better, you have to tell me."

Gu An smiled and hooked his little finger around hers.

"It's a promise."

Only after Gu Xi had gone back to sleep did he return to the visitor's chair and glance at the night outside the window.

Both portions of ordinary Creation Origin had been used up.

But the birth of the third Chaos Demon God had once again given his strength a tangible boost.

As the school assessment drew closer, Gu An felt more confident about obtaining that high-end Creation Origin.

Just as he was getting ready to rest, the terminal beside him suddenly vibrated softly.

The screen lit up, and a new message popped up.

[Senior Shen Tang: Junior, I heard you won two portions of Creation Origin from Tang Xiaosan today?]

[Senior Shen Tang: Looks like I really did underestimate you before.]

Gu An looked at the familiar profile picture and raised an eyebrow slightly.

This senior of his was certainly well informed.

Before he could reply, another message came through.

[Senior Shen Tang: By the way, someone wants to talk to you about a creator development partnership. The terms are pretty good.]

[Senior Shen Tang: Interested, junior?]

Gu An looked at the last line, his expression gradually turning serious.

A development partnership?

Now that was interesting.

The next morning, Gu An received the development contract Shen Tang sent him.

[Initial development resources: ordinary Creation Origin ×4.]

[Partnership term: three years.]

[The investor is entitled to 20% of the net operating profits from the natal world.]

Two hundred and seventy-two thousand star coins in exchange for twenty percent of the profits over the next three years.

After reading it, Gu An couldn't help shaking his head.

For an ordinary newcomer, these terms might have been quite generous.

But his natal world was the Supreme Great Wilderness.

At present, Pangu had yet to split open the heavens, and only three of the three thousand innate Demon Gods had been born. The true potential of the Primordial World had not even begun to show.

To claim a share of the next three years' profits in advance for just four portions of ordinary Creation Origin was far too cheap.

Besides, it wasn't as though he had no way to cover the cost of buying ordinary Creation Origin.

At the Lanting Clubhouse, he had already earned three hundred and twenty thousand star coins with the future sight granted by Shi Chen's Great Dao feedback.

Although using the divine ability repeatedly would consume mental energy, as long as he exercised restraint, raising enough for a few more portions of Creation Origin wouldn't be difficult.

As for those precious high-end resources, those were what he truly needed to put effort into obtaining.

With that thought, Gu An replied directly.

[Gu An: Senior, I won't sign the contract for now.]

Shen Tang replied quickly.

[Shen Tang: Junior, are you sure? Four portions of Creation Origin are no small sum.]

[Gu An: Let's talk again after the school assessment.]

[Shen Tang: That confident?]

[Gu An: I can't let you say later that I'm only worth four portions of ordinary Creation Origin, can I, senior?]

A moment later, she sent a smiling emoji.

[Shen Tang: All right, then I'll wait for your good news.]

Gu An put away his terminal and gave the matter no more thought.

For the next few days, he attended classes as usual.

After school, he went to the hospital to keep Gu Xi company, and occasionally found time to familiarize himself with the Innate Divine Flame.

His younger sister's condition had stabilized for the time being.

But her congenital vitality deficiency remained, and to truly cure her, he would have to wait for the Creation Demon God to be born.

Fortunately, the various Daos of the Primordial World were gradually manifesting, and that day was no longer out of reach.

In the blink of an eye, the ten-day deadline arrived.