145: Chapter 145 Students in a Dire Situation

Time always slips away unnoticed, and in the blink of an eye, another five days passed. Under Magistrate Mei Fang's repeated and insistent requests, Lin Xiao finally, albeit reluctantly, secretly signed slave contracts with some of the Divine Guards.

There were a thousand people in total, accounting for one-fiftieth of the county's total Divine Guards. All of these individuals had been personally nurtured by the county magistrate, making them his core loyalists.

This was the first time Lin Xiao realized that when someone is too enthusiastic toward you, it can truly be overwhelming. Ever since Magistrate Mei Fang signed the Death Contract with him,

he had been finding every possible way to recommend candidates to him daily, looking as though he wished he could bring every deity in the entire county to serve as Lin Xiao's Slave Gods.

Even though Lin Xiao had repeatedly stated that he had his own plans, the other party would still bring over candidates outside of those plans, such as these Divine Guards.

Although Magistrate Mei Fang did not know why his master liked to recruit subordinates, it was enough for him to know that his master liked it.

Now, besides arranging for the Believers to Cultivate and handling the county's administrative affairs, he spent all his spare time thinking about who else would be suitable to serve as Slave Gods for his master.

Although not much time had passed, it was already enough for the Divine Beings under Lin Xiao's command to advance.

Including Wang Tao and Su Xue, all the Divine Beings under his command had now entered the demigod stage.

From the moment they awakened until now, it had only been about forty days at most. If this speed of advancement were to get out, it would drive a vast number of direct descendants from the county's noble families mad with envy.

After all, judging from previous years' results, being able to advance to a demigod before graduation was already considered outstanding.

Aside from these newly advanced demigods, Meng Ning had also successfully advanced. The other First-order Deities, including Teacher Tong Qian who had joined them later,

had expanded their core Believers while also entering the Late Stage of the Golden Core Realm. Given a bit more time to accumulate, everyone was confident they could quickly advance to the Second-order.

As their personal strength advanced, their strength certifications in the virtual network would also be synchronized in real-time.

When someone in the Star Academy alumni group suddenly noticed that Meng Ning's personal certification had changed to Second-order Deity,

the chat group instantly exploded!

Although this group was called the Star Academy communication group, it was basically filled with students who were in dire straits.

Not a single one of those children from major families or students who had sold their futures early for a good price was in this group.

As his classmates, even if they weren't in the same department or class, everyone still understood Meng Ning's basic situation.

Although the Meng Family was only a lower-middle-tier power within a First-tier Star Domain, it was already an existence that most students looked up to with awe.

Unfortunately, Meng Ning did not seem to be highly valued by his Family, and he even had to go out and find a job on his own after graduation.

Originally, everyone was equally poor, so what was going on now? It had only been a little over a month, so how did he suddenly advance to a Second-order Deity?

"Holy crap! Brother Meng, Boss Meng! How did you suddenly reach Second-order? It's only been how long since graduation? You're about to rise to the top!"

"Is your Family still recruiting? Can you look after us? As long as the benefits are just a tiny bit better than outside, that's fine!"

"Congratulations, Brother Meng! You are the first in our group to break through to a Second-order Deity. If it's convenient in the future, we hope you can give us a hand.

"After all, we all graduated from the Star Academy. Our talent and connections are definitely much stronger than those of outsiders."

"Now that Brother Meng has advanced to the Second-order, the Family will definitely increase their efforts to nurture you at this speed. With your talent, advancing to the Third-order within a hundred years is a sure thing.

"Even becoming an Intermediate God is not out of reach. When that time comes, if Brother Meng still remembers this little brother, just say the word.

"I'd be happy to even be a private in the deity legion under your command!"

Some classmates who had a decent relationship with Meng Ning immediately started messaging him privately after hearing the news.

"Old Meng! I knew it! Your talent is the best among us, and you're not only talented but also hardworking. Now you've finally made it. Can you give a brother a chance?

