The City Appearance Bureau Takes Notice, Bai Lan's Probe

As the Gu Family left, an uproar that had been suppressed for a long time erupted in the divine battle hall.

The way everyone looked at Su Bai had changed completely.

If their gazes had held ridicule and contempt before, now they held awe, fear, and even a hint of fervor.

In a world where strength reigned supreme, as long as you could win, you would earn the respect of the strong, no matter what methods you used.

"Brother Bai! We're rich! Filthy rich!"

Lin Que's face flushed red with excitement. He grabbed Su Bai's arm and shook it hard.

"I just checked the underground betting pool. The odds on you winning were a hundred to one! I put in all the money we had for food these past few months—a whole thousand!"

"A hundred times a thousand is a hundred thousand! Brother Bai, from now on, you're my real dad!"

Su Bai's eyes lit up at the mention of a hundred thousand.

A hundred thousand in Great Xia Currency might have been no more than the cost of a meal to a young master like Gu Chengfeng, but to Su Bai, it was an absolute fortune!

With that money, he could buy his mother the best medicine on the black market, and even buy some high-quality animal corpses to keep expanding his collection of materials for horror stories.

"Keep it down, keep it down." Su Bai patted Lin Que on the shoulder, though he couldn't suppress the grin on his face.

"Come on, let's cash out first, before the bookie runs off."

Just as the two were about to slip away, Qin Wan walked over and seized Su Bai by the back of his collar.

"You little brat, you've caused so much trouble and you still want to run?"

Qin Wan looked at Su Bai with an extremely complicated gaze.

She had thought Su Bai had a trump card, but she never would have imagined, even if beaten to death, that it would be so terrifying.

"Teacher Qin, how is this causing trouble? I'm bringing glory to the school." Su Bai blinked innocently.

"Save the cheek." Qin Wan let go, her tone turning serious. "The principal wants you in his office."

Su Bai froze.

Principal Chen Tianxing? That super big shot at the True God Level?

He had certainly put on a dazzling performance, but surely it wasn't enough to get someone of that stature to summon him for a private meeting?

"Teacher Qin, what does the principal want with me? He's not going to slice me up for research, is he?" Su Bai was somewhat wary.

"What are you thinking? If the principal wanted to harm you, he wouldn't have stepped in to protect you earlier." Qin Wan glared at him. "Hurry up. Don't keep the principal waiting."

Ten minutes later.

With an uneasy heart, Su Bai knocked on the principal's office door.

The office was furnished simply. Aside from a few shelves filled with paper books, there was only a large tea table.

Chen Tianxing sat at the table, leisurely brewing tea.

"Sit." Chen Tianxing pointed to the chair across from him.

Su Bai didn't stand on ceremony and sat down openly.

Chen Tianxing poured a cup of tea and pushed it toward Su Bai, studying him with a profound gaze.

"Ten square kilometers of wasteland, 99.5 percent dark matter contamination."

"Su Bai, do you know that under the Great Xia Nation's divine laws, a source of contamination at that level must be destroyed immediately?"

Chen Tianxing came straight to the point, his tone carrying a hint of pressure from an authority that needed no anger to make itself felt.

Su Bai picked up the teacup and took a small sip.

"Principal, laws are dead, but people are alive. My divine kingdom may be heavily contaminated, but I can control it, so it won't endanger society."

"You can control it?" Chen Tianxing smiled, a hint of mockery in his smile.

"Young man, you underestimate dark matter. It's a terrifying power that can corrode even a true god. Do you think killing ten thousand berserkers today with some kind of rule that exploits a loophole makes you invincible?"

"Gu Chengfeng is a fool. He underestimated you too much. If he'd used divine power to seal off the passage to your divine kingdom from the start and kept his followers out, that little rule of yours couldn't have hurt him in the slightest."

Su Bai's heart went cold.

Old ginger really was spicier. Chen Tianxing had seen through the fatal weakness of the "female ghost in red" at a glance: her reach was short, and she depended too heavily on enemies entering of their own accord.

If an enemy stayed outside and bombarded it with divine power from a distance, Su Bai's divine kingdom would indeed be difficult to defend.

