The Selection Begins!

Karen rose from his chair, only for a wave of violent dizziness to hit him—far worse than he could have anticipated. Losing his balance completely, he pitched forward onto the desk. Hearing the commotion from the adjoining bedroom, Purr rode Kevin into the study. Seeing Karen like this, Purr leaped onto the desk and immediately rang the service bell. "Karen, what happened?" "Exhaustion... overdrawn." "Um... what did you do?" Karen felt a bit helpless. Stating the cause sounded absurd—collapsing from overstudying? Yet that was the plain truth. He had been completely absorbed in the study process for an entire night. Throughout that time, the Key to the Rubik's Cube had been running non-stop. Rich as Karen's reserves of spiritual power were, after such sustained consumption, he had finally scraped the bottom of the barrel. The moment he tried to stand, severe fatigue and a profound sense of depletion struck him instantly. Xili pushed open the study door and rushed in, gasping, "Young Master, what's wrong?" With that, she stepped forward to support Karen. "He's just exhausted," Purr said. "Young Master, let me help you to bed." Supporting Karen, Xili helped him toward the bedroom. Just as she was about to settle Karen into bed, Purr spoke up: "He won't get into bed without taking a bath." "A bath?" Xili swallowed instinctively. "Hurry up and bathe him, Big Butt!" "Oh, right away! Right away!" By now, Karen's consciousness was already turning hazy, and he let Xili guide him into the washroom. Xili undressed Karen, helped him into the tub to lean back, and turned on the hot water. Perched on the edge of the washbasin, Purr saw Xili hesitating and barked, "Hurry up and wash him! Touch whatever you want to touch, just be quick about it!" With Karen in this state, Purr had no interest in nitpicking over propriety like a maid bathing her master. All the cat cared about was letting Karen get some rest as soon as possible. After finishing the bath, drying him off, and slipping him into his pajamas, Xili supported Karen back to the bedside and settled him under the covers. Blessed with good stamina, bathing a nearly unconscious man hadn't tired her out much—if anything, she felt she hadn't had quite enough. *The young master's skin is so much smoother than mine.* "Should I prepare something to eat?" Xili asked. "No need. Let him sleep in peace," Purr said. "Alright, I'll step out then. Ring the bell if you need anything." "Mm, go on, Big Butt." Once Xili left the bedroom, Purr padded over to Karen's pillow, reached out a paw, and gently stroked his hair. Kevin also edged up to the bedside, inspecting Karen's condition. "He learned the Guman family's Rubik's cube," Purr said. Kevin nodded. "Studied a whole night without even realizing he was running himself dry. Looks like the results were pretty good?" Kevin nodded again. The upper half of the door separating the study and the bedroom was frosted glass, so light could filter through. While falling asleep last night, Purr had watched the swirling play of light and shadow coming from the study, looking very much like the ambient lighting of a dance hall. It had looked like that before the cat went to sleep, and upon waking, the 'lamp' still hadn't gone out. "Tsk, tsk." Purr smacked its lips. "You know, I'm admiring Diss more and more." Hearing that, Kevin forced a bitter smile. It was precisely because of Diss that he, an exalted evil god, had fallen to his current miserable state. Upon learning of his existence, that man's first reaction hadn't been awe—it had been a desire to kill him. "Woof! Woof! Woof!" "Yes, I noticed too. When other primogenitors established family faith systems, it was so their descendants could better preserve and carry on the line. But Diss is different. From the start, his blood sacrifice wasn't just to ensure that the Inmerlais family, aside from Karen, stayed away from church circles forever—he was paving a path. "Whether the hallmark of the Inmerlais faith system is learning or plundering, a trait that so flagrantly defies common sense simply cannot be sustained. "The prerequisite to awaken this bloodline trait is that the bearer must himself be a genius on par with a primogenitor—someone of Diss's caliber. In other words, Karen's future descendants would only be able to awaken Primogenitor Diss's family faith system if their talent matches Karen's. "There is simply no way this family faith system can be passed down." The configuration was too extravagant, the requirements too steep, the prerequisites