The Foremost Sacred Relic of Heaven Mythology

At dawn, Zhou Yao left home as usual.

The metro station was packed during the morning rush. No one noticed a palm-sized mass of warped light leaping out of the subway tunnel and landing on Zhou Yao's shoulder.

The light and shadow swayed between reality and illusion, as though it didn't belong to this world.

Zhou Yao's expression remained unchanged. From the corner of his eye, he could clearly see the Yellow Wind Little Sage standing on his shoulder, its amber eyes warily sweeping over the surroundings.

In Zhou Yao's perception, the Mythic Factor concentration emanating from the Yellow Wind Little Sage, which had just left the Yin Mountain Realm, far surpassed that of the Yin Mountain Metro.

Visible Mythic Factors continuously flowed into Zhou Yao's body, and the Mythic Factor count on his panel, which had originally been reduced to zero, began increasing at a visible rate.

Those Mythic Factors turned into faint golden threads, drifting down from the Yellow Wind Little Sage and merging into Zhou Yao's body. The number kept soaring until it reached 4, only then did the increase slowly stop.

Understood.

Under normal circumstances, Zhou Yao only absorbed 2 Mythic Factors a day by taking the Yin Mountain Metro. Yet after one trip to the Yin Mountain Realm, the Mythic Factors simply leaking from the Yellow Wind Little Sage's body gave Zhou Yao the accumulation of the previous two days.

If my true body entered the Yin Mountain Realm, even if I did nothing but refine Mythic Factors with the help of the environment, I could gain more than 10 points every day. Too bad that'd be far too risky. Relying on the Yellow Wind Little Sage is still safer. Zhou Yao pondered inwardly, his face remaining calm.

As he thought, the Yin Mountain Metro slowly pulled into the station. Zhou Yao was forcibly squeezed onto the train by the surging crowd.

Bodies pressed and collided in the packed carriage, the clamor of the crowd filling his ears, but Zhou Yao's attention remained fixed on the Yin Mountain Metro.

The Yellow Wind Little Sage had entered the Yin Mountain Realm through a Yin Mountain Metro node. It might have caused some unknown effects.

Yet even after the journey was halfway over, today's Yin Mountain Metro was no different from usual. Zhou Yao, who had been somewhat worried, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The Yellow Wind Little Sage on his shoulder also relaxed, its tail drooping lazily.

After leaving the metro station, Zhou Yao casually bought a jianbing at the school gate, wolfing it down as he walked into Yinshan No. 1 High School.

The campus was shaded by lush trees, and the classroom windows gleamed in the morning sunlight.

In Zhou Yao's eyes, the education system of this Mythic Loss world was not much different from that of his previous life. The only difference was that in his previous life, domestic education competed against itself, while in this life, every city under the Human Federation was caught up in the race.

Under the rule of the Human Federation, every college entrance examination had tens of millions of graduating candidates alone. Everyone pursued the same goal: successfully entering one of the Five Great Academies.

For ordinary people, getting into university meant gaining a chance to become a Mythic Walker, but it was only a chance.

If their talent was insufficient or their resource supply lacking, it would be difficult to compete in university against geniuses born to wealthy merchants or even Federation nobility, and they would lose their opportunity to become Mythic Walkers.

But as long as one entered one of the Five Great Academies, one would definitely become a Mythic Walker and step into another world. It could be called ascending to heaven in a single step!

With the college entrance exams drawing near, a banner had long since been hung in the classroom. It clearly read, "Strive for One Hundred Days, Enter the Five Great Academies." The red fabric looked especially glaring beneath the sunlight.

Most students had already arrived early and were studying at their seats. Zhou Yao was considered rather late.

He casually fed the last crumbs of jianbing into the Yellow Wind Little Sage's mouth. With its cheeks puffed out, the Yellow Wind Little Sage happily narrowed its eyes. Then Zhou Yao returned to his seat and opened a workbook.

A glance at its contents revealed a short-answer question on Mythology General Knowledge.

[In the Heaven Mythology system, what is known as the foremost sacred relic?]

Thanks to the memories of his previous life, the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Spear of Longinus, the Shroud of the Son, the cross, and other items steeped in countless mythic legends instinctively flashed through Zhou Yao's mind.

Just as he was thinking, a slender finger reached out from beside Zhou Yao. Its clearly jointed fingertip pointed at the question, and a confident voice answered.

"It's the Holy Foreskin!"

Zhou Yao's eyelid twitched violently. Forcibly suppressing the urge to twitch the corners of his mouth, he slowly turned toward the deskmate beside him.

She was a girl in a red-and-black school uniform. Black stockings wrapped her legs beneath her uniform skirt, while her smooth black hair reached her waist and swayed gently.

A pair of black-rimmed glasses rested on her delicate face. Behind the lenses, her eyes were clear and bright, and her entire being radiated an elegant, composed aura.

She was Zhou Yao's deskmate, Liu Wenjun, the top student ranked among the top five in their grade.

Liu Wenjun gently adjusted her black-rimmed glasses and explained in the rigorous tone of an academic paper.

"The Holy Foreskin is the sacred relic left behind when the Son of Heaven Mythology underwent circumcision at his birth. It represents the Son casting aside the sinful lusts of his mortal flesh and transforming from a mortal into a saint.

"Legend says the Holy Foreskin can replace a wedding ring in a sacred marriage ritual. Some have even claimed it can allow mortals to bear angels, though neither claim has been confirmed.

"As the foremost sacred relic of Heaven Mythology, all information related to the Holy Foreskin has always been a secret of the Heaven Faction and is protected with extreme care. Besides, every year's college entrance exams include questions about the Holy Foreskin. It's practically a mandatory question every year."

Listening to Liu Wenjun's explanation, Zhou Yao felt a whole mouthful of complaints lodged in his throat, with no idea how to spit them out.

He tried his best to maintain a normal expression, but the muscles at the corner of his eyes still twitched faintly. After holding it in for a long while, Zhou Yao could only praise her through gritted teeth. "As expected of top student Liu. Your ranking will definitely rise again in the next major exam, right?"

The girl happily narrowed her eyes and calmly accepted Zhou Yao's praise. Then, with a solemn face, she raised one finger and cautioned him.

"If you want to get into a good university, you only need to excel enough in the ordinary subjects. But if you want to ascend to heaven in one step and enter one of the Five Great Academies, Mythology General Knowledge is crucial."

She adjusted her glasses, and a glint of seriousness flashed through her eyes.

"There is a piece of common knowledge in mythological studies: knowledge has weight. Even Mythology General Knowledge, simplified by the Federal Education Bureau, is no exception.

"This weighty mythological knowledge is, to a certain degree, a test of one's talent.

"If you have a high affinity with Mythic Factors and a powerful soul, you can bear the weight of this knowledge. Conversely, if your affinity is low and your soul isn't strong enough, you won't be able to bear its weight. Even if you temporarily memorize it, you'll soon forget it.

"The Five Great Academies use this to select geniuses. Only geniuses who score above eighty in Mythology General Knowledge are qualified to enter the Five Great Academies."

When Liu Wenjun reached this point, her gaze swept over Zhou Yao's face, her eyes carrying a hint of encouragement.

Zhou Yao's brow lifted almost imperceptibly. He had heard that Mythology General Knowledge was important, but this was the first time he had learned of such a claim.