"Even being a manager on the periphery of your Family would do!"

"Adoptive Father! I knew you were exceptionally talented, and today you've finally seen the light of day! Do you need a sidekick? I can cling anywhere!

"I promise to follow your every command, Adoptive Father! Adoptive Father! Hungry! Food!"

Actually, a Second-order Deity was not too rare for students from the Star Academy. Everyone was confident they could reach this Realm; it was just a matter of time.

But for Meng Ning to be able to advance just one month after graduation—the implications of this were simply explosive!

It wasn't that there were no students who reached the Second-order or even Third-order upon graduation, but those people were either direct descendants of major families,

or they had bargained away their futures, paying the price of everything they had for the next few hundred or even thousands of years in exchange for heavy financial backing.

Once, they had looked down on such acts of selling out their futures from the bottom of their hearts. They were, after all, top Geniuses specially invited by the Star Academy!

Their future prospects were limitless!

How could they sell out their futures for temporary, immediate gains?

However, by the time they fully faced reality and tried to turn back to find those forces willing to pay for their futures, the conditions had already become much harsher.

The later it got, the harsher the conditions offered by these forces became. It would have been fine if they provided ample resources, but the resources offered by these forces only got scarcer and scarcer,

while the contract durations kept rising, eventually reaching over two thousand years!

In the end, everyone was left behind like this, only realizing after graduation how difficult it was to find a job with good benefits.

First-order Deities of the same Realm as them only demanded three thousand, or even just over two thousand divine power points per month!

Yet they asked for four to five thousand right off the bat. Comparing the two, those forces naturally knew whom to employ. Under such circumstances, some were forced to change their divine kingdom paths once again.

Switching from their original Logistics Support back to the War Path, they ultimately got the decent benefits they wanted.

But the price was incredibly heavy. Except for a tiny handful of lucky ones, most people were severely wounded or even lost their lives in some battle.

And those forces only paid a compensation of a hundred thousand or a few hundred thousand divine power points for it.

It could be said that everyone in the group now had the resolve to sell themselves, but they hoped to sell themselves for a higher price, and it would be even better if their safety could be guaranteed.

As for anything else, they no longer dared to hope.

Now, Meng Ning, who had suddenly advanced to the Second-order, was clearly a good option. First, for Meng Ning to advance so quickly, his benefits must be excellent.

After all, deities couldn't advance quickly without a massive amount of resources. Second, they were still classmates; even if they weren't that close, he at least wouldn't exploit them like outsiders would.

Meng Ning naturally understood everyone's thoughts, and he couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion and gratitude. Thinking back to a little over a month ago, he was just like them.

If Xiao Yao hadn't shouted in the group, how could he have achieved what he had today? Originally, his greatest hope in life was just to advance to the Third-order.

But now, he even had the desire to pursue becoming a High-rank God!

Even the Old Ancestor of their Meng Family was only a peak Fifth-order Deity. Although it was claimed externally that he could break through to the Sixth-order at any moment, this "any moment" had already lasted for over five thousand years.

He struggled to even reach the Sixth-order, let alone a Seventh-order High-rank God.

After feeling emotional for a moment, he first asked Lin Xiao for instructions. Once he confirmed that his Lord did not mind, he replied in the group with a smile.

"Being able to break through to the Second-order was also a stroke of luck. I just discussed it with my Lord. If any classmate is willing, I still have some Subordinate Deity slots available on my end.

"In terms of benefits, they are definitely better than what you'd get outside. The only requirement is that you must sign a Slave God Contract.

"If any classmate can accept this, you can contact me privately to talk. Actually, there are quite a few of our classmates here with me. Xiao Yao, Jiang Ling, say hello to everyone."

"Pavilion Master Yan Yao: Classmates who are interested can contact Old Meng, or you can contact me too."

"Jiang Ling: Classmates who are interested can contact Old Meng, or you can contact me too."

"Other Deities: Classmates who are interested can contact Old Meng, or you can contact me too."