impossibly demanding. Even with an enormous population base, the probability was practically negligible. After all, the birth of a genius came down purely to luck and destiny. Finding one in two versus one in ten thousand might seem like different odds on paper, but in reality, it was just the difference between 1 and 0. This meant the family faith system could not possibly endure. If a generation or two failed to produce a genius, the line's legacy was as good as dead. "Woof!" "Right. Diss probably never intended for it to be passed down anyway. He merely used this method to aid Karen. This is a family faith system tailored by Diss for Karen alone." "Woof!" "Yeah, he really spared no expense on this grandson. And isn't that why you busted your tail to find him that egg? You've already made your choice, dumb dog." Kevin showed an honest, goofy smile. "That's good. At least you have an excuse to convince yourself to accept being a dog. Honestly, I'm not that obsessed with binding the Allen family to Karen anymore either. It's enough for Allen Manor to serve as a dainty little trinket for Karen. "Even if he doesn't wear it on his person, keeping it in a drawer and catching a glimpse whenever he opens it is perfectly fine." "Woof! Woof!" "No need to console me; I'm not feeling down. Life is like an expedition. When you feel hopeless, drifting across the sea clinging to a plank, an island always appears ahead—even if it's just a mirage. "Alright, alright, let him rest. Enough reminiscing. I had the radio sprite buy you a statue of Goddess Mills. He should be back soon. How about we hang her portrait behind your doghouse?" "Woof!" "You're asking how the Goddess's portrait could possibly be hung in a doghouse?" "Woof!" Kevin nodded earnestly. Purr smacked its forehead and sighed: "You're truly a hopeless simp. No wonder you and the Ocean King are lifelong enemies." ... Karen slept for two full days. A large reservoir held an immense volume of water; by the same token, once drained, filling it back up took a long time. Fortunately, under Purr's arrangements, he had been fed several nutrient potions along the way. So when he finally awoke, though hunger clawed at him fiercely, it wasn't unmanageable. "Phew..." Exhaling deeply, Karen ran a hand through his hair. Outside, the sky was still pitch-black. Checking the clock, he saw it was four in the morning. "You're awake." Purr climbed up from the bed, sat on the duvet before Karen, examined him closely, and asked, "Feeling uncomfortable anywhere?" Karen shook his head. "Well, diligence and drive are great, but next time you study, don't push yourself so hard. Though I know saying this is pointless—I've experienced that feeling where just a little bit of effort leads to a breakthrough in realm. "After all, true talent means being able to state as a simple fact: 'If I work hard, I'll make progress.'" "I understand. I just got too carried away this time. How long did I sleep?" "Two days." "The selection..." "Relax. If you hadn't woken up by daybreak, I would've shaken you awake. The selection starts this morning. Oh, right, your teammate Fanny called last night specifically to tell you they'd drive over to take you to the exam site." "An escort to the exam?" "Yes. Your teammates are really enthusiastic." "Indeed." Karen got out of bed, went into the washroom for a quick shower, freshened up, and headed down to the kitchen to cook himself a large bowl of noodles. After finishing his meal, he sat for a while. By the time the sky turned a dim gray, he finally felt his body restored to peak condition. Since it was still early, Karen went into the study and sat down, noticing the copy of *Rogate Manor* he had finished reading a few days earlier lying on the desk. Opening his palm, a Rubik's cube materialized, but with a wave of his hand, he quickly canceled the spell. Purr strolled into the study, hopped onto the back of Karen's chair, extended its paws, and began kneading his shoulders. Though lacking in strength, the thought was certainly there. After all, this was service from Miss Purr herself. "Don't be nervous. Just perform normally, and you'll be fine." "Are you here to comfort me or tease me?" "A bit of both. I just don't see any possibility of you failing, unless every single slot has been rigged behind closed doors." Just then, Alfred pushed open the door and entered, carrying a set of robes. "Alfred, fetch me a slightly looser set of clerical robes." "Right away, Young Master." Alfred returned with a set of robes one size larger. In