43: Chapter 43 This year's college entrance exam is insanely difficult!

The difficulty was notched up slightly, and the defensive lines began to experience some impact.

However, the students from No. 1 High School were, after all, raised with money; as long as they hadn't been sleeping on the job, their troop configurations were reasonable, and they could basically hold off this wave of attacks steadily.

After this round finished, No. 1 High School still had no one eliminated.

Among the one thousand simulation pods, not a single red light of elimination lit up.

Seeing this, a wave of exclamations rose from the Municipal Square.

"It really lives up to its reputation as the top-ranked high school in the city; this foundation is truly terrifyingly solid."

"Isn't that right! At the very least, every student from No. 1 High School will be able to get into a university; no one will fail and end up as a 'useless god'."

Parents and teachers in the stands whispered to each other, their tones full of undisguised envy.

However, this relaxed atmosphere did not last long.

The third wave of monster tides struck without warning!

This time, there were over ten thousand Tier 1 monsters, plus five or six hundred red-eyed Tier 2 elites!

A sea of monsters, like a black tide, instantly submerged every corner of the holographic screens.

Facing this scale of crazy slaughter, if the examinees didn't have well-organized elite legions or a Tier 3 leader to hold the ground, their defensive lines would collapse the moment they made contact.

Sure enough, the brutal elimination began.

In just this one wave, half of the one thousand top students from No. 1 High School were directly eliminated!

Over five hundred simulation pods sounded alarms, and their doors popped open by force.

Over five hundred students crawled out, pale-faced and covered in cold sweat, their bodies trembling—clearly terrified by the sense of death in the holographic simulation.

"Holy crap! The difficulty has directly doubled!"

"This is too exaggerated! Without real strength, you simply can't hold out."

All ten million citizens of Xinghai City were staring at the big screen, not even daring to breathe.

This elimination rate was practically like using a meat grinder!

Students who didn't survive the third wave left the field with dejected faces; a few with poor mental resilience even burst into tears on the spot.

If you survived two waves, you could at most go to a third-rate institution to coast through life, and you would only be able to work for big merchant associations for the rest of your life, with no chance of ever reaching the upper echelons of godhood.

But at least they had preserved a bit of their divine power foundation and wouldn't end up on the streets.

The remaining four hundred-plus elites, who were gritting their teeth and holding on, welcomed the nightmarish fourth wave.

Hundreds of thousands of Tier 1 cannon fodder!

Over ten thousand Tier 2 elites!

Plus a massive Tier 3 leader, mountain-like in size!

The moment the monsters spawned, the atmosphere of the entire examination hall instantly froze.

This was no longer an exam; it was a one-sided slaughter with absolutely no suspense!

Hundreds of thousands of cannon fodder piled together—even if they stood still and let you hack at them, they could exhaust your troops to death!

Not to mention that there was a thick-skinned Tier 3 leader in the back crazily tearing down the base.

Soon, the simulation pods flashed with blinding red lights one after another.

Large groups of students walked out, looking dejected, declaring total annihilation.

In the split-screen footage on the screen, territories that had been painstakingly managed were razed to the ground by the sea of monsters, and their faithful kin were gnawed on until not even bone fragments were left.

In just a few minutes, of the four hundred-plus people, only a sparse dozen were still struggling to hold on!

It was too hard!

This was simply hell-level difficulty!

The expressions of all the watching students changed completely.

If it were them on the field, could they survive this brutal slaughter of the fourth wave?

The answer was obvious: absolutely impossible!

As long as they survived this wave, they would secure a ticket to a first-class institution.

If they could continue to fight through the fifth wave, the doors to the highest hall, Starry Sky University, would be completely thrown open.

But the fifth wave was simply despair-inducing.

The decisive battle began!

The screen spawned ten Tier 3 leaders directly!

Plus thirty to forty thousand Tier 2 elites, and nearly a million strong Tier 1 army!

The monsters were densely packed; there wasn't even a place to step.

The entire audience was dumbfounded.

