It was an ordinary day. Han Wu skipped classes as usual. At his level, the classes served no purpose. Doing self-study in his divine realm was far more efficient. As he was deep in study, a call request from Saliya interrupted him.
He knew that Saliya only reached out when it was important, so he accepted the call immediately.
“Han Wu, there’s an event coming up that I think is perfect for you, so I’m calling to see if you are interested. The Wealth Faction’s third-in-command, the Gift God King Shaura, is hosting this event, and it carries a great deal of credibility.
“It’s highly beneficial for those like you, with a core race that multiplies quickly. If you want more details, come to my office. Sensitive information about rare events or resources like this is better conveyed in person.”
Han Wu listened carefully. Saliya wouldn’t waste his time with something trivial, so he agreed to head over immediately. He split off an avatar to head for Saliya’s office. Once the avatar arrived, Saliya sealed the room with a barrier, then pulled a detailed brochure from her bookshelf.
The brochure described the Gift God King Shaura’s hunting event, held in a foreign civilization called the Sprite Civilization. The dominant species there was a creature called Digital Sprites, but by all accounts, the civilization itself seemed unremarkable.
After skimming the brochure, however, one detail caught Han Wu’s eye. The first-place prize was an Evolution Blueprint from the Will of the Sprite Civilization itself. When a race obtained an Evolution Blueprint, that race would develop along the blueprint’s designated evolutionary path, enabling mass production of high-quality life forms. The same applied to core races.
“You want me to win the Evolution Blueprint,” Han Wu said to Saliya.
She nodded firmly. “Your core race has always been a weak point. Even with Random Evolution boosting individual strength, you had the problem of inconsistent subspecies. If you get the Evolution Blueprint and merge Random Evolution into it, it would solve most of your current issues.”
“You’re right, Ms. Saliya,” Han Wu bowed deeply. “Thank you for finding this opportunity. I’ll do everything I can to win it.”
Saliya allowed herself a small smile. The most important thing to her was that Han Wu understood her good intentions.
“Can other students participate?” Han Wu asked.
Saliya shook her head. “I know you’re thinking of bringing your classmates to boost their strength, but this event is special. I had to use my family connections just to get one entry spot.”
Han Wu felt even more grateful. Saliya could have sold or traded that spot for great profit, but she’d saved it for him instead.
“Don’t get too excited,” she cautioned. “This event isn’t just for students. It’s open to the elites of the Divine Civilization. Your competitors will be tougher than you expect. Prepare yourself.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let you down,” Han Wu promised.
After leaving Saliya’s office, Han Wu teleported to the Wisdom Faction’s library to research the Sprite Civilization. With his clearance level, the intelligence was easy to obtain. He wanted to learn as much as possible to avoid being eliminated over basic ignorance.
All Digital Sprites in the Sprite Civilization fell into five evolutionary tiers: juvenile, adolescent, mature, perfect, and ultimate. Each tier brought greater strength.
Digital Sprites also often underwent changes similar to Random Evolution when advancing tiers. For example, a mature-tier sea lion beast could evolve into a perfect-tier turtle beast. This evolution between two completely different species was completely logical within the Sprite Civilization.
It essentially sat in the middle ground between ordered and Random Evolution, like a pseudo fixed-Random Evolution. This approach could give Han Wu the diversity of subspecies while keeping the evolution paths of his locusts fixed to an extent, avoiding an uncontrollable explosion of random variants.
This was exactly what Han Wu needed. He read deep into the night before finally returning to his dorm. When the day of the event arrived, Han Wu tore the entry ticket Saliya had given him and was instantly teleported to the Sprite Civilization’s event grounds.
Countless recording devices floated in the sky, capturing everything for a live broadcast. Of course, access was restricted to the wealthy and powerful. The average person didn’t have the clearance or authority to view the stream. Han Wu didn’t care about the audience. He only cared about placing first and winning the Evolution Blueprint.
Once all participants arrived, the Gift God King Shaura’s voice echoed across the civilization.
“Welcome to Shaura’s stream! Welcome to all participants! Here are the rules.
“First, all abilities, Divine Talents, Divine Authorities, Divine Aspects, and Divine Jurisdictions will be sealed upon the event’s start. Everyone will receive a standard protective barrier. Do not resist the sealing process, or you’ll be ejected.
“Second, this stream has a gifting function. Viewers can gift participants special abilities or items through donations.
“Third, I hold the final right to interpret the rules, terms, and conditions. Now, let’s begin! Show me what you’ve got. Uraaaa, go!”