Placement Test Ends (Please Vote and Tip)

Compared to the previous student, whose Divine Domain had only a few dozen Desert Lizardmen left, this student's Divine Domain was developing exceptionally well. Nearly three hundred Swamp Lizardmen surrounded the Two-Headed Swamp Crocodile, continuously hurling Short Spears, while dozens of Swamp Lizardman Archers kept firing Wooden Arrows.

About a kilometer away from the battlefield stood a huge swamp Floating Island, upon which was a massive Swamp Lizardman Tribe.

Nearly three hundred Swamp Lizardmen outside the tribe were besieging the Two-Headed Swamp Crocodile, while several times that number continued living within the tribe. The battle outside had not affected them at all.

This was a large Swamp Lizardman Tribe with more than a thousand members, living in a vast swamp roughly twice the size of Lin Xiao's Divine Domain. On a level of the heavens invisible to ordinary people, a golden figure looked down upon the battlefield outside the tribe.

The golden figure was tall and slender, with an incomparably handsome face. A red diamond-shaped crystal on his forehead was particularly striking.

On the battlefield, the Swamp Lizardmen had surrounded the Two-Headed Swamp Crocodile. A constant rain of arrows fell from the sky, and the beast's thick hide was already covered in embedded arrows. Blood flowed everywhere, staining great stretches of the swamp red.

Once the damage reached a certain threshold, the ferocious beast, having lost an unknown amount of blood, could no longer hold on and crashed heavily to the ground.

When Yuan Hong heard that he had passed the trial, a confident smile appeared on his face. But it quickly darkened, and with a cold snort, he vanished.

Different Divine Domains faced different trials, but their difficulty levels were generally similar.

If there were many enemies, they were bound to be individually weak. If there were few, each would certainly be powerful. A large monster like the Two-Headed Swamp Crocodile was enough by itself to pose a tremendous threat to a weak Divine Domain.

Lin Xiao remained in his Divine Domain for a while, first spending 27,100 Faith Points to upgrade 271 Murloc Kinfolk into Level 1 Murloc Warriors.

He then spent another 22,000 Faith Points to promote forty-four Murloc Warriors into Level 2 Murloc Warriors, with each promotion costing 500 Faith Points.

At this point, all 282 remaining Murlocs in the Divine Domain had been upgraded into Level 1 Murloc Warriors or above. Among them, forty-four had become Level 2 Murloc Warriors, reaching the racial limit of the Gray Mist Fishmen. Unless special circumstances arose, they could not be promoted any further.

Although their total numbers were far lower than before, their overall strength was not much weaker than it had been before the great battle.

After leaving his Divine Domain, Lin Xiao did not return to the Main World. Instead, he headed to the Artifact Palace reserved for his class, where six figures were already present.

The golden light he had become descended from the sky and revealed his form. Six pairs of eyes turned toward him at once, and when they saw it was him, all showed surprised expressions.

After all, whether in regular classes or Placement Tests, he had always hovered around twenty-fifth place. For him to pass the exam so early this time naturally surprised everyone.

However, they only glanced at him in surprise before looking away. Zhao Erju, seated in a corner of the hall and using a magnifying-glass-like tool to inspect a metal sphere that appeared to be made of intricate components, smiled faintly at him before lowering his head to continue studying whatever it was.

Lin Xiao returned the smile, found himself a corner of the hall, and snapped his fingers. A chair appeared beneath him out of thin air, and he sat down.

Although this palace was an artifact, it was not the sort of immensely powerful artifact ordinary people imagined. It was a universal, multifunctional support artifact reserved for teachers at major academies in the Main World, and possessed no combat power whatsoever.

After waiting in the hall for a while, students gradually returned after passing the exam. Whispers began to rise through the hall as those who knew one another gathered together and quietly discussed the test they had just taken.

After roughly two hours, Lin Xiao heard a clear bell ring, signaling that the time limit for the Placement Test had ended. More than a dozen beams of golden light shone in from outside, and all the remaining students appeared, along with Class Teacher Wu Hai and instructor Zheng Wenzhuo.

The familiar pressure of the teachers filled the hall, instantly silencing the whispers. Lin Xiao quickly rose to his feet as well.

Wu Hai swept his gaze over the hall. When it landed on Lin Xiao, he paused for a moment before swiftly moving on, then said in a deep voice:

"First, I have some bad news for everyone. Yan Huan has withdrawn from school."

"Ah!"

Everyone was stunned, but understanding quickly appeared on their faces.

It was unexpected, yet perfectly understandable.

Lin Xiao knew this had been inevitable. Just two months ago, Yan Huan had been an elite student in the Top Five in Class. Then, all of a sudden, he had weakened to one of the bottom two students in the class. With the Final Exam coming next month, there was simply not enough time for him to rebuild. He was destined to be eliminated.

Rather than that, it was better to withdraw early and make one last gamble through another path.

For example, as Lin Xiao's mother had said, if he could not continue studying, he could return home and accept his parents' help to grow quickly. Without the school's restrictions, he could use all kinds of cards without limit to force his growth.

Or he could join some private company or team. Given his past grades, it was not as though no company would be willing to take a risk and invest in him.

But no matter which path he chose, his future prospects were destined to be limited. Becoming a demigod would already be his limit; without extraordinary opportunities, it would be highly unlikely for him to become a True God.

Only after announcing this news did the Class Teacher return to the main topic. "This Placement Test has now concluded. Of the forty-nine students in the class, forty-two passed, while seven failed to complete the test and have been deemed unqualified."

Those seven students were much like Yan Huan. Though they were not in quite as miserable a state as he was, their grades had always been poor, and they likewise belonged to the group with no real future.

The path of a Deity was cruel. It was like the entire class running a race: once someone fell behind, it was basically very difficult to catch up.

Generally speaking, students ranked below the middle of the class, below twentieth place, had a 99 percent chance of failing to get into university according to past precedent.

Those ranked from eleventh to twentieth belonged to the group that had a chance of entering an ordinary university. Note that they only had a chance; it did not mean they were guaranteed admission. If they were unlucky or performed poorly, failing to get in was perfectly normal.

Only those in the top ten had a high probability of getting into university.

But even then, only ordinary universities. Prestigious universities or elite academies were difficult—extremely difficult. It could be said that only two or three people in the class had any real possibility.

At this point, Class Teacher Wu Hai continued, "Now for some good news. Our class produced a dark horse in this Placement Test. Lin Xiao made a stunning showing and, to the teacher's surprise, was the first to pass the test. He has become first place in this Placement Test. Very good."

In an instant, he felt fifty gazes fall upon him at once, several of them carrying particularly powerful spiritual force.

He looked back with a smile and cupped his hands in greeting.

His gaze met those of several top students in the class one by one. There was surprise, disdain, and even faint hostility.