HBWMA -Chapter 179 Divine Power, the Bai Family, and the Queen

“Those people in the Elite Class have gone too far! They don’t even treat us like humans! They didn’t even follow the tradition of posting the honor board properly! This is just too much bullying!”

“What’s the point of saying that now? Why didn’t I see you standing up earlier?”

“What do you mean by that? As if you stood up just now!”

“Alright, alright, stop arguing. The ceremony is about to start. Go get ready.”

A farce like this left the entire tenth-grade cohort from the “Virtue and Talent Class” feeling upset. Those young masters and young ladies in the Elite Class—other than being born lucky, what were they better at? And now even their most pride-worthy academic results were being used to humiliate others.

Everyone left in frustration and returned to their classrooms.

“A-Yun, what are you looking at?”

In the crowded flow of people, a girl wore a sports uniform. Her thick bangs almost covered half her face, and the remaining half was hidden behind an old-fashioned, heavy pair of glasses.

She looked like a grain of gravel thrown onto a beach—small and completely unremarkable.

Yet, in the same crowd, there was another girl on the opposite side who was dazzling and radiant. Unlike her, she was like a pearl—white and bright—shining brilliantly among a pile of stones.

Su Yun watched that girl being playfully pushed into the classroom by her friends before slowly withdrawing her gaze.

“Nothing.”

Zhao Tang looked up at the honor board with admiration. “A-Yun, you’re amazing! First place again!”

Su Yun adjusted her thick lenses. “It’s nothing. I looked at the seniors’ past results—I’m still far behind.”

Zhao Tang turned to glance at the high school senior section of the honor board. “You mean Senior Shen and the others? That’s not comparable. I heard that Senior Shen’s Elite Class this year is made up almost entirely of heirs from major financial conglomerates. The school even specially restructured the system and created a separate advanced program just for them. Most universities in Country A are funded by these conglomerates anyway. They don’t even rely on academic degrees. Based on past trends, the seniors will probably all go to the National Military Academy after graduation.”

Su Yun said nothing and raised her eyes toward the senior honor board.

First place, advanced program: Shen Lanxi — 1280 points.

No matter how much she studied herself to exhaustion, the best she could achieve was 1230 points.

Those fifty points were not a matter of effort or intelligence. They were the embodiment of a class barrier that ordinary people could never cross.

This clear realization often made Su Yun feel powerless. Sometimes she even thought—if only she weren’t an ordinary person, then maybe she could overcome those fifty points.

But thinking about it was just meaningless self-indulgence.

Su Yun quickly adjusted her mindset and turned to her friend beside her. “Xiao Tang, what about you? Your grades dropped a lot this time. Did something happen?”

Zhao Tang avoided her gaze. “Nothing. It’s just… you know my mom. My younger brother is also preparing for his exams recently, and she forced me to tutor him. I didn’t have enough energy, so my grades slipped.”

They were childhood friends and neighbors, so Su Yun knew Zhao Tang’s family situation well. Hearing this, she didn’t press further, only asked with concern, “And your tuition?”

If you weren’t in the top ten, you wouldn’t get a scholarship. Given Zhao Tang’s family situation, there was no way she could afford it.

Zhao Tang smiled. “Don’t worry about that. Starting this semester, I’ll go to church every week. The Tian’en Church provides education subsidies to high-level believers who are both excellent in character and academics. I already became a high-level believer last semester.”

Su Yun frowned. “But with studies already so intense, going to church every week—won’t it affect your academics?”

Zhao Tang shook her head. “No. The divine will protect each and every one of us. If it weren’t for the Lord, I might have already been expelled from school.”

Su Yun’s expression grew complicated.

Back in her first year of middle school, Zhao Tang had failed an exam and lost eligibility for a full scholarship. Su Yun had told her that the school had another supplementary aid program, and Zhao Tang, trying her luck, submitted an application. Surprisingly, the interview went smoothly and the approval came quickly.

She had thought the crisis was over, but shortly after, things took a sudden turn. The teachers involved were suddenly dismissed, and the school clarified that no such supplementary aid had ever existed. Zhao Tang went from heaven to hell overnight and cried for days without end.