the past, when Karen went to the point coupon shop to buy clerical robes, he had to calculate every penny against rigid price brackets. Now that their circumstances had improved, the household's reserve of clerical robes had steadily grown. After changing into the robes, Karen tested manipulating the Rubik's cube inside his sleeve. Since it lacked offensive power and merely provided deduction results to the caster, a simple concealment was sufficient. Besides, the examination hall during a selection test could never be completely silent. With so many young priests present, each using their own methods to tackle the trials, a faint leakage of spell fluctuations wouldn't arouse suspicion. "Young Master, this bag contains chocolate, biscuits, water, and several potions, along with your identification documents." "Potions probably won't be allowed into the testing area." "Then let Miss Fanny and the others hold onto them. This subordinate worries you might need them when you emerge." With Fanny and Peige driving Karen to the exam, Alfred naturally had no need to tag along. "Mm, alright." Pike came up to announce that Fanny and Peige's car had arrived. Carrying his bag, Karen walked out of the shop. Today, the two women were driving a luxury passenger car—the exact same model requested when taking on missions. Karen remembered the Captain saying he planned to assemble one just like it. "The Captain's car?" Karen asked after getting in. "Yep. The Captain spent a fortune assembling it." "That will make things much more convenient in the future," Karen remarked. Peige turned around to look at Karen and asked, "Nervous, Karen?" "Not at all." "It's fine, you can admit it if you are. Besides, I heard that if you're nervous before an exam, doing *that* will relieve the tension effectively once you finish." "Doing what?" Having just slept for two straight days, Karen hadn't fully slipped back into conversational banter yet. Peige licked her lips. "No, never mind. I wasn't nervous to begin with. If I relieve any more pressure, I'm afraid once I enter the hall, I'll be so detached I won't even care about the results." "Hahaha." Peige chuckled as she started the engine. The car didn't head directly to the Church Affairs Building; instead, it pulled up outside the Guman residence. Sitting in the car, Karen watched Richard emerge with a bag slung over his back. His face still bore bruises, but being able to walk and carry his own bag meant it wasn't anything serious. It seemed Mr. Aisen had an exact grasp of the white worm's recovery rate and effects. Disciplining his son, alleviating the condition, and not delaying important business—a win-win-win. Richard's departure, however, was a far grander affair: Old Master Delon, Madame Tangli, Kaixi, Mr. Aisen, as well as Richard's aunt, uncle, and female cousin had all gathered to see him off. Richard waved back to the crowd as he walked toward the car. Only after climbing in and shutting the door did he heave a long sigh of relief. "Karen, I've always felt that at my young age, I'm shouldering an unbearable weight in life." "You're exaggerating." "Sigh, I know my grandfather has always placed immense hopes on me. You have it so much easier. Oh no, sorry, my apologies, I spoke out of turn." Richard remembered Karen mentioning he was an orphan. "It's fine." Karen patted his shoulder. *Your grandfather merely expects you to maintain the Guman family's standing, whereas my grandfather expects me to...* "I wonder if I can pass." Richard pursed his lips. "When we enter the venue later, let's stick close. Even if they divide us into zones by examinee number, I'll try to spot the spell formation before entering and share the preliminary deduction results with you." "Mm. Just stick close to me when the time comes. Even if they split us into different numbers and zones, we should still be within the same broad environment. Linked by the spell formation, try sensing me, just like you did in front of your grandfather last time." "Huh?" "No 'huhs.' Just do as I say." "Last time at Grandfather's... wasn't that just a hallucination in the illusion?" "No." "I... In that case... doesn't that mean... doesn't that mean..." "Yes." Richard's face first lit up with wild joy, but soon his head drooped. "But... I don't want to cheat." "This doesn't count as cheating." "It doesn't?" "When entering the exam hall, they'll definitely inspect and arrange us to eliminate any possibility of external interference. So long as they don't detect that you're cheating, you're not cheating." "You can look at it that way?" "Yes." "Why does it still feel weird to me, though?" "Just keep an open mind. Think about it: if you can't even make it past the York City Region selection, when you go home, your father will..." "*Hiss...