Archibald was also displeased, glaring fiercely at Leopold.
"You said we'd all ask together and then let big brother choose, didn't you? Now you've gone ahead and asked first, what is big brother supposed to do?"
"I knew I shouldn't have come with you; here you are spouting nonsense, practically stabbing us in the back."
John, being repeatedly called 'big brother,' was both amused and bewildered.
Leopold defended himself righteously, "I saw you guys weren't saying anything, so I thought you weren't going to ask. I just wanted big brother to come to my house first for dinner. It's just a matter of sequence, why are you rushing it?"
Archibald and Lavinia were almost laughing in frustration.
If it wasn't important, then why had they been so eager to extend their invitations before?
The three of them actually started arguing in the hospital room, getting so heated that none could persuade the others.
John, feeling a headache coming on, rubbed his forehead and finally knocked on the table, drawing everyone's attention to him.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. You're giving me a headache."
The three looked at each other guiltily and involuntarily lowered their heads, like children who had done something wrong.
John, with a headache, looked at them and finally sighed.
"Fine, you should go back now. I can't rest with you all here."
Leopold coughed slightly, a bit embarrassed, and glanced at John.
"Then big brother, you rest well. We'll wait for you to recover and then go back to school together."
This time, although there were some issues, Star Cluster Academy still admitted the top 100 ranked students as initially planned.
Those who didn't make the cut were somewhat disgruntled, but there was really nothing they could do.
The rankings were determined based on their prior performance, and even if some had sacrificed, that changed nothing.
Some parents indeed kept causing disturbances, but in the end, they were all suppressed.
After all, there were so many nobles in the alliance, and one or two couldn't stir up much trouble.
After much persuasion, these three finally left, and when the room was left to himself, John felt the world quiet down.
Rubbing his temples, he felt an intense pain in his mind sea.
He suddenly remembered that during his time in the secret realm, he had indeed encountered some unusual situations but had fallen asleep before he could understand what was happening.
When he woke up, he saw Abby and the others were also in the room.
The situation must have been very critical; could it have been Yina who saved him?
"Yina, are you there?"
John tried calling for Yina, but after several shouts, there was no response.
Just as he was about to give up, he heard a slightly listless voice.
"What do you want?"
John was stunned to hear the voice.
"What's wrong with you? Why does your voice sound so listless?"
Yina rolled her eyes within John's mind sea.
"You have the nerve to ask me? If it hadn't been for me, you'd be dead."
John was somewhat baffled, instantly recalling the moment he was stabbed on the city wall when he had felt his consciousness drifting further from his body.
It was as though he was truly leaving his physical form.
Moreover, in the midst of it all, he had heard many dizzying murmurs…
At that time, he felt as if his nerves were starting to malfunction, as if countless voices were clamoring in his ears.
He was on the verge of giving up, but then he felt his spirit stabilizing.
"So it was you who saved me then," John said with a tone of gratitude, but Yina couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"If it wasn't me, who did you think saved you? Do you really think you're lucky enough to escape death over and over again?"
Yina's tone carried a hint of complaint, but internally she was grumbling.
The power of the Stellar God that she had carefully accumulated had been completely used up this time; who knows when she would be able to gather that much again.
John detected the reproach in Yina's tone and chuckled lightly. Sometimes Yina might seem fierce, but in reality, she had saved him time and again.
"But how did you manage to provoke the dark god this time?" Yina asked with a hint of confusion in her voice.
"And the aura of this dark god seems completely different from before; who did you manage to anger this time?"
John, feeling somewhat helpless, explained the situation clearly, which only deepened Yina's confusion.
"That doesn't make sense. If it truly were a dark god, they would have been sealed in the Godforsaken Land long ago and couldn't possibly have emerged."
In the past, several prime gods had exhausted all their energy to seal the dark god there, with some even paying the price of their divine essence shattering.
The rest of the prime gods had fallen into slumber.
Has it only been so many years, and now the dark god is awakening again?
John listened quietly. These were details Yina had never shared with him before.
Yina, increasingly puzzled, mulled over many things, muttering to herself about the related information.
"This fragment of the secret realm feels so familiar, like I've seen it somewhere before."
"Why is there a hint of the Dawn Goddess's aura too? But that shouldn't be right, the Dawn Goddess should be in slumber."
"And why did a pseudo-semigod appear this time? Even if they used the power of control from within the secret realm, it still shouldn't be possible…"
As Yina continued to mutter, John listened attentively.
It wasn't until Yina realized she had said quite a lot that she snapped back to her usual fierce demeanor.
"Are you trying to fish for information from me?"
John raised his eyebrows slightly, "I haven't said much at all; it's you who've been talking. Now why are you blaming me?"
Yina was momentarily at a loss for words but still responded fiercely, "Then why didn't you interrupt me? Forget everything I just said; it's not for you to know right now."
John couldn't help but laugh a little, but still inquired further, "You said you felt that this secret realm has a very familiar aura. Have you encountered it somewhere else before?"
He was genuinely eager to know what would happen once all the fragments of the secret realm were collected, so he was desperate for answers.
"I don't know, I don't know anything," Yina shut down the topic, clearly unwilling to discuss it further, while John couldn't help but sigh.
"Thank you for saving me before, but if it hadn't been for the natives of this secret realm, I probably would have died already."
"I promised them I would take them home. So, if you have any information about other fragments of this secret realm, could you tell me?"
Yina was silent for a long time. Just as John was losing hope and thinking about looking for other opportunities, he heard Yina sigh and say in a very elusive voice,
"Even if I knew where these secret realm fragments are, you couldn't get them now; they are relics lost in the Godforsaken Land during the ancient wars of the gods."
"Only those who pass the trials can obtain the fragments, and the fragments themselves are entirely random; you can't just get what you want."
Trail?
Is this the same kind of trial that Principal Sophia mentioned about the semigod-tier challenges?
John's mind raced; it seemed that what Principal Sophia had said was indeed correct, but this test was somewhat different.
"The power of the dark god is already beginning to seep through, which means he will soon awaken from the Godforsaken Land..."
"You already possess the power of a god, so it's likely that these troubles will only increase for you. You'd better strengthen your abilities quickly—I don't want to be dragged down by you next time!"
Yina spoke fiercely, and John couldn't help but chuckle.
"These troubles came looking for me; I couldn't avoid them if I tried."
"I don't care, you better keep yourself alive. If you're going to die, let me know in advance so I can find someone else!"