"From now on, during daily training, I'll divide you into four teams. Each team will have its own captain."
"Naturally, the captains should be the ones with the highest cultivation! Among you—including Little Five—three have already reached the High God rank. I preliminarily choose you three as captains. Step forward!"
Jumin Jing and Ian Yan walked out and stood at the very front.
Jumin Jing looked absolutely smug.
Lucy Luan and her siblings wished they could go blind rather than see him.
"Huh? Where’s Little Five?" The Celestial Emperor scanned the crowd. "Is he not here?"
Lucy suspected the Celestial Emperor might have dementia.
Sean Shaw has been gone for two or three years—he’s only just now noticing?
"Sorry, I’m late."
Suddenly, Sean’s voice sounded from the back.
Lucy whipped her head around.
He was standing at the very back of the lineup, and now he was striding forward.
A wave of excited gasps and squeals erupted from the girls in the crowd.
After years apart, he was even more dazzling than before.
His looks hadn’t changed, but every gesture now carried a new depth and composure.
There was also a quietly commanding, kingly aura about him.
He actually came back?
He returned faster than she’d expected.
Lucy dropped her gaze.
When she looked up again, she noticed Adrian Drake and Ryan Lu both staring at her.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Nothing, nothing!" The two immediately turned to the Celestial Emperor, acting as if they were listening intently.
Celestial Emperor: "...Three High Gods will lead three teams, but we still need one more captain. I'll select one from among you!
The selection method is simple and brutal: fight. Whoever ranks first, gets the spot!
Come on! We'll start right now. Show me your strength!"
No one was surprised by this.
Everyone knew deep down—this was the Palace Guard Barracks, not a school.
This kind of trial was inevitable!
In the morning, they drew lots and fought one-on-one elimination matches to decide the top eight.
In the afternoon, the top eight would battle again to choose the last captain.
The top eight were:
From the Lumina Realm: Lucy Luan, Ryan Lu, and Joanna Xi.
From the Southern Realm: Harvey Quinn and Feng Heng.
From Drake Abyss: Henry Xiao, Adrian Drake, and Snow Yuan.
And one more: Darren Xuan, from the lower realm.
The three great divine realms were roughly balanced in strength.
In the first 'eight into four' match, Lucy faced Henry Xiao.
She didn’t use her Divine Artifact, just picked up a sword—and easily overwhelmed Henry, leaving him no chance to fight back.
Henry’s face burned with embarrassment, but he still managed to salute gracefully: "Miss Lucy, you’re truly formidable!"
"Thank you for letting me win," Lucy replied politely.
Then Lucy went over to watch Ryan’s match.
Ryan may have ranked second-to-last in the strategy exam, but when it came to real combat, he was no slouch.
Unfortunately, his luck was lousy.
His opponent for the 'eight into four' round was Adrian Drake.
Three years ago, they’d fought at Peach Blossom Haven, and Ryan lost.
In these three years, Ryan mostly buried himself in books and barely practiced spells, so Lucy figured he’d probably lose again.
But at least it wouldn’t be a wipeout.
Their strength was pretty close. While the other three matches ended quickly, Ryan and Adrian were still locked in a stalemate.
Eventually, everyone gathered around to watch them.
Lucy was watching them at first too.
But then she suddenly sensed something was off.
She turned her head and saw Sean had somehow appeared right behind her, standing very close.
When she turned, their eyes met.
Sean’s lips curved into a smile—sweet and soft, directed right at her.
Suddenly, the whole world seemed to light up.
Lucy stared at him in a daze, then turned back around, still stunned.
By the end, she had no idea who won—Ryan or Adrian.