"So, Principal, you called me here to teach me not to get conceited?" Su Bai set down the teacup and asked calmly.

Chen Tianxing shook his head, took a document stamped top secret from a drawer, and pushed it toward Su Bai.

"I called you here to show you a clear path forward."

Su Bai looked down at the document. In large characters, it read: "National Deity Academy Special Talent Recruitment Plan."

"Your divine kingdom is dangerous, but that rule power of yours is exceptionally rare. In the entire history of the Great Xia Nation, only a very small number of 'rule-type' gods have been able to wield a similar power."

Chen Tianxing looked at Su Bai, his expression turning exceptionally serious.

"The Gu Family won't let you go. Their roots run deep in Linhai City, and they have people on both sides of the law. I can protect you for a time, but not for a lifetime."

"Your only way to survive is to place in the top ten at the Provincial Divine Battle Tournament three months from now and earn a special admission spot at the National Deity Academy."

"Once you enter the National Deity Academy, the Gu Family wouldn't dare touch a hair on your head, no matter how bold they are."

Su Bai looked at the document, and his heart couldn't help beating a little faster.

The National Deity Academy was the highest institution of learning that all young deities dreamed of attending!

Getting in meant not only endless resources, but also an absolutely reliable protective charm!

"Principal, why are you helping me so much?" Su Bai was puzzled.

He and Chen Tianxing were neither relatives nor close friends. Chen Tianxing had no reason to offend the powerful Gu Family for the sake of an ordinary student.

Chen Tianxing fell silent for a moment, then picked up his teacup and sighed softly.

"Because of your father, Su Qingshan."

Su Bai's head snapped up, his pupils shrinking sharply.

"You knew my father?"

Chen Tianxing nodded, a trace of complicated recollection flashing in his eyes.

"Twelve years ago, your father disappeared in the contaminated mining area. Everyone outside believed he had died in an accident, but in fact, he was carrying out a mission I had secretly assigned him."

"He was investigating an underground organization called the Eye of the Abyss. That organization specialized in researching how to use dark matter contamination to artificially create rule-type Anomalies."

Su Bai's brain buzzed.

He had always suspected there was something strange about his father's death, but he had never imagined it was caught up in such deep waters!

"After your father disappeared, I was plagued by guilt. I kept an eye on you in secret for many years. I thought you would only be able to live as an ordinary person, but today, in your divine kingdom, I saw a power extremely similar to what your father was researching back then."

Chen Tianxing fixed Su Bai with a burning gaze.

"Su Bai, no matter where the power you possess came from, I hope you'll use it to walk the righteous path."

"Go to the National Deity Academy. It has the Great Xia Nation's finest resources and intelligence databases. Perhaps there, you can find the real truth behind your father's disappearance."

Su Bai clenched his fists tightly, took a deep breath, and solemnly tucked the document inside his clothes.

"Thank you, Principal. I understand."

After leaving the principal's office, Su Bai's emotions refused to settle for a long time.

His father, the Eye of the Abyss, dark matter Anomalies...

The waters of this world ran much deeper than he had imagined.

But he felt no fear. Instead, a surge of intense excitement rose within him.

"Since the Gu Family wants to play, I'll play with them to the end. As for that Eye of the Abyss or whatever... once I turn my divine kingdom into the ultimate forbidden zone of horror stories, let's see who dares mess with me!"

A sharp light flashed in Su Bai's eyes.

Just then, his phone suddenly vibrated.

It was a text message from an unknown number.

"Student Su Bai, this is Bai Lan. Report to the City Appearance Bureau's Abnormality Division at eight tonight for your first contamination index registration."

"Also, bring that 'ecological mutation' of yours. I have a temporary job, and I'd like to see if you have the guts to take it."

Su Bai looked at the message, an amused smile curling at his lips.

Was Bai Lan trying to use this chance to probe his background?

Or had the City Appearance Bureau run into an Anomaly incident that even they found troublesome?

Either way, work meant money to earn and materials to collect.

"Looks like Hongdou gets an extra meal tonight."