The People's God: Sacrificing Trillions to Ascend

Han Wu returned to Imperial College alone after the banquet at the Qin Village. He needed to seize every moment to strengthen his units before the next major class. At the same time, he had tasked Xiang Meng with gathering all available intel on Huang Shengjun ever since the recent threats emerged.

Xiang Meng, Xia Tian, and Ye Ling were old rivals of Huang Shengjun, so they already possessed much of the necessary information. They compiled their findings into a detailed report and handed it to Han Wu.

As he busied himself mutating his locusts, Han Wu scanned the report quickly. He sighed deeply, forced to admit that Huang Shengjun was a true genius.

Huang Shengjun’s core race was the goblin, a species widely regarded as the quintessential cannon fodder. Goblins were Common life forms from birth, known for their cunning nature and rapid breeding.

Yet Huang Shengjun had somehow elevated his goblins to the strength of Unique life forms, as if exploiting a hidden loophole. According to the report, he commanded over 10 billion goblins, roughly 100,000 Heroic goblins, several hundred Lord goblins, and 3 High Lord goblins.

More strikingly, Huang Shengjun possessed hundreds of Evolution Paths specifically tailored to his goblins. With such a vast array, he could train his army into countless specialized species, adapting to any challenge thrown their way.

Huang Shengjun’s talents weren’t confined to his army’s growth. As an individual, he was a formidable Demigod with three known Divine Aspects: Rank 5 War, Rank 5 Army, and Rank 4 Earth. These high-ranking aspects granted him 14 powerful Divine Skills in total.

Beyond that, Huang Shengjun maintained a custom armory filled with numerous sets of God equipment and a vault stocked with treasures he had likely won in previous major classes. Even though the treasures seemed more like a collection, Han Wu was certain that Huang Shengjun could deploy them expertly in critical moments. His specialized training facilities only added to his army’s strength.

Han Wu let out another sigh as the weight of the report settled in his mind. The data made one thing clear—Huang Shengjun would be a formidable opponent.

Is this really the strength of the first year’s valedictorian? Even an ordinary God might not be this strong. Still, he won’t be able to go all out during the major class match. He’ll look for every opportunity to bleed me dry. I don’t mind losing the regular locusts, but I cannot afford to lose a single one of my Lord Locustmen!

He faced a critical problem now. What should he do to ensure the survival of his three Lord Locustmen in the upcoming battle?

Han Wu considered his options, his mind working through each possibility until one idea stood out. If he could use Controlled Mutation to grant them regenerative abilities, they could survive multiple lethal blows in combat.

Unfortunately, the Hyper Regeneration trait wasn’t easy to acquire. He had managed to obtain it once before, but there was no guarantee he could do it again. Still, it was his best bet. He would have to leave it to luck and dive back into his Controlled Mutation research.

Over the next few days, Han Wu maintained a grueling schedule—attending classes during the day and conducting experiments deep into the night. His cache of Radiation Stones dwindled as he poured more and more of them into his tests. Fortunately, just as his supply neared its end, he finally uncovered a reliable method for inducing Hyper Regeneration.

Using the last of his Radiation Stones, Han Wu successfully conferred the trait onto all three Lord Locustmen. Now, Huang Shengjun would find it much harder to kill them.

Nevertheless, despite the breakthrough, Han Wu’s confidence remained brittle. He knew that a single trump card wasn’t enough to defeat someone of Huang Shengjun’s caliber. Quickly, he scanned his resources and spotted the Mourning Deathcap thriving in its golden pot.

The Mourning Deathcap was a special plant that absorbed death aura to reproduce. After being transplanted into the golden pot, it had evolved dramatically, gaining the Immortality trait. Since it no longer had a lifespan, Han Wu could use Controlled Mutation on it without reservation now.

After returning from Zombie Town, Han Wu had subjected the Mourning Deathcap to countless mutations. The plant had transformed completely. It could now absorb not only death aura but also life energy, magic, and even Divine Points. Anyone infected by its spores would almost certainly be crippled unless they’d taken very specific precautions.

Han Wu pinned his hopes on the Mourning Deathcap, knowing Huang Shengjun’s army thrived on sheer numbers. He pictured the spores spreading through all ten billion goblins—first one infected, then ten, then a hundred, until the infection surged uncontrollably.

The Mourning Deathcaps would absorb some of the goblins’ life force and inflict status debuffs on them. It was an efficient way for Han Wu to tip the balance in his favor. If everything went according to plan, the Mourning Deathcap would be comparable to a Divine Skill.

Currently, the Mourning Deathcap could only absorb energy and posed little threat to its host. Determined to find a more lethal mutation, Han Wu turned his attention to the Mourning Deathcap’s Controlled Mutation that required rare ingredients as catalysts. He sought a mutation powerful enough to wipe out at least half an army.

After painstaking observation and careful selection, Han Wu finally discovered a mutation that fit his criteria; it was the Explosive Mutation, and its catalyst was a rare gunpowder sourced from the Gunfire Civilization.

Han Wu swiftly scoured the online markets and purchased the precious ingredients at a steep price. For the next two realm years, he tirelessly applied Controlled Mutation to the Mourning Deathcap until he succeeded.

Two days later, the major class convened. Lina stepped into the classroom with her usual faint smile, her eyes calmly scanning each student as she entered.

“Everyone, this major class is designed to test your ability to fend off intruders. Your seniors from the first year will be your examiners. The strength and scale of their army will be limited to what they had a year ago.

“Those who successfully defend against your seniors will be rewarded. Those who fail will face punishment in the bleak Black Prison. Everyone, please make your preparations. The seniors will invade your divine realms soon.”

With her reminder, the students hurriedly used the landing pods and entered their divine realms. Inside, each saw a massive gate, beyond which their first-year seniors stood, grinning with eager anticipation.

As Han Wu had expected, the valedictorian Huang Shengjun awaited him.

Huang Shengjun’s arrogant visage hovered in the air. “I warned you, Han Wu. In this major class, I’ll show you what true hell feels like.”