Chapter 13: Educational Reform—Strength and Resurgence

The amount of divine power one possesses is crucial—this was Su Fu’s disadvantage, an inherent shortcoming she objectively faced. Yet, if she followed the conventional path, her speed in compensating for this weakness would never catch up with others. On the contrary, she had to blaze a new trail.

Her strength lay in the vast and boundless pantheon of Chinese deities; she must maximize this advantage! Rather than desperately chasing others on their own paths, it was better to carve out a road uniquely her own.

If the anomaly was a ghost? Then summon the Judge of the Underworld!
If the anomaly was a demon? Then call upon the Tang Monk!
If the anomaly was aquatic? Then invoke the Dragon King!
If the anomaly was bizarre or uncanny? Then call forth Zhong Kui!

Surely there was a Chinese deity suited to counter any threat!

“All right,” Zhou Nanyuan clapped his hands, “that’s all I’ll explain about divine power. Now, the real focus begins.” He spoke slowly, “This preliminary competition differs from previous years—it comes with a major reform.”

“The Ministry of Education has invested heavily this time,” Zhou leaned back in his chair, “determined to unearth true geniuses.”

“So, the allocation method for divine power on this exam paper has been changed to a ‘total quota system.’”

Su Fu blinked in confusion.

Zhou Nanyuan elaborated, “The divine power distributed by the Divine AI roughly divides into three phases: 20% before the exam, 60% during the exam, and 20% after the exam.”

He waved his hand, and a luminous screen appeared in the air—

“The first phase, preparation before the exam,” he pointed to the flowing data on the screen, “has nothing to do with you; it’s mainly for setting up the exam environment.”

“The second phase, during the exam,” the data streamed toward the outline of a deity, “is when you summon the gods and draw skills.”

“The third phase, after the exam, involves rewarding based on the results.”

“This time, the reform affects the second phase.”

“In the past, the exam papers used a ‘fixed quota system,’ where each candidate received a set amount of divine power.”

He paused, “No matter your previous strength or which gods you had, everyone got the same amount.”

Su Fu thought to herself, that was fairness in action.

“But now, it’s a ‘total quota system.’ The total amount is fixed, but the distribution method has changed—it’s no longer evenly divided.”

“Although the exact algorithm hasn’t been disclosed,” he added, “it’s certain the strong will receive more, and the weak will get less.”

Su Fu was genuinely shocked; the educational reformers were truly making sweeping changes! They dared to challenge the very notion of ‘fairness’ itself!

Zhou Nanyuan’s following words confirmed this, “This is the Ministry’s stance: selection is a competition where the strongest prevail. They no longer pursue blind equality.”

He glanced at the two, “In fact, the preliminary round itself is a special opportunity designed for under-resourced talents.”

“After all, each exam paper taken is a chance to improve one’s strength.”

This was actually advantageous for Su Fu, as she had no other way to access the exam papers, and the preliminaries granted her an additional opportunity.

Whether she passed or not, at least she would receive a chance to be allocated divine power from the preliminaries.

Wasn’t this just free benefit?

“And this preliminary trial is a limited experiment by the Ministry,” Zhou Nanyuan looked meaningfully at them, “If successful...”

“The Divine Academy of Lingxiao Province’s assessments will likely switch to the total quota system as well.”

“So,” he said, “from now on, there will only be geniuses and mediocrities—no middle ground.”

After Zhou finished speaking, the atmosphere fell into a subtle silence.

Su Fu and Jiang Qingyu both understood deeply that this was both a challenge and an opportunity.

Either become the strongest or be eliminated; there would be no second chances.

It was ruthless, yet it offered ordinary people like them a higher ceiling of possibility.

The key question then was: Under the total quota system, what exactly was the algorithm for distributing divine power?

Did it depend on the number of deity skills? Their proficiency? Their strength? Or affinity?

Or was it...

Compatibility? Meaning the higher the match between the deity and the exam paper, the more divine power allocated?

Su Fu’s speculation about compatibility was grounded, inspired by the selection mechanism of the Lingxiao Project.

This year’s special invitation slots were allocated based on divine lineages, not on divine power strength.

In a way, the Ministry had already given a hint.

Moreover, from another angle, if divine power were allocated purely by number of skills, proficiency, or strength, what would be the point of selection?

Children from aristocratic families and conglomerates never lacked resources.

Nourished by abundant divine power, their divine ranks and attributes far surpassed their peers.

This reform by the Ministry was precisely aimed at breaking that situation—where even the most mediocre could soar as long as they had enough resources.

In sum, the Ministry’s reform had a clear and unwavering goal:

To let true geniuses emerge.

Not to allow aristocratic heirs and conglomerate scions to continue monopolizing opportunities through resource advantage.

If that was truly the case...

Su Fu’s heartbeat quickened.

If divine power was allocated by compatibility, wouldn’t she be soaring?

What divine lineage could be more vast and boundless than the Chinese pantheon?

What pantheon could be richer and more diverse than the Chinese one?

What pantheon was better suited to adapt to various exam papers?

None!

The Chinese pantheon was the strongest.

Therefore, the extremely high compatibility of Chinese deities meant she could receive a very high allocation rate.

In other words, she could receive far more divine power than anyone else.

She would grow wildly during the exam!

At that moment, Zhou Nanyuan’s expression turned serious.

“Besides the exam paper itself, you must also consider other factors.”

“Competition has always been about people competing against people.”

“Shen Yunling is still ‘undecided,’” he said meaningfully, “which doesn’t mean he has no chance.”

As long as the aristocratic families were willing to pay a price, there was a high probability he could still join the preliminaries.

“Besides that,” Zhou continued, “Starshine Seven High also has four other invitation slots.”

His expression grew unexpectedly subtle, “Among them, three are from aristocratic families: Shen Yunxi, Jiang Yu, and Chen Tian.”

All core scions of the three major families, with Shen Yunxi being Shen Yunling’s elder sister.

Su Fu thought to herself, this really was a world dominated by aristocratic heirs.

“And the last one,” Zhou paused slightly, “is Lin Mingxi from a conglomerate.”

“In other words,” he looked at the two, “you are the only two ‘commoners.’”

Though he said it lightly, all three understood what it meant.

Five versus two.

As the only two commoners, they would most likely be targeted.

“The preliminaries,” Zhou Nanyuan stood up, “start next Monday.”

“Make sure you’re prepared.”