He Flew Up!

Jiang Yan's personal livestream feed was directly designated as Linjiang City's official broadcast—a treatment never seen before.

The upside was that all Linjiang citizens could witness Jiang Yan's brilliance, but the downside was equally clear: if Jiang Yan performed poorly in the College Entrance Exam, he'd be publicly humiliated before the entire city, followed by endless abuse and slander.

Let's just say, that's human nature—the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

A flash of white light before Jiang Yan's eyes, and he found himself standing on an empty patch of ground. Nothing in sight, not even a blade of grass—it felt like being stranded in a desert.

An alternate space. Jiang Yan had only ever seen such scenes on TV in previous years, never in person.

A flood of viewers began pouring into Jiang Yan's livestream. Soon, the entire population of Linjiang City pushed the count past one hundred thousand.

Linjiang City TV released a 10,000 Star Coins lucky bag.

Type "Go Linjiang examinees, go Jiang Yan" to qualify for the lucky bag draw.

: Wow! The imperial relief grain has arrived!

: Go Linjiang examinees, go Jiang Yan

: Go Linjiang examinees, go Jiang Yan

: Go Linjiang examinees, go Jiang Yan

: Go Linjiang examinees, go Jiang Yan ×9900

: Damn, who's Jiang Yan? Why is the official channel cheering for him personally?

: Did the guy upstairs lose his internet? You don't even know Jiang Yan? He's the man in the livestream—an SS-rank talent.

: SS-rank talent? Our Linjiang City actually has a freak with SS talent?

: Hahahaha, that's how awesome it is.

The barrage carried a cheerful vibe. Jiang Yan knew he was being livestreamed, but his expression remained calm, showing no unusual reaction.

He was a bit curious why he was the only one around. Where were the other examinees?

But soon, his confusion was answered.

From the void, a standard female voice rang out.

"Dear examinees, welcome to this year's National College Entrance Exam. You are currently in an alternate space created by the Space Martial Saint. Next, you will face the first test—

'The Stairway to Godhood.'"

"Shortly, a long staircase to godhood will appear before you. Your task is to reach the top within twelve hours. Failure to do so will result in elimination and loss of qualification for this exam."

"The first ten thousand examinees to reach the top will receive 10 Points."

"The first thousand examinees to reach the top will receive 100 Points."

"The first hundred examinees will receive 200 Points."

"The first examinee to reach the top will receive 300 Points."

The barrage scrolled rapidly.

: Here we go, the same old tune.

: As expected, the first round is to filter out those who haven't awakened. I got screwed by a similar first round last year and missed the exam.

: Damn, crap lucky bag.

: Hehe, good lucky bag. Made a cool three Star Coins. Treating myself to instant noodles with an extra sausage tonight.

: Looking forward to Jiang Yan's performance. With his talent, top thousand shouldn't be a problem, right?

: No kidding, aim higher. I bet Jiang Yan can make top hundred.

: Upstairs, the bolder the man, the bigger the harvest. I'm going all in on first place!

: Upstairs, that's too much. Don't blindly hype Jiang Yan, or you'll be cursing him if he doesn't deliver.

A white light appeared before Jiang Yan's eyes, and then the surroundings erupted into noise.

The previously empty wasteland suddenly swarmed with a crowd of people, all looking around in confusion, clearly not having processed what was happening.

Before they could think it through, a dazzling golden light blazed from the peak of the void in the distance.

Golden steps began unfolding downward from the sky's summit, forming a vast golden staircase in an instant. At its end, an incomparably brilliant white light shone.

"Wow, is this the Stairway to Godhood from the announcement? It's huge~"

The crowd stirred. These examinees hadn't forgotten the announcement—reach the top within twelve hours, and they'd qualify for the next round.

"Charge!"

The crowd rushed toward the first step.

Boom!

Contrary to their expectations of an easy climb, the moment their feet touched the first step, an overwhelming force pressed them down, rendering them unable to move.

As expected, for a first round meant to filter, ordinary martial artists had almost no chance of reaching the top.

Jiang Yan had already observed the area—there were fewer than ten thousand people here. The rest of the examinees were likely in another space undergoing the same test.

There's no denying it—the Space Martial Saint's power was truly beyond mortal comprehension.

Jiang Yan took one step forward.

Boom!

A weight of a thousand jun pressed down on him. Jiang Yan merely furrowed his brow and continued with a second step.

It grew heavier, but to Jiang Yan, it was just a bit of wind and frost. He had figured out the pattern of the Stairway to Godhood.

The further he went, the greater the pressure. The pressure at the summit was likely far more terrifying.

But the exam lasted twelve hours. As long as one's physique wasn't too poor, reaching the top was just a matter of effort for talented examinees.

System Log updated.

"You are enduring pressure. Your physique has slightly improved."

Jiang Yan activated "Nine Consecutive Steps," his figure shooting upward in an instant, leaving the struggling students far below.

The students below stared wide-eyed at the figure above, shock written across their faces.

"Wait, is this guy not feeling the pressure?"

"No way—why is it hard for me to move even one step, but he's straight-up sprinting?"

"I'm reporting him. This bastard's cheating, right? How can he move that fast?"

As soon as someone accused Jiang Yan of cheating, the people of Linjiang City couldn't sit still.

: Trash. Just because you're useless doesn't mean everyone else is.

: Haha, don't blame the road if you can't walk. Noob. Practice more.

: So fast! So fast! Jiang Yan's turned into the wind!

Linjiang City TV released a lucky bag worth 100,000 Star Coins.

Enter "Jiang Yan is awesome" to qualify for the lucky bag.

: Jiang Yan is awesome!

: Jiang Yan is awesome!

: Jiang Yan is awesome! ×

: Jiang Yan is my dad!

: ?

: ?

On the Stairway to Godhood, Jiang Yan had already climbed twenty steps.

He frowned slightly and muttered, "At this speed, I probably won't take first place."

So, Jiang Yan made a decision that defied his ancestors!

"Nine Consecutive Steps" + Wind Rider activated simultaneously.

Battle Saint Armor fully deployed. Demon's Scale concentrated his physical attributes into the power of his steps.

Jiang Yan gripped his long blade. The Blade Bearer's 30% attribute triggered!

Given: "Nine Consecutive Steps" + Wind Rider = Flight.

Solution:

"Nine Consecutive Steps" + Wind Rider + Battle Saint Armor + Demon's Scale – "Stairway to Godhood" =

Boom!

Jiang Yan was running, and then he damn well took off flying!

Within a golden, holy radiance, a single figure turned into a blade, chasing the sun.