Not long after Han Wu led the Imperial and Demonic Imperial College’s students out of the contest, the College Alliance detected a surge of student deaths and forced ejections from the Divine Weapon Civilization.

Survival rates across the board continued to fall. Some colleges had already dropped to zero. Even Warfare College, which had the highest survival rate, dropped rapidly from 69% to 35%, with the numbers still declining.

The College Alliance’s chairman, Luo Yun, issued orders at once. “What’s going on? Have every college representative question the students who have come out. Get me answers quickly.”

The representatives questioned the ejected students and reported back. After compiling the information, Luo Yun reached a conclusion. A powerful evil entity had appeared within the Divine Weapon Civilization and was slaughtering everything in sight.

It had already torn through the secret realm that housed the legendary Armament Spirit and would soon break out into the Divine Weapon Civilization to continue its rampage. The students who had survived so far were simply those who hadn't been transported into the secret realm yet.

Luo Yun issued an emergency order. “Have those students withdraw their clones from the Divine Weapon Civilization.”

The death of a clone had little effect on the true body. However, the clones sent into the Divine Weapon Civilization had developed over time, and most had cultivated their Divine Weapon Atlases to a meaningful degree. If they withdrew voluntarily, each student could at least bring back a number of powerful Divine Weapons, which were compatible with their core races and far more valuable than the 10 Divine Essence of their clones.

After Luo Yun gave the order, however, none of the college representatives moved. They tried, but each college had already used its single chance to broadcast to its students. There was no way to relay the College Alliance's decision to those still inside the Divine Weapon Civilization.

Luo Yun slammed the table in anger. “Damn it!”

This was the most catastrophic performance by the Divine Civilization in 1,000 years of competing for the legendary Armament Spirit. The survival rates were abysmal, and the responsibility would fall on him.

Elsewhere, the Demonic Imperial College’s representative and Xu Hai, who had been on their way to submit a report to the College Alliance, both stopped when the latest news reached them. Every student in the secret realm had been wiped out, which meant that the evil entity that had broken free was formidable.

The students still in the Divine Weapon Civilization, unaware of the situation, were almost certainly doomed. In other words, almost every student in this contest would lose their scores.

By contrast, those who had withdrawn voluntarily at least retained something. The hundred or so students Han Wu had brought back, in particular, still possessed their Divine Weapon Atlases, untouched by the Will of the Divine Weapon Civilization. Those students were the clear winners.

“Wisdom God King, your wisdom is unmatched. Please accept my deepest bow. I am completely in your debt!” The Demonic Imperial College’s representative dropped to his knees before Xu Hai.

He had feared reprimand for the low survival rate among his students. Now, with every college's survival rate crashing to zero, although his college was no exception, it still had forty-four students who returned with their Divine Weapon Atlases. As such, Demonic Imperial College ranked near the top among all colleges. It couldn't compare to Imperial College, but it surpassed every other institution by a wide margin. The representative had not only avoided fault, but he had also emerged victorious!

Xu Hai didn't accept the gesture and said plainly, “It's not me you should be thanking. It's the student you chased off.”

The representative flushed with embarrassment. He had initially held a low opinion of Han Wu, but his gratitude was now completely genuine.

He spoke up at once. “Wisdom God King, please rest assured. I will do everything in my power to secure the highest possible reward for Han Wu from our college.”

Xu Hai nodded with a faint smile. Nothing pleased him more than watching his students grow.

Before long, the contest’s survival rate dropped again. Just as Xu Hai had anticipated, the vast majority of colleges fell to zero during this second wave. The stronger ones, like Warfare College, Demonic Imperial College, and Imperial College, declined more slowly, but they still fell.

In the end, even Warfare College and Demonic Imperial College could not avoid dropping to zero. Imperial College, however, maintained a strange, stubborn figure of 0.25%, placing it far above every other college.

Xu Hai stared at the 0.25% survival rate and recalled what Han Wu had told him. He knew who it was. It was undoubtedly Hei Qi, the son of the War Family and the root cause of the entire disaster.

Xu Hai could have said that Hei Qi's selfishness had dragged every college down with him, but he couldn't reveal that now. He needed to keep Hei Qi’s survival hidden to avoid a backlash from the other college representatives.

At the same time, Xu Hai genuinely hoped Hei Qi could hold on. That 0.25% placed Imperial College above every other college that had reached zero, which was precisely what they needed.

Before Luo Yun could even address the situation, a commanding voice sounded in the minds of everyone present. It was the Will of the Divine Weapon Civilization, requesting aid from the Divine Civilization. It was willing to allow those from the Divine Civilization to enter with their true bodies, and grant them authority to summon their core races so that the civilization could be rescued.

Han Wu was still speaking with the Origin of Mutation when he heard the message. He made his decision on the spot to return. He would go back with his divine realm, his army, and his Divine Weapons. He intended to show the Will exactly what he was capable of, and to see whether it would dare to ignore his warnings again.