*" Strictly speaking, this truly wasn't cheating on Richard's part. In testing, people used whatever methods they had at their disposal; as long as you endured the test with your own capabilities, it was fine. Richard's ability to sense him ultimately stemmed from the Arte family bloodline within him, which could resonate with close kin. This was an innate trait of his bloodline. It wasn't as though they could force him to purge his bloodline before entering the exam hall, could they? Mr. Aisen had become a recluse because of this bloodline, and the previous 'Karen' had suffered the exact same fate. Due to their bloodline, this branch of the Arte family had practically been living under a curse; now, they were finally getting a taste of a Wien sauce pancake. In church circles, drawing upon bloodlines and the power of faith was completely standard practice—part of one's personal strength. People prayed either to gods or to their primogenitors. It just so happened that the figure Richard was praying to was taking the test right alongside him. "Whoa, Karen, how on earth did you manage that?" Karen ignored him and closed his eyes to rest. *What does this have to do with me? You're the one latching onto my coattails.* Of course, shielding Richard meant Karen would be shouldering the pressure of two people alone, but he was willing to lend Richard a hand. When it came to how this cousin treated him, there was truly nothing to fault. The car arrived outside the Church Affairs Building. Stepping out, Karen was surprised to see the Captain waiting there with the entire squad. "Do your best, Karen, Richard! Our whole squad is here praying for you!" Moved to tears, Richard thanked everyone profusely. Karen smiled and nodded in greeting to each of them in turn. Karen also noticed quite a few people gathered here today. Some were escorted by family; looking at the clerical robes worn by their elders, their ranks clearly weren't low. Those with noble pedigree naturally possessed abundant resources, making it far easier for them to achieve greater progress at a young age compared to ordinary people. Others had arrived alone. None appeared nervous; all wore calm expressions. After all, those capable of securing a quota were either exceptionally talented individuals recommended by superiors or possessed formidable family connections. Furthermore, because the test carried risks, sheer deadweights wouldn't be shoehorned in no matter how powerful their backing—accidents could genuinely happen. Carrying his own bag, Richard also carried a bag for Karen. After entering the Church Affairs Building, designated personnel guided the crowd down to the basement level. From the look of it, the exam site was not located inside the Church Affairs Building itself, but required teleportation to reach. "Karen!" Leon greeted Karen, walking over alongside Laure. Quite a few youths were waiting around the teleportation circle—at a rough glance, nearly two hundred. "Such a large scale?" This headcount seemed at odds with Old Master Delon's remark about how difficult it had been to secure a single spot. Leon explained, "Because for more than half of these people, either they or their parents are merely registered under our region on paper, but aren't stationed here and aren't managed by our region—such as garrisons, knight orders, and various dispatched administrative bureaus. Many here rushed back to York City recently just to take part in this selection." "Ah, I see." So the quota left for locals of the York City Region had never been large to begin with. "How are your preparations?" Leon asked. "Decent." Laure chimed in, "Whoa, answering with that much confidence?" Karen smiled faintly. *If this counts as overconfident, what would it be if I answered that I'm planning to drag deadweight across the finish line with me too?* Just then, a deep, resonant voice boomed from above: "All selection candidates, enter the D-1 Teleportation Circle in orderly fashion and prepare for transit to the examination venue." The hall fell instantly silent as everyone stepped into the teleportation formation. Karen took his position, while Richard, slinging two bags beside him, drew deep breaths. A burst of white light flared, enveloping everyone present. The York City Region selection test— was about to begin!