What Is the Right Path?

Soon after, Wu Shanshan came in. When she saw Zhao Han slumped on the sofa, her brows immediately furrowed.

"What happened?"

"She brought it on herself."

"Oh." Wu Shanshan walked straight to the sofa, grabbed Zhao Han by the shoulders, and dragged her up.

"What plastic sisters..." Wenren Sheng said gloomily. The details revealed true feelings.

Wu Shanshan rolled her eyes at him, ignored him, and dragged Zhao Han out the door.

Wenren Sheng got up and closed the door. It seemed Mystery Resistance really could greatly resist Prophecy-Type Otherworldly Species. At the very least, they could not directly target him with prophecies.

Nothing else happened that night.

Early the next morning, at exactly six, he dropped Brother De off at the company duty room, found an acquaintance to look after him, then took a car and headed for the examination site.

Wu Shanshan insisted on taking leave to accompany him. After giving it some thought, he did not refuse.

He had long since memorized the entire examination process. The two sat in the car, chatting now and then and occasionally watching the crowds outside.

It was Friday morning in a bustling city. People hurried along, striving to carve out a place for themselves here.

The roads were broad and lined with shady trees. Although it was rush hour, traffic was still light, with not many cars on the road.

Most office workers commuted by subway, light rail, and bus, since public transit subsidies were available once they reached a certain number of rides each month.

It was these Ordinary People, busy as ants, who created immense wealth each day and supported the entire city.

Wenren Sheng liked cities like this. The hardworking people always gave him a profound sense of immersion whenever he saw such scenes.

"What a fulfilling sight. Whenever I see all these busy people, I feel more truly alive," Wu Shanshan said as she looked out the window, seeming to share the same feeling.

"Mhm." Wenren Sheng closed his eyes.

"Of course, being able to touch you makes that feeling even stronger." She rested her head on Wenren Sheng's shoulder.

"Could this be the real reason you like me?" Something stirred in Wenren Sheng's heart, as if he had grasped something.

"Uh, that's one reason. Your face is important too, of course." Wu Shanshan reached out and touched his smooth face.

Wenren Sheng nodded. "That makes sense. Reality is not always beautiful."

As they talked, the car entered Eastwater Riverbank Road, where Dengke Tower stood, and arrived near the five-star hotel building.

At several nearby intersections, a group of Black Shirts had set up cordons and were on duty blocking the roads, leaving only an inspection entrance in the middle.

A black sign had also been erected beside the checkpoint: "Special duty in progress. Unauthorized personnel prohibited from approaching."

Pedestrians and vehicles that saw this all took detours.

Wenren Sheng nodded slightly at the sight from inside the car.

Ordinary People's understanding of Otherworldly Users and related matters was much like the public's understanding of military restricted zones and cutting-edge weapons industries in his previous life.

Normal people could know the general idea, but not any specifics. In daily life, if they encountered relevant areas, they would be clearly warned to stay away.

Anyone who wished to join such circles had to pass through layers of screening and assessment. Those within the field were likewise bound by various confidentiality requirements and could not publicize matters outside.

When his car reached the checkpoint, he handed over his Exam Admission Ticket through the window. A Black Fir People member checked it expressionlessly, then lifted the roadblock and let them through.

After passing the checkpoint and driving straight for several hundred more meters, they turned into the hotel building's underground parking lot.

A waiter who had received temporary training led the three of them to a Great Conference Room on the second floor. It served as a temporary lounge and registration area.

It was only a little after seven. After signing his name at a table, Wenren Sheng looked around and saw that quite a few people had already taken seats in the hall, numbering several hundred.

But considering that most of them were likely family members, there could not have been more than a hundred actual experts participating in the selection exam.

After all, this was only the selection of examiners from several areas around East Water Province, not the entire Divine Land.

The Divine Land of this world was vast, with forty-eight provinces. They were divided into more than ten regions for simultaneous Qualification Exams, and the examiners were naturally selected by region as well.

As for which region the selected examiners would supervise, Wenren Sheng did not know yet, though there should be conflict-of-interest avoidance rules.

After registering, the three found an empty spot to sit down and rest briefly.

