1: Chapter 1: On the surface, she's crying, but behind the scenes, she's awakening an SSS-level god-tier talent.

In this world, if you haven't successfully opened a Divine Realm by eighteen, you aren't even qualified to screw in bolts at an electronics factory; you can only go to the front lines to serve as a buffet for Abyss Monsters.

On the playground of Jiangcheng's Third Deity Academy.

A heavy, oppressive mood spread through the hearts of every eighteen-year-old youth.

This was the world Lin Yuan had faced every day for the eighteen years since his reincarnation.

This was a high-martial deity world resisting the invasion of the 'Abyssal Void'.

The way for humans to resist foreign enemies and obtain resources.

Was to open their own [Divine Realm] at the age of eighteen, cultivate believers, and ignite the Divine Fire.

Before the awakening formation, white light flashed continuously.

"Zhao Qiang, failed to sense the Astral Realm, awakening failed. Next."

"Liu Bo, Divine Realm area: 300 square kilometers. Initial environment: Swamp. Talent: E-rank [Toxin Resistance]. Next."

"Chen Fei, Divine Realm area: 100 square kilometers. Initial environment: Wasteland. Talent: F-rank [Plant Acceleration]. Next."

The instructor's voice echoed across the playground.

After dozens of consecutive students, the best was only an E-rank talent.

Their Divine Realm spaces were even more pitifully small.

Lin Yuan stood at the back of the queue, unconsciously rubbing his fingers against the seam of his trousers.

He was a transmigrator and an orphan adopted by a disabled veteran.

The old man had spent all his discharge pay and social security to buy him nutrient solutions to hone his body.

If the awakening failed today, the old man's money would be completely wasted.

Others have systems when they transmigrate, but I've waited eighteen years and haven't even seen a pop-up window.

Lin Yuan complained inwardly.

"Su Yueying, step forward." The instructor's voice suddenly rose by two pitches.

The crowd automatically parted to create a path.

The school beauty, Su Yueying, stepped onto the formation and pressed her hand against the Awakening Boundary Stone.

A blinding pillar of pure white light soared into the sky, dispelling the gloom brought by the projections of Abyss Monsters above the playground.

The data on the light screen jumped before finally freezing.

"Divine Realm Area: 100,000 square kilometers!"

"Initial Environment: Holy Light Plain!"

"Talent: S-rank [Holy Light Judgment]!"

"Initial Followers: Silver-rank Light Elves!"

The entire field was silent for two seconds, followed by a tsunami of exclamations.

"100,000 square kilometers! S-rank talent! Jiangcheng hasn't produced such a genius in over a decade, right?"

"The Su family is a major financial tycoon; they already had massive resources leaning their way. Now that she's awakened the Holy Light Plain, she's going to take off!"

The instructor's face was flushed with excitement, his originally cold face squeezing out an extremely enthusiastic smile: "Student Su, the Holy Light Plain is very suitable for cultivating high-level races."

"If needed, the academy's A-rank resource library can be specially opened for you."

Su Yueying's expression was calm as she nodded slightly: "Thank you, instructor."

As she stepped down from the formation, every student she passed instinctively lowered their heads; this was the natural awe felt before a future high-ranking deity.

"Next, Lin Yuan."

Lin Yuan straightened his washed-out school uniform and walked toward the Boundary Stone.

Deliberately lowered whispers immediately rose from the crowd.

"He's the Lin Yuan who's always ranked first in theory classes? I heard he's an orphan."

"What's the use of being good at theory? In the world of deities, what matters is background and talent."

"The old man who adopted him is a cripple who buys low-quality shochu with social security every day. He can't even afford initial resources; even if he succeeds in awakening, he won't be able to sustain his believers."

Lin Yuan turned a deaf ear to these voices.

He stood still, raised his hand, and pressed his palm against the Boundary Stone.

His consciousness slammed out of his body, forcibly pulled into the boundless Astral Realm by a massive force.

In a void, Lin Yuan perceived the space that belonged to him.

The space was expanding rapidly: 10,000, 50,000, 100,000... 300,000 square kilometers!

The area was shockingly large!

But Lin Yuan's heart sank.

On this 300,000 square kilometer land, there was no water, no greenery, only cracked and scorched earth.

There was no sun in the sky, only never-ending ash falling down.

