Pausing for a moment, Kong Guofeng continued, "Including me, many people watched your battle with the geniuses of the three families. Regardless of their stance, you left everyone astounded."

Lin Guang nodded, not overly surprised. Although he couldn't pinpoint the source, he vaguely felt like he was being watched. Moreover, Principal Liu had mentioned it briefly to him before, so he was somewhat prepared.

With a smile at the corner of his mouth, Lin Guang slightly bowed, "You flatter me, True Man Kong."

This calm demeanor caused a trace of concealed astonishment to flash through the assistant's eyes beside him.

Even though Kong Guofeng always carried himself as the "Director of the Educational Bureau" at work and never brought up his status as a "True Man," often stressing in meetings that he disliked people refraining from voicing opinions due to his status, almost no one could interact with him so calmly.

After all, True Men and those below Six-Star could hardly be considered the same species.

Outside Great Xia, in those turbulent small nations, True Men were even worshiped as divine or immortal beings.

And this sixteen-year-old young man, well aware that Kong Guofeng was a True Man and that he was receiving a visit from one, maintained a calm demeanor, with only a hint of respect in his eyes but not a trace of fear.

Putting himself in Lin Guang's shoes, the assistant thought about being sixteen himself... No, not even now could he achieve such composure.

Kong Guofeng was not surprised in the least, smiling, "Just call me Director Kong. How did you find this exam?"

Lin Guang thought for a moment and answered, "From my perspective, excluding the confrontations between examinees, the rest wasn't too difficult. However, some of the traps were quite interesting."

"Are you referring to the Mimic Treasure Chest Monster?"

Kong Guofeng shook his head with a chuckle, "That idea came from a young person who just joined the bureau, saying it was quite popular in games recently. It should teach many students a lesson. Considering it was the first time, we only put a few dozen inside."

"But I presume it didn't trick you."

"Indeed."

Lin Guang nodded slightly, "Although the appearance was identical, placing it where there was no Magical Beast guarding was still too strange, and the Profound Dragon Jade Token didn't react at all."

"Not everyone can remain as calm as you. In the resource-scarce Secret Realm, suddenly finding an unguarded supply box could make one overlook minor anomalies, possibly attributing it to their luck, like discovering a hidden treasure chest."

Lin Guang smiled, "If there's a next time, I think you could put the Mimic Treasure Chest Monster in the territory of a Magical Beast and maybe secretly place a real supply box nearby, one even the Profound Dragon Jade Token can't discern."

"..."

Kong Guofeng paused, then shook his head with a laugh, "Young people today really have clever ideas. Hundreds might get eliminated next year because of this."

The words carried no rejection of this "trickery" proposal, as the joint exam was a form of training. The more students "suffered" during exams, the less likely they'd be eliminated in the Wilderness, Secret Realm, or Outer Battlefield in the future.

"Also, that spectacle is the top prize, and I must thank Director Kong for it."

"Hmm."

Kong Guofeng nodded, "With your qualifications, achieving something is normal, but you don't have to rush to thank me."

He rubbed his chin, a hint of teasing in his smile, "Do you think the Educational Bureau could have predicted that a civilian would take the top spot this year?"

Lin Guang paused, understanding Kong Guofeng's point.

"Although the military discovered this Secret Realm, that dragon wasn't just a half-step Beast King; it was on the verge of becoming the Secret Realm Master, wielding some of the Secret Realm's Mighty Power of Heaven and Earth. Plus, the Demonic Qi issue needed a swift resolution, so we decided to cooperate with the noble families."

"The three great families exerted considerable effort to forcibly open the Secret Realm sealed by that dragon. Jiang Family even had a True Man slightly injured in thwarting the dragon from connecting with the Secret Realm's essence, preventing it from breaking through as a Beast King and becoming a Secret Realm Master, thereby causing further chaos."

"However, its final resistance caused the Secret Realm to fragment further. To protect itself, the Secret Realm began restricting the entry of overly powerful entities. Consequently, Great Xia took its determined Reverse Scale, while the three major families took the Dragon Eye, enriched with its essence."

"After exchanging interests, the military provided the Array Map and manpower, while the three major families provided the high-tier Spiritual Materials required for activating the Array and the dragon's corpse, resulting in the magnificent spectacle you witnessed."

"The Jiang Family contributed the most Spiritual Materials because they firmly believed Jiang Xinyue would emerge victorious, and her contracted Moon Shadow Sea Dragon had a high affinity with the spectacle, potentially gaining insight after one viewing. Who could have predicted someone as extraordinary as you would appear this year?"

"You telling me all this indicates..."

Kong Guofeng nodded slightly, "Don't think it distant. In my view, you're entirely qualified to hear these matters."

"You overpraise me."