The selection exam would not begin until eight-thirty. Someone would come notify them to enter early.

Wenren Sheng's Exam Admission Ticket read "4-201," meaning Room 201 on the fourth floor. It was his personal examination room.

One room, one examination site, one person. Compared to the miserable treatment of ordinary examinees, it was the difference between heaven and earth.

The Martial Exam came first, followed by the Written Exam.

It used to be the other way around, since strenuous exercise was not conducive to taking an exam afterward.

But now, they merely needed to test some data with instruments, so there was no need for that.

At the moment, many people in the Great Conference Room were speaking in low voices, apparently taking the chance to meet more people and expand their connections.

Although the examiner position was quite valuable, everyone was an expert in some field. They had to maintain their dignity and would not fight themselves bloody over a temporary position and make fools of themselves.

Not far from Wenren Sheng, with several seats between them, a small group of people had gathered to talk.

Leaning back in his high-backed red chair, he overheard a topic that interested him.

"Looks like us combat experts will have to transition into civilian researchers in the future. Even our skill training should shift as much as possible toward the field of mysterious weapons," someone said with a sigh.

"Yeah. You can tell from this Martial Exam alone. Close-quarters combat has been directly canceled. The overall situation is settled, and human effort cannot change it. Ever since the balance of Mushroom Deterrence was established, the demand for martial strength from us Otherworldly Users has dropped sharply. Experts like us are even more rarely deployed to the front lines."

"Actually, that's a good thing. The rate at which experts emerge is terrifyingly low, and most of them are irreplaceable. If one dies, they are difficult to replace. Researching and producing all kinds of mysterious weapons, then putting them in the hands of Black Shirts who can be trained on an assembly line—that is the grand and proper path."

"It is pretty good. We can avoid all that bloody business and focus on all kinds of mysterious research, like the Ancestral Seed, or lifespan and health. Isn't that more valuable?"

"Exactly. Fighting and killing are far too dull. We should be studying things with more meaning. Wisdom is what matters most."

Hearing this, Wenren Sheng swept his gaze over them and saw most people nodding slightly.

He secretly shook his head. It seemed that human nature was the same in every world.

After living comfortable lives for too long, the Otherworldly Users who had once commanded the winds and clouds and ruled battlefields were rapidly evolving into the descendants of the Eight Banners.

At least they still understood where their value lay and would not become useless parasites, idly consuming their inherited wealth. After all, modern society was not feudal antiquity. No one would support useless people for free; they could only live off themselves or their parents.

Still, it probably would not take many generations before most Otherworldly Users possessed combat awareness no different from Ordinary People. They would retain only knowledge of the Mysterious Realm and mysterious skills, no different from senior technicians.

Whether this situation was good or bad, he would not judge it, nor would he try to change it.

But with memories of his previous life and the education of two lifetimes, he understood one principle better than anyone—no matter how many fine words were spoken, truth existed only within the range of cannons.

At the very least, he would never give up cultivating and pursuing individual strength.

The Seed of Mystery had given him such great advantages. If he could not excel in both scholarship and martial ability, that would be an enormous waste.

As he was thinking this, he felt as though someone's gaze had fallen on his face. Yet when he looked around, he found nothing.

Could this be a warning of danger?

He quietly heightened his vigilance.

Before long, it was eight o'clock. Someone began announcing at the entrance to the hall that the experts could enter early, while family members and those seeing them off were to remain behind.

Wenren Sheng gave Li Shuangyue and Wu Shanshan a few instructions, then left with the moving crowd.

Guided by a waiter, he took the stairs to the fourth floor and found Room 201.

There was a waiter stationed outside every room. After his waiter checked the Exam Admission Ticket, he opened the door and invited him inside.

After entering, Wenren Sheng saw that it was a large standard suite, more than seventy square meters by estimate.

It had a bedroom, living room, and bathroom, all luxuriously furnished. The air conditioning was on, cool and pleasant. Through the window, he could see the Eastwater River and the Imperial Examination Hall building. The view was excellent.

He sat down on the sofa, calmed his mind, and waited for the selection exam that would soon begin.