The final investigation revealed clear facts with full evidence. It was the attendant who had poisoned Kaman's food, causing him to faint during the exam. Meanwhile, both Du Cheng and Aliza had never left their tent the previous night, as testified by several night-watch priests!
Given the supreme authority of the Holy Church, the examinees had little doubt about the investigation report.
In fact, even second-tier warriors don’t possess immunity from all diseases, so it wasn’t unheard of for an orange-clad warrior to fall victim to food poisoning.
Of course, there were those who still refused to believe. One of them was Kaman’s father, Weiduo, the chief examiner of this exam, who demanded an appeal. However, when Ferdinand glared at him and said, “Weiduo, are you questioning the Holy Church’s authority!?” the minister of rites obediently closed his mouth. As the chief examiner, Weiduo had limited authority, mostly in the early planning stages and assisting the Church during the exams. When it came to scoring and decisions, he was powerless.
Poor Young Master Kaman failed the first round miserably and, due to severe poisoning, had to withdraw from the exam, waiting for next year to try again.
Du Cheng successfully advanced to the second round.
The second round would take place a day later. The identity of his opponent wasn’t important, and Du Cheng didn’t even bother to remember the opponent’s name. After all, this guy had been bribed by the Church and would surrender voluntarily.
His excuse was, “I am a practitioner of fire-type combat aura, and Sigru is my faith. I would never fight the descendant of the Divine War God, Saint Hui!”
In the third round, Du Cheng’s opponent had been crippled in the previous round and hobbled into the ring with crutches. Without hesitation, Young Master Fu kicked the crutch out from under him and advanced to the next round!
In the fourth round, Du Cheng faced a lovestruck girl from Saint John City. After Du Cheng smiled and gestured to her, she joyfully jumped off the stage to boast to her friends, “Hey, Young Master Francis smiled at me. Oh my, my looks are on par with Princess Yuna!”
Watching the lovestruck girl leave, Du Cheng sighed in silence. Although this was all part of Ferdinand’s arrangement, wasn’t it a bit too fake?
Fortunately, Du Cheng later found out that the girl was well-known for her infatuations. It wasn’t just during the exam; she lived her life the same way. She was infamous for being a love-struck fool! So, no one had any objections to Du Cheng’s advancement in that round.
In the fifth round, Du Cheng’s opponent had to withdraw from the exam due to an emergency at home. Du Cheng advanced!
In the sixth round… well, wasn’t there a free pass? No need to say more.
By the seventh round, Du Cheng “fell ill,” supposedly because Aliza had fed him something contaminated. However, he wasn’t as unlucky as Kaman, and by the end of the seventh round, he had recovered just in time.
This “poisoning” incident was a scheme Du Cheng had arranged himself. After all, with his reputation as a useless person, if someone like him were to take first place, the other candidates might revolt. Besides, passing six rounds already seemed outrageous. To push Du Cheng to first place using this method... a rational cheater wouldn’t do that!
In the end, the winner of Group Seven was the gnome, Sem, who lost in the final match on the tenth day to the champion from the other nineteen groups. The victor was Du Cheng’s second brother, Charlie.
On the eleventh day, all the examinees gathered again at Saint Bovin Square in front of Vernath Palace to hear the exam results and the names of those who would enter the Saint John Cathedral.
Compared to when they entered, there were a few hundred fewer candidates, most of whom were injured.
Yet, there were still over three thousand people crowded in the square.
Du Cheng was perched on Aliza’s shoulders, wiping the sweat from his brow as he asked, “Big Brother, you didn’t purposely lose to a beauty, did you?”
“Oh, my dear brother, you’re alive! How wonderful!” Steve gave Du Cheng a bear hug and warmly greeted him. “Looks like you surrendered, don’t worry, I’ll shield you from Dad’s wrath when we get home!”
Du Cheng smiled faintly.
Steve continued, “Ah, what a shame, I didn’t meet any beauties, just damn men. Well, I won’t hold back then! I was second in Group Four!” He then looked worriedly at Du Cheng. “But this year’s written exam was tough. I’m afraid it’ll drag us down!”
“Was it really that hard?” Du Cheng hadn’t noticed.
“Of course it was! In my exam room, more than twenty didn’t finish. Just look at question seven. It asked who accompanied Pope Sama when he was crowned five hundred years ago! Damn it, why didn’t they ask me what color the Pope’s underwear was?”
At that moment, the gates of Vernath Palace opened, and Weiduo came out with a stern look on his face, holding up a scroll.
“The results are in, let’s talk later!” Steve said nervously as he watched Weiduo.
When Steve heard his score was seventy-five, he excitedly shouted, “Yes, I passed! I’m definitely in!”
“Francis Saint Sigru Cain, one hundred points!”
Plop!
Steve was so shocked that he accidentally dropped Du Cheng on the ground. “My ancestors! Dear brother, you... you actually got full marks!?”
Du Cheng innocently stood up, brushed the dust off himself, and helplessly said, “I couldn’t help it, the questions were too easy!”
Indeed, the exam consisted entirely of objective questions, which could be answered by rote memorization, and Du Cheng’s memory had become terrifyingly strong!
Steve stared blankly at him, no longer surprised when he heard Weiduo announce Charlie’s score of ninety.
“Dear big brother, calm down. I suggest you keep a cool head because you’re about to be even more shocked!” Du Cheng advised.
“Why?”
“Well, I passed six rounds of combat tests, though they were all by default, and each time I only scored six points. But combined, that’s thirty-six. Add that to my perfect score in the written test, plus the blessing from the Godfather, I should have… hehe, one hundred sixty-six points!” He grinned. “In the seventh round, I didn’t even believe my luck would continue, so I faked illness and withdrew!”
“Ah!” Steve sighed, “My brother, you’re probably the first person in history to enter the War God Academy without knowing any combat aura!”
“But there’s still the final round, right? There’s still the final test inside Saint John Cathedral. I might not get that perfect score!” Du Cheng replied.
“The final round usually doesn’t test physical strength; it mainly assesses the candidate’s character. Dear brother, even I, your rogue big brother, am confident you’ll pass. What are you afraid of?”
Du Cheng could only smile bitterly.
...
As expected, the three Cain brothers entered the Saint John Cathedral.
Du Cheng wasn’t sure how the other candidates fared in their final exam. When he entered a small room, there were seven or eight priests, two heavily armored warriors, and Ferdinand the Godfather present.
They were sitting around a round table, chatting comfortably.
Ferdinand beckoned Du Cheng to sit next to him and said with a smile, “Everyone, this is the child guarded by our mysterious friend. Apart from being unable to cultivate combat aura, everything about him is perfect!”
“Indeed! Soft skin and tender flesh!” A red-bearded warrior next to Ferdinand sized Du Cheng up.
Ferdinand introduced, “This is Mars, the War God, who specifically came from the Vatican. He’s also the leader of the Six Guardians of the Pope, with authority equal to that of the Godfather!”
Du Cheng thought maliciously, So this is the Pope’s golden-hand...
“Honorable Mars, it’s an honor to meet you!” Du Cheng greeted.
“Enough with the pleasantries.” Mars’s temperament was as rough and straightforward as his appearance. “Francis, there’s something I need to discuss with you!”
Du Cheng’s heart skipped a beat. The Church had gone all out to help him and had given him great benefits. Now it was time to repay them.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLcXA0RQdn
