Chen Changsheng made people feel as though they were bathed in a spring breeze. He was incredibly easygoing.
He said calmly, "I watched your entire fight."
"You have tremendous potential."
"Without a good weapon or a powerful element, you defeated two powerful opponents with nothing but strength, speed, and a refined sense for combat."
"But what I want to tell you is that this alone won't make you this generation's Star God!"
Xiao Fan abruptly looked up. "Even that isn't enough?"
"Is there someone in this generation who surpasses me in both speed and strength?"
Chen Changsheng shook his head. "As I said before, strength and speed are only the most superficial aspects of power."
"I haven't looked into exactly who's competing this time, but an old friend's child will be attending this year's Super God Class."
"He's your age, but he has a mythical-grade talent-Fate."
Lin Xianhuo exclaimed from the side, "Is it that orphan Zhuge Tianming?"
"Why do you call him an orphan? He has parents." Chen Changsheng looked puzzled.
Lin Xianhuo curled her lip. "He uses Fate however he pleases. With one glance, he can see what someone ate and drank yesterday, what they're going to do tonight, and even what color their underwear is."
"No one has any secrets in front of him, so naturally, no one dares be friends with him."
Xiao Fan was shocked. "There's a talent like that?"
"Yes!" Chen Changsheng nodded and smiled faintly. "You couldn't even beat Zhuge Tianming."
"Because no matter how fast you are, you can't outrun the trajectory of fate in his eyes."
"And Zhuge Tianming doesn't seem to be the person most likely to claim the Star God title this year, either!"
All of Xiao Fan's pride shattered once again.
He suddenly asked, "Is Xianhuo strong enough to get into the Super God Class?"
At the question, Lin Xianhuo grew nervous too.
Chen Changsheng said mercilessly, "She has only a thirty percent chance of getting in, and she'd definitely be at the bottom."
"Of course, if you could teach her half your combat awareness, that thirty percent would become eighty!"
"This little girl is a bit lazy. She hasn't developed the second stage of the Lin Family's Fire God Saber, and she hasn't even properly learned the third move of the martial art."
"Don't waste such a fine talent!"
"Huh?" Lin Xianhuo immediately protested. She hurried to her feet, drew the Fire God Saber, and activated Trinity. The red steel saber instantly transformed into a seven-meter-long flaming blade.
Lin Xianhuo maneuvered the saber in her hand and frowned. "Doesn't this count as the second stage?"
"Give me the saber!" Chen Changsheng chuckled and raised his hand.
Lin Xianhuo held out the Fire God Saber. Chen Changsheng caught it effortlessly and casually twirled it through a flourish.
Whoosh!
Flames burst forth. The Fire God Saber's length remained unchanged, but the flames on it turned purple!
Xiao Fan's gaze sharpened. "Its overall destructive power has doubled!"
"That's right. The Fire God Saber has seven stages in all, and this is only the second." Chen Changsheng flicked the long saber again. The flames vanished, and it returned to its ordinary form. Then he handed it back.
Lin Xianhuo's head immediately drooped, a helpless look on her face. Only now did she realize how weak she was!
"All right, back to the subject!" Chen Changsheng cleared his throat.
"You only have a venerable-grade talent. If we were judging by talent alone, you might not even get into the Super God Class."
"But I trust my instincts."
Xiao Fan was taken aback, unsure what he meant.
Chen Changsheng said gravely, "Defeating someone an entire major realm above you with nothing but a one-star talent-I've never heard a story like that!"
"It must have been hard to accomplish all that, right?"
"It was nothing. As long as things turned out well, that's enough." Xiao Fan shook his head.
But Chen Changsheng grinned. "You could fight across realms when you had a one-star talent. Now that you've leaped all the way to Venerable, you may well be able to defeat someone with a mythical-grade talent!"
"I have high hopes for you."
"This is my letter of recommendation. I'm very busy, and I might not be there for the opening battle. If you fail the assessment, take this letter out and force your way into the class!"
The gold-trimmed envelope lay quietly on the table. A breeze swept past the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, ruffling Xiao Fan's neat short hair. At that moment, his steadfast gaze trembled.
Because he felt the care of an elder.
From childhood until now, he had always fought alone, with no one behind him and no one ahead of him.
But today, things really were different.
Behind him were Shao Yan and Lin Xianhuo, and ahead of him was the King Star God!
To Xiao Fan, this letter of recommendation did not mean a guaranteed place in the Super God Class. It meant that from now on, he was no longer alone.
"Thank you." Xiao Fan nodded firmly, his eyes every bit as earnest as when he fought with all his strength.
Chen Changsheng chuckled. "I'm not finished."
"I also want to make an agreement with you!"
"What is it?" Xiao Fan frowned.
"Some time ago, I went to the Northern Hemisphere and sought out a few old undying god-rank exotic beasts. They said that the second Battle of Dignity will take place in this generation!"
Hearing this, Xiao Fan and the other two abruptly looked up, their eyes filled with shock.
The King Star God's gaze was calm. "You all know that the battle that made my name was the Battle of Dignity thirty years ago!"
"This generation, many super geniuses have appeared among the other races again. Some are even no worse than the Black-Pupiled Demon King I faced back then!"
"They're making a comeback, and the stakes are extremely high!"
"One of the divine artifacts is a perfect fit for you!"
"The Armor of Alpha. Xiao Fan, you should know what that is, right?"
It was a divine artifact with a consciousness of its own. Though called armor, it was actually a piece of mysterious living material that could transform into any form-a saber, spear, sword, hammer, or even an elemental amplifier-and it was indestructible!
This weapon was perfect for a battle maniac like Xiao Fan!
So, a storm of shock surged through Xiao Fan's heart. "Are the other races really going that far? They even put up the Armor of Alpha?"
"Then what are we putting up?"
"You don't need to know that." Chen Changsheng shook his head and said calmly, "I hope that when the time comes, I'll see you win a round for the human race!"
"If you do, and we win in the end, I'll give you the Armor of Alpha!"
"Holy shit!?" Xiao Fan could no longer sit still. He sprang to his feet and exclaimed, "As long as I win my fight in the coming Battle of Dignity, I can have the Armor of Alpha?"
"That's right."
With that, Chen Changsheng stood, put on a pair of black sunglasses, and straightened his clothes. Smiling, he said, "I'm off."
"Keep the letter safe."
"Remember our agreement."
"After all, you're the one I've taken a liking to!"
As his voice fell, he took a step. Multicolored light flashed around him, and the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth circled him once before carrying him out of this space!
Xiao Fan's scalp tingled as he watched. Chen Changsheng had used five elements at once, kept them from clashing, and even produced a new energy.
So strong!
So the powerful people you could see online weren't truly powerful after all!
The truly powerful had already reached a level of strength that ordinary people could not even comprehend.
Xiao Fan took a deep breath, put away the King Star God's letter of recommendation, and smiled confidently!
The future looks like it'll be exciting!
But on that stage where heroes stand side by side, I'll be king!
A venerable-grade talent isn't the end. It's only the beginning!
Beyond that is the all-round great sage, which requires thirty fourth-tier amplification-type martial arts manuals!
Xiao Fan had asked the system, and those he had fused already counted too!
The Liu Family still had a few, and the school's manuals would be easy to get. Then he could see if he could get the ones at the city lord's mansion too, and then... head straight to another city!
That's right, there are still more than two hundred days until the Super God Class's opening battle. It won't take many days to get the last few martial arts manuals in Green Leaf City. I can't waste time!