This exam question simply left no way for people to survive!

It was clearly intended to push these high school seniors to their deaths!

Even the school principals leading the teams in the front row widened their eyes, and the sound of gasps rang out in unison.

Time ticked away second by second.

In the live footage, the slaughter was exceptionally brutal, with blood flowing like a river.

The first student was defeated.

Their territory core was smashed to pieces by a single hammer blow from a Tier 3 troll.

Then came the second, the third...

Lin Feng sat in the corner, spotting an acquaintance with sharp eyes—Lu Yu.

Previously at the Ten-School Joint Exam, this guy had been beaten by him until he couldn't find north, and this time, facing the insane lineup of the fifth wave, Lu Yu's half-dragon army didn't even hold out for three minutes before being completely submerged by the million-strong monster sea.

Ten minutes later.

Of the last dozen or so elites from No. 1 High School, more than half had fallen!

Only the last seven remained!

These seven people exhausted their entire army's foundation, even sacrificing the vitality of all their troops, and only then, in the very last second before their main city was razed, did they manage to kill the last Tier 3 leader, thrillingly passing the fifth wave right at the deadline.

But the luck of these seven people ended there.

In the immediately following sixth wave, facing the mountain-covering Tier 4 commander-level monsters, these seven people didn't even last a minute; their defensive lines evaporated instantly, and they were mercilessly eliminated.

With this, the initial one thousand people from No. 1 High School were completely wiped out!

Not a single one had even touched the threshold of the seventh wave!

...

On the main seat of the special high platform at the top of the Municipal Building.

Mayor Zhao Tingfeng, the highest official of Xinghai City, General Yan Xiao, the military commander-in-chief, and Supervisor Xue, a special envoy parachuted down from the Imperial Capital who was fully responsible for invigilating the exam, sat side by side on leather chairs.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. It seems the quality of students in Xinghai City this year is not very good. Each generation is worse than the last."

Wearing an expensive custom robe, Supervisor Xue leisurely adjusted his sleeves and took a sip of the premium Maojian tea beside him.

His tone carried undisguised contempt and mockery.

Supervisor Xue was a high-ranking official dispatched from the core circles of the Imperial Capital, accustomed to seeing top-tier prodigies.

These condescending words made Mayor Zhao Tingfeng and General Yan Xiao beside him feel as if they had been slapped hard in the face, burning with pain.

"Supervisor Xue, your standards are too high. This is only the first batch being tested."

Mayor Zhao Tingfeng took a deep breath, trying hard to keep his tone flat.

"Our Xinghai City's results over the years have been among the best in the entire Great Xia Alliance, and we have produced many top-tier geniuses capable of standing on their own at the front lines."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Supervisor Xue scoffed, pulling at the corners of his mouth, his triangular eyes narrowing slightly.

"At least with this batch of good-for-nothings, my eyes must be dim, because I really can't see where any of them count as geniuses."

Damn!

You old thing, you're doing this on purpose to pick a fight, aren't you?

Mayor Zhao Tingfeng was so angry that a ball of evil fire was rushing around in his stomach, but he couldn't vent it.

After all, what the man said was the truth; the performance of this group of aces from No. 1 High School had indeed underperformed, with not even one appearing who could make it into the sixth wave.

However, a name suddenly flashed through Mayor Zhao Tingfeng's mind.

Lin Feng!

This kid was a monster who had treated all the geniuses of No. 1 High School as snacks and chewed them up raw.

Moreover, this kid's combat power was bottomless; even General Yan had personally come forward to recruit him.

He would definitely be able to get into Starry Sky University.

Thinking of this, Mayor Zhao Tingfeng's confidence returned, and his back straightened a little.

He secretly made up his mind: today, he must use Lin Feng's hand to slap this special envoy's old face hard!

As the head of a city, to actually have to rely on a poor high school senior to save face—this was indeed a bit ridiculous.

But Mayor Zhao Tingfeng was actually quite proud of it at this moment, his heart filled with the pleasure of revenge.