CHAPTER 92 - RESERVED

“Huh?” Han Wu froze at Xu Hai’s unexpected request to stop the battle.

What do you mean, stop the match? I’ve already used all of my trump cards, and now you want to back out?

Alpheus, too, bristled at Xu Hai’s request. It had converted its faith solely to fight for Han Wu, making a monumental sacrifice, and now, with barely any effort expended, Xu Hai wanted a ceasefire.

Alpheus was the first to protest, letting out a furious roar. “Do you take me for a fool?”

Xu Hai raised a calming hand and tried to reason with them. “Han Wu, I’m no longer angry. I have forgiven you. Continuing this battle would only lead to unnecessary loss. Besides, I’ve decided to offer you the remaining Epistians on the field.”

At the mention of the surviving Epistian army, Han Wu quickly restrained Alpheus with both hands. “What? Are you sure?”

Xu Hai nodded. “Yes. The surviving Epistians are yours.”

Han Wu then issued the order for his units to retreat. There was no point in fighting anymore—the Epistians belonged to him now. Alpheus grumbled, but Han Wu ignored it for now. He couldn’t afford to waste any time. His priority was to bring the Epistians into his divine realm as soon as possible.

Xu Hai continued, “I will hand over the Epistians to you, but on one condition.”

Han Wu frowned, suspicion creeping in. Nothing in this world came free, and he had doubted that Xu Hai would hand over the Epistians without a price. Still, Han Wu didn’t dare refuse. What if Xu Hai grew angry and killed him on the spot?

Han Wu said politely. “Professor Xu, please tell me what I need to do.”

“You must become my student once you officially enroll into Imperial College,” he replied.

Han Wu paused, unsure how to respond. He didn’t fully understand Xu Hai’s standing within the college.

Noticing his skeptical look, Lina quickly stepped in. “Professor Xu Hai is one of the three most renowned lecturers in Imperial College. He’s not only powerful but also an exceptional teacher. Every year, so many students vie for his tutelage that the queue stretches 500 meters.”

Han Wu grumbled, “Only 500 meters? At two people per meter, that’s just 1,000 students.”

Lina smiled knowingly. “Yes, and Imperial College only accepts 2,500 students per year.”

Han Wu’s eyes widened in disbelief. After all, nearly two-fifths of the new admissions wanted to study under Xu Hai. He had never imagined Xu Hai to be such a remarkable lecturer! This was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to miss—he had to become his student to gain access to even greater resources!

“Professor Xu, I want to become your student,” he said firmly. “If you’re willing, I can perform the ceremony now.”

As an orphan, Han Wu needed a powerful patron in society. He wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip away!

Xu Hai was pleased. “Very well, I will take that as your agreement to my condition. Now, take the remaining 820,000 Epistians into your divine realm. Consider it as a small investment from me.”

To Xu Hai, a million Epistians was nothing more than pocket change.

“However, before you can undergo the ceremony to officially become my student,” he continued, his voice sharp with expectation, “you must first enroll in the college. I don’t care what the others do, but my students must uphold the highest standard. I want you to become a perfect Demigod even before your enrollment. Is that clear?”

Han Wu gave a firm nod. “Understood. To become a perfect Demigod, I must first absorb and assimilate 10 Divine Essence, which means I need to collect 20 Divine Essence overall.”

Xu Hai nodded approvingly. “In addition, you need to find some sort of clue about acquiring the Death Aspect. Ideally, you should hear it from the Death God themself. Consider it as your trial as well.”

Han Wu scratched his head, surprised. He hadn’t expected Xu Hai to know about his deal with the Wisdom Tree.

“As long as you fulfill these two conditions,” Xu Hai went on, “you will become my official student. If you succeed, I will present you with a grand gift during the ceremony.”

Han Wu vowed solemnly, “Professor Xu, I will do my utmost to meet your conditions.”

After sealing the deal, Xu Hai waved his arm and summoned the three seniors from the spectator area down to the arena. “As for you three, you must never reveal what you’ve witnessed today, especially not to your lecturer. Do you understand?”

The three seniors exchanged glances before Xia Tian stepped forward. “Professor Xu, you’re aware of our lecturer’s temper. I doubt that we can keep it a secret if he presses us.”

Xu Hai scoffed and tossed three cards toward the seniors, one for each. “Not a single word. Do you hear me?”

Xiang Meng chuckled. “We understand. We won’t tell anyone even if they beat us to death.”

Xu Hai left without another word. Lina then approached the trio, her eyes gleaming with amusement. “You three... I never expected you’d be bold enough to even blackmail a Major God like Xu Hai.”

Xia Tian and the other two chuckled. Lina then glanced at Han Wu approvingly. Without further ado, they left the arena and returned to their own living quarters.

Han Wu swiftly entered his divine realm to organize the living space for his 820,000 new Epistians. As he surveyed his divine realm, he was surprised to find that the Epistians had adapted and were already building a small town. He had assumed that they would struggle without his guidance in arranging their habitat.

The Epistians transformed into formidable soldiers when clad in their equipment, yet surprisingly, without it, they proved to be remarkably efficient civilians. The absence of a Level 40 Core may have significantly weakened them, but their intelligence and determination remained undiminished.

Using primitive tools, they plowed fields and skilfully shaped stones into steady foundations for houses. Their optimistic outlook on life was truly gratifying to behold.

Steely, Divine Hammer, Sarman, and even the little skeleton felt the first stirrings of civilization within Han Wu’s divine realm with the Epistians’ arrival. Only Alpheus was grumbling, musing darkly about flying over the small town to terrorize the Epistians when Han Wu wasn’t watching. Still, it quickly abandoned the thought after Han Wu’s stern warning.

To nurture their growth, Han Wu designated a portion of his divine realm as the Epistians’ territory and forbade any of his other units from encroaching on it for the next hundred years.

The Epistians were deeply moved by this decree, and many of them rose to the rank of Believer. Despite being only Believers, the Faith Points they generated daily surpassed the yield of a Zealot Locustman.

Recognizing their potential, Han Wu quickly appointed Steely, whose appearance most closely resembled theirs, as his priest and urged him to convert as many Epistians as possible. He looked forward eagerly to the day he could replace Xu Hai as their main god.