14: Chapter 14: Is A-Rank Really That Powerful? The Preparation for Warehouse Entry Shocks the Entire Audience

The next day. Jiangcheng No. 3 Divine Academy, training ground.

The entire Grade 12 Class 2 gathered. No one was as relaxed as they were in the virtual campus; the air here was heavy enough to make one gasp for breath.

In the middle of the training ground, holograms were playing on a loop.

Three-headed Abyssal Monster wolves, stitched corpse monsters dripping with strong acid, and cyclopes the size of small buildings.

Every roar made many students turn pale.

Teacher Lei Yan, wearing a black combat suit, stepped onto the high platform in military boots.

Beside him stood two Military Representatives wearing the rank of major, scanning the crowd.

"No need for small talk," Teacher Lei Yan said, his deep voice drowning out the roars from the projection without using a microphone.

"The military's [Abyssal Simulation Matrix] has completed the bridge with your divine domain cores. What you will face next are projections of real monsters collected by the military from the front lines."

Teacher Lei Yan looked around with his single eye, his tone chilling: "Don't think that just because they are projections, you won't die. The matrix reproduces physical and rule-based damage 100%."

"The divine kin that die inside are truly dead. If your divine domain is flattened, you are truly bankrupt!"

A wave of uneasy commotion broke out below.

"Assessment ratings are calculated based on the time your divine domain defense holds and the number of monsters killed," Teacher Lei Yan pointed to the red button on the edge of the connection pod.

"If you can't hold on, press the abort button inside the pod. The matrix will immediately cut the connection."

"But this also means your assessment ends here. Your score will be locked."

In the center of the training ground, accompanied by the roar of machinery, a tactical scoreboard slowly rose. Beside it was a main screen over thirty meters wide.

"During the assessment, the system will randomly select images of your divine domains and project them on the main screen for public display."

Teacher Lei Yan took a step back, yielding his position.

"Enter the pods by student number. The assessment begins."

Students lined up and stepped into the connection pods. The pod doors closed, and the indicator lights turned a ghostly blue. The assessment officially began.

In less than three minutes, the images on the big screen switched frequently. Civilian students were the first to face disaster.

The system randomly selected a girl who had awakened an F-grade divine domain.

In the image, on a patch of grass, twenty-something delicate "Primary Orc Archers" were holding wooden bows, their hands trembling.

Opposite them, the first wave of monster projections descended—ten [Black Iron 3-Star · Abyssal Monster Wolves].

No tactics, no probing. The Abyssal Monster wolves turned into ten black shadows, rushing forward to tear through the Orcs' defense line.

Wooden arrows shot at the wolves' tough fur and simply bounced off.

A wolf pounced on an Orc, its bloody mouth snapping its neck directly. Flesh flew, and screams were clearly transmitted into the connection pod through the matrix.

"Ah—! No!"

Inside the connection pod, the girl's psychological defense completely collapsed, and she sobbed as she slapped the red button. The pod door popped open, and the girl collapsed on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.

On the scoreboard, a red rating appeared after her name: [Fail].

This was just the beginning. Within a short fifteen minutes, red lights flashed wildly in the training ground.

"My slimes were trampled into mud! I give up!"

"The monsters have overturned my divine domain foundation! I'm not taking the test anymore!"

A large number of students collapsed because their divine kin were being unilaterally slaughtered, and the pod doors popped open one after another. The scoreboard was densely packed with "Fail".

This is the sorrow of the bottom tier. No funds to buy battle skill cards, no resources to craft equipment. The ordinary divine kin they awakened were like thin paper in front of the Abyssal Monsters.

"Beep—" The No. 12 pod door opened. Fatty Wang crawled out. His fat was shaking all over, and he leaned against the pod door, panting heavily.

Lin Yuan stood in the back row, looking at Fatty Wang's score on the scoreboard. [Duration: 15 minutes. Kills: 0. Rating: D (Pass)].

"You passed?" Lin Yuan asked.

Fatty Wang walked over, sat on the ground, and wiped the cold sweat off his face: "Barely survived the second wave. The two hundred thousand my dad gave me all went into feed."

He patted his chest, still terrified: "I drove all three hundred meat pigs to the front of the defense line, using them as a meat wall to block the intersection. If the Abyssal Monster wolves wanted to rush over, they had to chew through the pigs first."

"Good guy, it took the Abyssal Monster wolves half a day just to bite through two meters of fat, and I managed to drag it out to the fifteen-minute passing line."

Fatty Wang sighed, "It's just that there's pig intestine all over my divine domain now, it's disgusting to look at. I won't be able to eat pork for months."

The methods were ridiculous, but in the face of reality, surviving is the truth.

Just then, the big screen flashed, switching to Class Monitor Li Xiuqi's divine domain. B-grade divine domain [Abundant Oasis].

In the image, fifty [Half-Elf Archers] wearing refined iron armor stood on high ground, bowstrings fully drawn.

And below them, was a "ragtag meat wall" composed of slimes, Grey Goblinss, and low-level Orcs. These were the divine kin of the civilian students who had signed subsidiary contracts with Class Monitor Li Xiuqi a few days ago.

The second and third waves of monsters charged. The ragtag meat wall was crazily bitten by Abyssal Monster wolves and carrion eaters, screaming repeatedly, falling in droves. Their deaths delayed the monsters' pace.

