A lone grey wolf was no match for a single gnoll.
However, wolves were natural pack hunters. With the vast grasslands offering enough space to maneuver, the wolves didn't suffer too badly despite the disadvantage.
> "I can't let this drag on. These wolves are the foundation for evolving my first chosen race. There are only a few hundred of them. If too many die, they won't be able to evolve into an intelligent species—that would be a disaster."
Guo Wenbin quickly surveyed the battlefield. While things weren't dire yet, seeing the corpses of the fallen wolves made his heart ache a little.
He lunged forward, killing a gnoll captain who was still writhing on the ground, then pounced toward another gnoll captain who had just pulled his iron sword from a fallen wolf.
That gnoll was consumed by bloodlust and, with wolves attacking from every direction, he didn't notice the giant wolf leader charging at him. He was instantly knocked to the ground.
In just seconds, the grey wolf pack lost seven or eight members. The remaining wolves, now driven into a frenzy, swarmed the downed enemy alongside Guo Wenbin, viciously tearing into him.
Despite his desperate struggle, the gnoll captain never stood up again.
With both captains dead, the remaining thirty ordinary gnolls posed no real threat.
Soon, the final gnoll was torn apart, and the corpses of the fallen enemies ignited in flames.
> "Test complete. Evaluating results..."
Time Taken: 5 minutes — Excellent!
Enemy Troop Size: Fewer than 500 — Good!
God Domain Environment: Grassland ecosystem auto-generated — Excellent!
Overall Evaluation: Excellent!
> "Congratulations, Candidate #804626209. Your overall score is Excellent. You've been admitted to Class A of the War-Path Department in First Academy."
> "Your exam reward, the Seed of Civilization, has been delivered!"
> "Yes!"
"Let's go! I got into Class A! My parents are gonna be so proud!"
Relieved by the exam results, Guo Wenbin let out a deep breath.
Suddenly, his perspective shifted, rising into the sky. The vast grasslands and surrounding mountains unfolded beneath him.
The giant wolf leader dropped to the ground, looking at its blood-soaked body and the fallen wolves around it. Confusion flickered across its small brain.
But Guo Wenbin, hovering above, wasn't looking at the wolf. His eyes were fixed on a small, flickering flame before him.
> Seed of Civilization (Half-Divine Artifact)
Contains traces of wisdom and the crystallization of civilization. Allows creatures within your Divine Realm to evolve into intelligent races.
For a deity, power isn't about how many divine authorities they possess, nor how strong their divine essence is. Rather, it's the humble Faith Points that are the true foundation of their strength.
And faith comes from followers.
> "With this Seed of Civilization, I can finally cultivate my first loyal race."
> "But before that… it's finally time to use the golden finger that's been idle for so long."
Guo Wenbin was a transmigrator. He came from Blue Star to this strange new world.
The thing that brought him here was none other than a legendary innate treasure from his original world—the Qiankun Cauldron.
He was no stranger to its legend. It was said to be the lotus pod transformed from the very lotus that gave birth to the great god Pangu.
Its power? To return all things to their origin—enhancing weapons, refining items, and converting the ordinary into the divine.
Back on Blue Star, he treated it as mere myth. But now? Myths had become reality.
> "Whether I soar or crash… it's all up to you now."
As he muttered to himself, Guo Wenbin placed the tiny flame of civilization into the Qiankun Cauldron.
The ancient artifact was far from pristine. A massive crack ran down its body. He didn't know if it had cracked while protecting him during transmigration, or if the damage was what allowed it to cross worlds with him.
> Buzz...
The moment the Seed of Civilization entered the cauldron, it began to change.
Over the past decade living symbiotically with the cauldron, Guo Wenbin had learned its true functions. They matched the legends. Though some features couldn't be used—possibly due to the damage—others still worked.
The ability to convert mundane into divine was currently unusable. But its core functions—restoring origin and enhancing quality—remained intact.
However, using the cauldron required energy. And not just any energy—divine power was best.
Normally, as a god-blooded lifeform without any followers, Guo Wenbin couldn't produce divine power.
But luckily, when he refined a World Fruit a year ago to create his Divine Realm, the cauldron absorbed a thread of Innate Qi.
Despite the small size of his Divine Realm, it still counted as an act of world-creation.
That trace of Innate Qi, which surpassed divine power in quality, was enough to fuel the cauldron.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, the cauldron stopped glowing. A thought from it entered his consciousness:
> Two options for processing the Seed of Civilization:
1. Use Restoration to extract energy (minimal Innate Qi required).
2. Use Enhancement to upgrade the Seed (consumes Innate Qi).
Guo Wenbin didn't hesitate. No way he'd dismantle this precious reward. He chose the second option without a second thought.
Moments later, a new flame appeared in his hand:
> Seed of Civilization (Divine Artifact)
Contains a small amount of wisdom and the crystallization of civilization. Allows all lifeforms in the Divine Realm to evolve into intelligent races.
It had upgraded from half-divine to divine, and its description changed too—"traces" became "a small amount," and "animals" expanded to "lifeforms," meaning even plants could now evolve.
Guo Wenbin sensed the change but didn't dwell on it. He already had a chosen race in mind and wasn't planning to switch. The flame floated into the sky, descending upon the wolf pack.
It scattered into shimmering light particles that melted into each of the grey wolves.
Then, using his authority as the creator of the realm, he sealed away two-thirds of the seed's energy.
> Shhhhhh—
A God Domain Landing Pod opened. Guo Wenbin's tall, lean figure stepped out. He rubbed his forehead, slightly dizzy.
As a god-blooded being, he couldn't directly connect with his Divine Realm. The landing pod not only allowed access, but also helped adjust for the disorienting differences in time and power between dimensions.
The time ratio between the main plane and his Divine Realm was 1 day to 1 year.
In the main plane, divine power was heavily suppressed. Even a weak god's divine spell would be no stronger than a party trick.
As for demigods and god-blooded beings like him, they were barely different from ordinary people—just stronger physically.