Chapter 1280 - 20: The Saint Land Is About to Be Taken Over by the Wang Family!

For fairness’ sake, every candidate faces the exact same situation at the start as Wang Yingxuan. The only slight difference is that the recently swept-through [Main City] has a different name, and the farm village has a different serial number.

After watching for a while, Wang Shouzhe felt it was highly likely that everyone was playing a [single-player game], or else they weren’t on the same [map]. They’d probably only meet once their Levels rose high enough.

The reason Wang Shouzhe was observing so closely, carefully studying and memorizing every detail, was very simple.

That Divine Martial Officer Training Academy still hasn’t been found yet, but its learning and assessments are very likely to be a similar mode to these Trial Pods. If he can figure this part out in advance, he might seize an edge when he "enrolls" in the future. If he gets the chance to break a few academy records, or even world records while he’s at it, wouldn’t that be a huge profit?

Since every candidate has a different personality, their choices in the face of the same situation naturally differ.

After all, the farm village’s grain can still last them two to four months, so there’s plenty of room to maneuver.

Among the many candidates, some chose to stay holed up in the farm village, proceeding step by step with planting, building houses, and upgrading defensive facilities. Others led small squads out to cautiously explore, searching for useful supplies.

Everyone was doing their utmost to resolve the first wave of the food crisis as soon as possible.

But once the forest is big enough, you’re bound to see all kinds of birds.

For example, Wang Lici...

When the big screen cut to her scene, everyone discovered that she had actually done nothing. No—strictly speaking, she had done one thing!

She was working hard at putting food away...

Right now, in Farm Village No. 8305.

Everyone was involved in the cooking process. Pot after pot of coarse grain was boiled, then "huff-huff" carried over and set down in front of Lici.

Wang Lici, for her part, was eating without the slightest courtesy, one pot after another, stuffing herself nonstop.

The village farmers around her all stared at her with dull expressions.

The Elder of the farm village, serving as the newbie quest guide, wore a face full of despair. He beat his chest, stamped his feet, and cried up to the sky, "Oh heavens~ oh earth~ how could the fate of our Village 8305 be so tragic, to end up with this kind of Favored by Heaven, my lord?"

Thirty units of grain—that’s enough to feed thirty people for a whole year!

Yet this Favored by Heaven, my lord, had gulped down that much in a single meal, all by herself... Was this the Demon King reborn?

This scene also stunned the spectators.

What kind of trash play is this supposed to be?

The village’s grain is already running short, and the moment you enter you ignore everything and just stuff your face like crazy. Did you not eat your fill before entering the trial or what?

"Sister Lici, as expected of my idol!" Sitting in the back rows of the spectator seats, Lan Wan’er didn’t feel the slightest surprise. Instead, her eyes were sparkling as she watched, worshipping Wang Lici as blindly as ever. "Even with her strength shaved down when entering the trial, she can still eat that much!"

Everyone here has Devouring-type talents, but Lan Wan’er is relatively much weaker.

"That’s something you worship?" Jiang Xingyuan, seated beside her, shot her a look, sweat-beads forming. "She clearly has an Unparalleled talent and a real shot at winning this Saintess contest. And she pulls a stunt like this right at the start—if this isn’t cutting herself off from the whole world, then what is?"

The mutated Little Green Serpent coiled temporarily on Lan Wan’er’s shoulder couldn’t help recalling some unpleasant memories. Their Wood Cyan Dragon clan had nearly been eaten to extinction like this!

The True Men in the first row from each bloodline also hadn’t expected Wang Lici to operate like this. Every one of them was both shocked and puzzled.

"Yunyang~~" Celestial Fire Zhenren glanced at Master Yunyang, face full of "regret," and said, "Is your disciple a blockhead? If she eats all the grain, this village will be doomed on the spot. Her overall score at the end is bound to be zero. What a waste of her Unparalleled talent!"

Master Yunyang couldn’t stand anyone belittling Wang Lici. He immediately snorted coldly and fired back without the slightest intention of backing down: "And how much better is your Zhen Shicong? He charged out with a hundred-odd people to go hunting right from the start, saying he’s best at formations and using terrain, and then lost thirty people in the very first battle!"

"At least with a small sacrifice he captured two Fierce Beasts totaling nearly ten thousand jin, which can greatly boost the villagers’ physical fitness. And after gaining initial experience, he’ll be able to reduce casualties going forward. Compared to the others, his development speed is absolutely the fastest—that’s the optimal choice." Celestial Fire Zhenren said, "Yunyang, if you’re not convinced, we can make a private wager."

"Then let’s bet! A separate wager on whose score is higher, Wang Lici’s or Zhen Shicong’s!" Master Yunyang was evidently quite confident in his own disciple. "We’ll bet twenty thousand Immortal Crystals."

"Deal!"

Celestial Fire Zhenren’s eyes lit up. Even though Zhen Shicong basically has no hope of taking the Saint Son position, winning some money to recoup his costs wouldn’t be bad at all.

Standing off to the side, Wang Shouzhe just listened silently. He had watched Zhen Shicong’s maneuver earlier as well. Though the kid looked unreliable, his fundamentals were indeed solid. His command and micro-control were very good, and he made excellent use of the natural terrain.

If not for the villagers’ lack of training, their inexperience, and their panic in the face of danger, there wouldn’t have been as many as thirty casualties. After Zhen Shicong absorbs the lesson, he’ll definitely improve. He won’t be easy to deal with in the future.