The Half-Elf Archers on the high ground shot arrows calmly, shooting down the monsters that were tripped up one by one. Ten minutes later, the battle ended.

The civilians' divine kin were dead and injured, while Class Monitor Li Xiuqi's Half-Elves were unscathed. Class Monitor Li Xiuqi survived the third wave, his score soared, and he broke into the top ten.

In the corner of the training ground, several civilian students who had signed contracts looked as pale as paper. Their divine kin were wiped out, only earning a pitiful amount of participation points, not even reaching the passing line.

And Class Monitor Li Xiuqi walked out of the pod with a smile, wiping his hands with a wet wipe, welcoming the flattery of his followers.

Teacher Lei Yan on the stage watched all this with cold eyes.

"This is the true face of war." Teacher Lei Yan's voice was not loud, but it struck everyone's nerves.

"Think it's unfair? Think it's cruel that the class monitor used others as cannon fodder?"

"When the Abyssal Monsters are chewing on your bones, they won't ask if you think it's cruel."

"Without sufficiently deep resource foundations, without cruel training, you aren't even an appetizer in front of the Abyss."

As soon as he finished speaking, the system broadcast sounded.

"Next, Grade 12 Class 1, Zhao Tianze."

The whispering in the venue disappeared. Everyone's eyes focused on that figure.

Zhao Tianze straightened his collar, looking arrogant. He didn't enter the pod immediately but stopped, turned his head, and looked at Lin Yuan in the back row.

"Watch carefully, Lin Yuan. Today I will make you understand that there are some gaps that trash like you from the bottom tier can never cross in your lifetime."

Zhao Tianze sneered and strode into the No. 1 connection pod in the center. The pod door closed.

The big screen switched, locking onto Zhao Tianze's divine domain. As the image lit up, a collective gasp sounded throughout the venue.

In sight, was a magnificent Bronze-grade building—[Giant Stone Fortress]. The towering city walls shimmered with enchanted luster, and the city gates were tightly closed.

In front of the fortress stood a full three thousand armed [Orc Warriors]! All of them were at the Black Iron 7-Star level.

They wore heavy plate armor made of refined steel, holding two-meter-long, blood-grooved two-handed greatswords. Three thousand people formed a formation, their battle energy connected, forming a blood-red cloud visible to the naked eye above the fortress.

This was not a student-level configuration at all; this was a regular army that could be deployed to the front line at any time.

The third wave of monsters descended, and hundreds of massive, aberrant wild boars charged.

"Kill!" In the image, the Orc leader let out a roar.

Three thousand heavy-armored Orcs, like a black torrent of steel, crashed into them head-on. It was a crushing victory.

Refined steel greatswords were swung, and the aberrant wild boars were chopped into two pieces, bones and all. The steel defense line didn't retreat a single step, grinding the monster tide into minced meat.

Fourth wave. The Bronze 1-Star Commander-level monster [Two-Headed Corpse Dragon] descended from the sky with thousands of low-level monsters.

Faced with the Commander-level pressure, the Orc formation showed a hint of chaos. Just then, a golden, radiant card suddenly appeared in the sky of the divine domain. It was Zhao Tianze's will descending.

[God Punishment Card: Heavenly Fire Meteor]. A large, one-time consumable item that cost three million faith points for a single card.

The sky turned crimson red. Countless meteorites carrying the aura of destruction crashed down, covering the entire battlefield.

Boom—! The big screen was filled with fire. When the smoke cleared, the Two-Headed Corpse Dragon's wings were smashed, and half its body turned into charcoal. The Orcs swarmed up and hacked it into meat mud with their swords. Clear field.

A thunderous cheer erupted in the training ground.

"Holy shit! God Punishment Card! Three million just for a bang!"

"This is 'money power'! A strike from a RMB player!"

"Too strong, who can withstand this!"

On the high platform, the two Military Representatives looked at each other and nodded slightly.

"Although it was piled up with money, resources are part of strength. The tactical execution was not bad." The major on the left gave a positive evaluation.

The pod door opened. Zhao Tianze walked out. The score on the big screen locked.

[Duration: 30 minutes. Kills: 1 Bronze Commander, 1200 Black Iron-level monsters. Rating: A (Temporarily ranked first)]. A landslide lead.

Zhao Tianze enjoyed the worshiping gazes of the people around him. He raised his chin, walked straight through the crowd, and stopped in front of Lin Yuan.

"See that, Lin Yuan?" Zhao Tianze's mouth curled into a mocking smile, "This is my power."

He reached out and patted Lin Yuan's shoulder.

"Those Goblins you scraped together by picking up trash can't even withstand a single roar from that Two-Headed Corpse Dragon just now."

"I'll be watching right here, waiting to see how your Wasteland Divine Domain gets flattened. Are you ready to go to the streets to sweep trash?"

The surrounding students looked at Lin Yuan, their eyes full of sympathy and mockery. The gap between an ant and an elephant was now vividly demonstrated.

Lin Yuan sat on the chair, withdrawing his gaze from the scoreboard on the big screen. He stood up and walked forward.

He bumped into Zhao Tianze, who was blocking his way, with such force that the owner of the B+ grade divine domain stumbled and almost fell.

"Move, you're blocking the way."

Lin Yuan didn't even look back, and amid several stunned gazes, he pulled open the door of the connection pod and sat inside.