By chance, she was introduced to the Tian’en Church by a senior student. After learning about Zhao Tang’s situation, the church provided financial support under the name of poverty relief. From then on, Zhao Tang became a believer.

Although the church had solved her financial crisis in school, Su Yun couldn’t shake an inexplicable sense of unease—no matter what the reason was.

Zhao Tang said, “Alright, stop overthinking. The ceremony is about to begin. Have you memorized your speech yet? There are a lot of important figures coming today—you need to perform well and leave a good impression.”

Su Yun smiled. “I’ve been ready for a long time.”

High School Year 1, Elite Class 3.

“Everyone, get ready. We’ve just received news that two high priests from the Tian’en Church will be visiting the teaching building later.”

The class monitor stood at the podium and tapped the desk, trying to wake up the scattered students below.

Fu Xiaoxiao blew on her nails. “So what if they’re coming? What’s there to prepare for?”

In Country A, clergy held a much higher social status than ordinary citizens. Some officials even had to rely on them to mobilize public support and could not easily afford to offend them.

Fu Xiaoxiao could say something like that only because her surname was Fu. The others didn’t have her confidence and quietly began straightening their appearance.

Fu Sui’er rolled her eyes at Fu Xiaoxiao and whispered to Jiang Huashan, “These so-called Catholic believers are just scammers using the name of God.”

Jiang Huashan deeply agreed. Where in this world was there any god? If there was one, it would only be the “Gate of the Script.”

Fu Sui’er motioned for Jiang Huashan to lean closer, and the two of them whispered to each other.

“Shanshan, do you know? These so-called religious groups in the name of God actually help conglomerates and corrupt officials launder dirty money. They’re the ugliest demons in this world.”

Jiang Huashan looked at her with slight surprise. “Looks like you learned a lot this summer?”

Fu Sui’er winked. “Very rewarding. Oh right!” She suddenly thought of something and lowered her voice mysteriously. “Guess why I only came back to school this time?”

Jiang Huashan cooperated. “Why?”

Fu Sui’er said softly, “The seventy-year birthday of the Bai family’s regent queen. I went to the Bai estate with my grand-uncle.”

Jiang Huashan raised her brow slightly. “The Bai family?”

Fu Sui’er nodded. “I used to think our Country A’s financial oligarchs interfering in politics was already corrupt enough, but I didn’t expect Country S to be even worse. The Bai family has royal blood and controls the nation’s faith and religious authority. Even the government and major conglomerates can’t do anything about them. Compared to them, our Country A’s churches are basically small-time players.”

Country A’s churches still needed support from financial groups, but the Bai family’s power had already reached the level of controlling public consciousness. It truly wasn’t on the same scale.

Jiang Huashan became interested. “You saw the Bai family’s queen?”

Her understanding of this world was limited to everything she had experienced before the age of twenty-five, and most of that took place in Country A.

So she only knew that the Bai family queen was a legendary and difficult figure, but she had never truly seen how powerful she was.

Fu Sui’er shook her head. “The queen was in poor health. She only appeared for about ten minutes during the banquet, and even then she was behind a curtain—I couldn’t even clearly see what she was wearing. My uncle said she hasn’t appeared much since the assassination of her eldest son’s family eighteen years ago.”

“Assassination of the eldest son?”

Fu Sui’er nodded. “Yes. Eighteen years ago, the Bai prince and princess consort were invited to visit Country A. On their way back, they were attacked by terrorists. It happened in Country A’s airspace. Even though it was later confirmed that those terrorists had nothing to do with us, the queen still unilaterally severed diplomatic relations with us.”

Jiang Huashan’s eyes flickered slightly. This was useful information.

Since this world was a book, every character and every plotline must exist for a reason.

Even though she had not experienced the later plot, she was certain that the Bai family queen—and the tragedy of her son’s death—was an important foreshadowing in the entire storyline.

Fu Sui’er noticed the change in her expression and felt a bit happier. “Is what I told you useful?”

Jiang Huashan looked up and saw Fu Sui’er watching her expectantly. She smiled slightly. “Yes. It is.”

This was their promise at fourteen—to grow up well, to be each other’s eyes, and to see the wider world beyond it.