Lin Guang felt a bit embarrassed, waving his hand.

"It's not praise at all."

Kong Guofeng explained, "Geniuses from the noble families don't arise every year."

"Typically, the three families agree to select parental candidates once every two to three decades, expending vast resources to nurture a new generation, starting with Purple Talent, using Secret Techniques."

"Then, with their unique nurturing methods, they begin the foundational inheritance even during the fetal stage. After birth, they promptly select a Spirit Beast partner to foster compatibility."

"Such nurturing cannot be matched by the occasional geniuses emerging from the common folk."

"But your appearance is equivalent to giving them a blow to the face, akin to the presence of someone with differing stances in Fenghai Province able to suppress their arrogance over the past two or three decades."

"Following Hua Bo's example, this is the second time a genius from Zhen Sheng City's common folk has crushed the noble families."

"..."

Lin Guang understood, let out a long breath.

"Actually, there's one thing I've always been puzzled about."

He frowned and voiced the doubt that had lingered in his heart: "Why do the noble families hold such hostility towards commoners? Why would they even go against the Great Xia government to suppress us?"

"I've heard that the three major families have killed countless enemies on the Outer Battlefield, fighting bravely alongside the Celestial Kings, never retreating, earning their honor for defending the nation."

"But why the internal strife?"

"..."

Kong Guofeng sighed: "It looks complicated, but it's actually quite simple."

"Not mentioning other cities, other provinces where I'm unfamiliar with the noble families, the three major families in Zhen Sheng City have rulers who are absolute elitists."

"They believe that commoners, or rather, those who are not true geniuses, do not deserve access to resources. It would be better to concentrate all resources to cultivate real talents—since a True Man, or even someone more useful than thousands of Three- or Four-Star Spirit Masters in the army."

"However, the Great Xia's policy has always been supportive of ordinary people, providing preferential treatment to noble families, but more often being restrictive."

"In their view, it might even be that Great Xia betrayed them, who have been fighting bloody battles on the front lines all along."

"Naturally, they are unconvinced and resort to various petty actions."

"..."

Lin Guang couldn't help but ask: "Then what if someone like me, who can crush their so-called geniuses appears among the commoners? Or someone like you, a True Man not from a noble family?"

"Absorb, incorporate, and become part of them—the capable rise, and the weak fall, becoming the very concept of a noble family."

"This logic is truly..."

Lin Guang didn't even know what to say about the noble families' mindset.

In any case, it seems quite self-consistent, a logic of the strong.

"Don't think they have a point."

"Let's not talk about how dirty the actual execution would be; even if they truly stick to their principles, aligning words and actions, this is an absurd idea."

Kong Guofeng coldly stated: "Abandoning the weak in the species, the next step is to abandon those who aren't strong enough. The subsequent step would be that a strongest emerges, and everyone else must sacrifice themselves to nourish him?"

"Ultimately, the only one that can be called human is that sole person, and others are merely food. I see that by then, the human race as a group will be considered extinct, a dying breed."

"In reality, a few hundred years ago, the titles for Spirit Masters above Six-Star in Great Xia were numerous and varied, such as True Man, True Monarch, Immortal, Saint, God, Exalted, Buddha, Bodhisattva, Eternal Sky, Hutuktu... and many others."

"The designation of True Man and Supreme Being were decided upon by a committee led by Chairman Rote along with a few Nine-Star Spirit Masters, and the same goes for the policy of distributing resources to all citizens, giving everyone in Great Xia the chance to become Spirit Masters."

Kong Guofeng seemed disdainful: "Can they possibly be wiser than the Supreme Beings, more knowledgeable than the few Celestial Kings regarding the path of Spirit Masters?"

This early civilian-born Education Bureau Director who joined the military and benefited countless commoner Spirit Masters, at this moment, looked at Lin Guang as if warning while expressing his beliefs and will:

"No matter what, we the True Men are human, not gods outside of the five elements, nor deities in a temple."

The assistant was completely stunned.

This statement, once made, also marked Kong Guofeng's stance.

He truly believed that Lin Guang's prospects were boundless in the future, possibly reaching his own height someday.

Otherwise, this Noble True Man wouldn't waste so many words.

Lin Guang digested it for a while, revealing the genuine solemn expression he had since entering this room, stood up, and bowed to Kong Guofeng.

"Lin Guang has been enlightened."

"Rest assured, the noble families won't resort to bullying you outright."

Seemingly aware of Lin Guang's thoughts, Kong Guofeng pulled out a small bronze bell from his bosom, handed it to Lin Guang, "Take this."

Lin Guang's eyes flickered, instinctively activating the Eye of Omniscience and Omnipotence, but he did not acquire any useful information.

But a thing from the hand of a True Man is certainly not something ordinary.

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