Final Exam Begins II

Moreover, those who had clawed their way up from the bottom and still managed to ascend to godhood were all formidable figures—every one of them powerful and highly sought after by the major factions.

But there were far too few of them, especially compared with those who had come through proper formal training.

No. 5 High School had ten First Year of High School classes, but only five Second Year of High School classes, and even the fifth class was not full. More than half had been eliminated during the First Year of High School Final Exam.

And there was no minimum quota for this elimination. Anyone who failed the first round of assessments was eliminated without exception. Even if too many were cut, the school would not hesitate. In previous years, there had often been the awkward situation where, after the Final Exam, the entire Second Year of High School had fewer than three classes left.

Only after the elimination assessment came the focus of this Final Exam: the ranking system, also known as the placement system. Students would be ranked by their results; the top students would enter the Elite Class, while everyone else would be assigned to the Ordinary Class.

The specific exam content had not been mentioned, but based on previous years, they would most likely enter a plane controlled by the school in the outer realms for training.

After reading the information, Lin Xiao stroked his chin. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar figure. Yuan Hong entered carrying a backpack, and several classmates chatting by the door immediately went up to greet him.

"Tch!"

He turned away enviously. He wanted followers too. Though followers would soon stop being all that useful, having them still felt great.

Once they reached the Second Year of High School, teachers would encourage students to try forming teams. They did not have to be classmates; students from other classes were fine as well.

By the Third Year of High School, teams would basically have taken shape. By then, every major class would essentially revolve around teams.

This was preparation for establishing a divine pantheon. Many Native Gods in the outer realms operated through pantheons. Even in small planes with only one Native God, that god would have Demigod Subordinate Gods under them. There was basically no such thing as fighting alone.

Although Lin Xiao had a Golden Finger, he would still need to find some companions in the future. However, his standards for companions were exceptionally high. At the very least, they had to be on Yuan Hong and Wan Chuan's level before he would consider them worthy; only then could they barely keep up with his pace of growth.

That would certainly be difficult. After all, outstanding students like Yuan Hong and Wan Chuan were leaders themselves. Why would they become his followers?

But he would rather go without than settle. He definitely would not lower his standards. If he truly could not find anyone, he would rather go alone. Once he entered the outer realms in the future, he could always subdue some Native Gods there.

Or perhaps he could find a beautiful wife?

Just like his father and mother, a husband and wife supporting each other could do quite well.

Rubbing his gums, Lin Xiao suddenly looked up and saw Yuan Hong looking at him. When Yuan Hong saw him raise his head, a look of disdain appeared on his face again before he turned away.

What the hell? Never seen someone drool before? Did he have to keep staring at me?

He lowered his head and glanced over himself, then touched his handsome face. Suddenly, he shuddered and quickly looked away.

As time passed, students arrived one after another. In the end, Wan Chuan, built like a muscular little giant, came in together with the Class Teacher. Upon entering the classroom, Wan Chuan first glanced at Lin Xiao before fixing his gaze on Yuan Hong. Even outsiders could see the challenge in his eyes.

Having condensed his second point of Divinity, Wan Chuan's strength had immediately caught up to Yuan Hong's, and he was now a tremendous threat to the top-ranked student in class.

Yuan Hong had withdrawn his gaze when Wan Chuan entered. The two stared at each other, and faint sparks seemed to fly from their eyes.

As for Lin Xiao, neither of them considered him a primary rival.

He was happy to take it easy, grinning as he watched the two glare at each other like fighting cocks. It would have been perfect if he had a bag of sunflower seeds.

Unfortunately, the situation did not last long before the Class Teacher interrupted it by knocking on the desk. A few thuds brought everyone back to their senses. Wu Hai swept his expressionless gaze across the class and said,

"I'll keep this brief. I trust everyone has read the updated information on the school website and knows the content of this year's First Year of High School Final Exam. Under the elimination system, roughly half the class may not pass."

He paused here, his gaze sweeping over many of the students, before continuing, "It's cruel, but the school's resources are limited, so it can only prioritize cultivating outstanding students. Those eliminated have quite a few career paths available to them now, and they may still have opportunities to advance further in the future—as long as they work hard."

At that point, the Class Teacher fell silent.

Those words were only meant as comfort. In reality, out of ten thousand First Year of High School students who were eliminated, fewer than ten would likely become Demigods in the end—not even one in a thousand.

But that was reality. No matter the era or the world, only a tiny fraction could ever reach the pinnacle.

Lin Xiao was glad that his luck was fairly good. Both his parents were Demigods, so opening a Divine Domain was practically guaranteed for him. If he had been born to ordinary people, then without a Golden Finger, his chance of successfully opening a Divine Domain would be less than one percent.

Half an hour later, the students, each with different feelings, were led to the third floor by the proctors. This floor had been divided into many small cubicles, each containing a Divine Domain Login Pod. During the Final Exam, they would use the Divine Domain Login Pods provided by the school to enter their Divine Domains.

There was only one purpose: preventing cheating.

Yes, cheating—the kind that existed in every era—was no exception even in this age of Deities. There were countless methods. The most common was spending a great deal of money to buy special cards that temporarily enhanced one's strength.

Those with better circumstances, whose families had True Gods, could directly ask a True God to infuse their bodies with divine power.

Well, whether they could actually persuade one to do so was another matter, but that method of cheating existed.

By using the school-customized Divine Domain Login Device to log into their Divine Domains, under the supervision of the school's many True Gods, no one could cheat.

Lin Xiao was randomly assigned to Room 41. He pushed open the door and entered. It was a tiny cubicle; after placing a Divine Domain Login Pod inside, there was almost no room left.

Following the proctor's instructions, he first checked the Login Pod. Though it had already been inspected and should not have any issues, it still needed to be checked again to prevent accidents. He also adjusted the settings, then lay down inside.

As the pod door slowly closed, pale blue mist seeped out, and Lin Xiao slowly closed his eyes.

In the vast Subspace, an enormous golden platform floated silently in the void. The raging Subspace storms could not shake it in the slightest. Streams of light flew in from the unknown Void Depths and descended onto the platform, transforming into young boys and girls.

Lin Xiao slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the golden floor beneath his feet, covered in intricate patterns. Above him was a transparent dome, while round after round of dazzling golden spheres slowly revolved around the platform.

From one of those golden spheres, he sensed the familiar aura of his Class Teacher, Wu Hai. Each sphere represented the Class Teacher of one First Year of High School class, and all of them were High-level Demigods. Ten First Year of High School classes meant ten High-level Demigods.

At the very peak of the dome, he saw several even more dazzling spheres. The one in the center was like the sun itself, suppressing all the other spheres.

If nothing unexpected happened, this should be the projection of one of the school's vice principals—a genuine True God.