There was no breath of life; it was a true land of death.

At the same time, a violent throb came from the depths of Lin Yuan's soul.

Two completely different notification sounds exploded in his mind simultaneously.

[Syncing external light screen data—]

[Name: Lin Yuan]

[Divine Realm Area: 300,000 square kilometers]

[Initial Environment: Scorched Earth]

[Talent Determination: F-rank Talent—Wasteland Descent]

[Comprehensive Evaluation: F- (Extremely dangerous, suggested abandonment)]

On the playground outside, the light screen displayed this set of data.

The students, who had originally gasped at the '300,000 square kilometers', broke into synchronized laughter and sighs after seeing the subsequent terms.

"A 300,000 square kilometer junkyard!"

"Scorched Earth environment paired with Wasteland Descent; even the toughest weeds won't survive. If you put believers in there, they'll all definitely starve or suffocate from toxic gas within a week."

"How tragic. First in theory, but sentenced to death in practice. Such a massive initial area gone to waste."

The smile on the instructor's face vanished. He looked at Lin Yuan standing before the Boundary Stone and shook his head.

"Lin Yuan." The instructor's tone returned to its initial coldness. "A large Divine Realm area is a good thing, but the environment and talent determine the ceiling."

"If you forcibly ignite the Divine Fire and develop believers, the collapse of the Divine Realm will backlash against your soul. At best, you'll become an idiot; at worst, you'll die on the spot."

"Go to the logistics department to collect the state-issued compensation and be a commoner in peace. It's not a disgrace."

Lin Yuan stood on the stage with his head lowered, his shoulders trembling slightly.

To outsiders, this looked like the despair of a proud top student after suffering a devastating blow.

But no one knew that at this moment, Lin Yuan was biting the tip of his tongue hard, using the pain to suppress the wild joy in his heart.

Because deep in his mind, the second notification was emitting a blinding dark-gold light.

[Extreme mutation detected in soul—]

[Awakened Hidden Unique Talent: SSS-rank—Creation Extraction]

[Effect: Ignores all planar laws. The host can extract 'Conceptual Keywords' (e.g., Toughness, Proliferation, Frenzy, Fission, Divinity) from any substance, corpse, or broken Divine Realm core and bestow them upon their own believers or Divine Realm buildings.]

[Warning: This talent is detected to exceed the current universal level. To prevent detection, masking mode has been automatically enabled. External inspection results are permanently locked as F-rank talent 'Wasteland Descent'.]

A unique talent, SSS-rank, ignoring laws.

Lin Yuan knew very well the weight of those words.

In this world, the methods of gods were strange and varied.

Plundering resources, devouring divine kingdoms, and enslaving lower deities were the norm.

There were even evil gods specializing in soul laws who could forcibly strip away someone's talent.

If he exposed his SSS-rank talent today under everyone's watchful eyes.

Countless demigods and true gods would descend upon Jiangcheng tonight, slice him into pieces, and throw him into a lab.

The wind howls around the highest peaks.

Lay low. I must lay low.

The F-rank Wasteland was the perfect umbrella.

Lin Yuan slowly raised his head, his expression showing three parts unwillingness, three parts loneliness, and four parts despair.

He gave the instructor a deep bow.

"I understand, instructor. Thank you."

His voice was hoarse, just right.

Lin Yuan stepped down from the formation.

The crowd automatically moved aside, but this time it wasn't out of awe, but to avoid him, fearing they might catch his bad luck.

Just as he walked back to the queue, a fleshy body bumped into him and threw an arm around his shoulder.

"Old Lin, don't let it get to you!"

His best friend, Fatty Wang, lowered his voice.

"I just awakened an E-rank talent, [Meat Processing]."

"My initial environment is a large prairie."

"From now on, I'll take all the offal and scraps from my family's Meat Processing plant and regularly drop them into your Divine Realm!"

"As long as there's meat to eat, your believers won't starve to death!"

Lin Yuan looked at the cold sweat on Fatty's forehead from worry.

His tense nerves relaxed a little.

Fatty Wang's family ran a Meat Processing plant; he was a minor second-generation rich kid.

He had helped Lin Yuan out quite a bit in the past.

He reached out.

And patted Fatty's thick back.

"Thanks, Fatty. Don't worry, I can handle it."