Final Exam Begins I

In fact, these domesticated bison could be considered a specialty product of the Divine Domain. They could be traded with other students for resources or sold for Faith Points.

However, the students in Lin Xiao's grade were basically all broke, with nothing worth trading for. Previously, he had only traded some dried fish with a classmate for a batch of grass seeds—the kind the herd was eating now.

At this point, only one week remained until the Final Exam.

That day, Lin Xiao received a notice from his Class Teacher as soon as he got out of bed—

"After deliberation by the School Board, the First Year of High School Final Exam has been scheduled for six days from now, on June 25, ******. Students are requested to prepare accordingly and gather at school on June 24, when this year's Final Exam content will be announced."

"More accurately, there are only five days left to prepare."

Lin Xiao tapped the confirmation button with a finger, confirming that he had received it.

After giving it some thought, he edited the message, added a few lines, and forwarded it to his mother.

Less than a minute later, while he was still brushing his teeth, he received his mother's reply: "Sweetheart, work hard. I'm counting on you to bring me some pride at your grandfather's birthday celebration next month."

"Uh!"

Lin Xiao opened his foam-filled mouth. He could not help thinking of that cousin from his eldest uncle's family who loved showing off in front of him, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved upward.

"I seem to be looking forward to it!"

He chuckled and replied to his mother, "Rest assured, Mother. Your son will definitely give everyone a surprise then."

"Then I'll wait and see. Once your Final Exam is over, I'll prepare a surprise for you too."

Six days passed silently. Lin Xiao, who had spent the entire time preparing in his Divine Domain, left home for school as soon as the time came.

Dongning City Fifth Middle School referred to the fifth-ranked Deity school in Dongning City, a school dedicated to training newly born Deity students. It was different from ordinary schools.

The school was located at the foot of the tail end of Dongning Mountain outside the city, an enormous campus covering several million square meters. Dongning City's major high schools for training Deities were all spread across different sections of Dongning Mountain.

Unlike ordinary schools, Deity students not only did not need to live on campus, but even attended classes from home. There were usually very few people at school, and students only gathered on important days.

Like today. The Final Exam counted as an important day.

When Lin Xiao arrived by hovercar, he saw from afar that the massive School Gate was packed with hovercars. Many students had come with their parents rather than alone.

The hovercar stopped at the School Gate. After getting out, Lin Xiao looked up at the gate, hundreds of meters tall. A gigantic dragon head hung above it, wrapped in glittering golden chains. Its savage face pointed directly at the entrance, black flames blazing in its enormous pupils as a suffocating pressure blanketed the surrounding area. It looked as though it were still alive.

In fact, it really was alive. The dragon's head had belonged to an Abyssal Demon Dragon from a certain layer of the Bottomless Abyss in a Crystal Wall System, one comparable to a High-level Demigod. After the first principal slew it, its head was sealed and sent back to the Main World, where it was placed at the School Gate.

With the seal of an Intermediate Divine Power and the suppression of the Main World's powerful laws, this Abyssal Demon Dragon had remained firmly locked here, completely unable to move.

Lin Xiao stared at the head with intense envy. If he threw this thing into the Creation Cube and broke it down... He clicked his tongue, unable to resist reaching up to wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth. Then he suddenly turned and saw Yuan Hong, who had arrived at some point. Yuan Hong gave the demon dragon head a puzzled glance, then flicked a look at the drool at Lin Xiao's mouth. His lips curled in disdain.

"Damn!"

His lifetime reputation had been ruined in an instant. That was truly embarrassing.

Lin Xiao hurriedly wiped away his drool and rushed through the School Gate.

The First Year of High School had its own section of Teaching Buildings. Class Three had an independent twenty-story building all to itself.

By the time Lin Xiao reached the assembly hall, more than half the class had already arrived. He greeted the counselor, Zheng Wenzhuo, who was chatting with Meng Hui at the entrance. Their Class Teacher, Wu Hai, had not arrived yet.

He casually found a seat and sat down. A classmate beside him leaned over and said in a low voice:

"I heard Wan Chuan successfully condensed his second point of Divinity a few days ago. His strength has surged, and he might even be stronger than Yuan Hong now."

Lin Xiao gave the classmate, whom he had not known well before, a puzzled look and said:

"So what? Yuan Hong is the one who should be worried. What does it have to do with me?"

Sang Ping looked astonished.

"Aren't you planning to compete for the Divinity Card in the teacher's hands?"

Lin Xiao spread his hands and shook his head.

"When did I ever say that?"

Sang Ping looked utterly dumbfounded. He scratched his head in confusion and muttered:

"Didn't you take first place in the last Placement Test?"

"So what? It was just luck. Do you think I can still take first place this time?"

"Uh..."

Sang Ping was speechless. Lin Xiao ignored him and turned back around. He tapped a button on the desk, and a light screen popped up. With a few more taps, the display expanded. He pressed his palm against it for verification, and the interface changed, entering the school's official website. He began looking through the school's announcement regarding this Final Exam.

Though he would not be content to remain below others in his heart, he still needed to keep a low profile before his classmates. Just like during the previous Placement Test, he would make a stunning impression when the time came.

Most of the information on the official website was old. Only one new item had been updated, concerning the content of this Final Exam. He opened it and began reading.

After spending several minutes going through all the information, Lin Xiao had a clear understanding.

Just like in previous years, the rules for this year's Final Exam were broadly the same. It was likewise divided into two stages: an elimination stage and a ranking stage.

As the name implied, the elimination stage would eliminate some students. All students would undergo an assessment of equal difficulty. Anyone who failed would be expelled directly after the Final Exam, without even the chance to be assigned to an Ordinary Class.

This was not a system unique to Fifth Middle School. It was the same throughout human civilization. No matter which middle school it was, some students would be eliminated after the First Year of High School.

The reason involved resource allocation. After students entered the Second Year of High School, the resources schools needed to invest were far greater than during the first year. Since school resources were limited, they could only train the elite. Those with excessively poor results could only be expelled and seek another path.

Of course, even if they were expelled, they were still Divine Creatures, far stronger than ordinary people. No matter where they went, they could make a good living.

For example, they could join large private civilian teams to venture into foreign realms. Without school restrictions, they could be rapidly cultivated through forced advancement to a certain level, then serve as cannon fodder, or work as laborers to provide resources for the team's core members.

Most students took this path after being expelled. A small number with connections could join government departments or the military and spend their days in safe planes controlled by the government or military.

Foreign planes were dominated by Deities, and technology was not prominent. Divine Creatures were considered the lowest level in the Main World, but on certain foreign planes, they were definitely important figures. Even in the worst case, they were still better off than ordinary people.

That was only for those content to drift through life. If they continued working hard after being expelled, it was not impossible for them to advance to Demigods, or even True Gods.

The Federation had more than a few people who had been expelled yet successfully ascended to godhood through their own efforts.