94: Chapter 94: 140,000 Examinees Shocked, Witnessing a Commoner Rise to the Top

The central square of the Demon Suppression Fortress.

140,000 pairs of eyes turned simultaneously toward the very front of the square.

Nine people stood there.

Bai Ye, covered in blood; Zhan Kuang, with his battle armor in tatters; Su Yueying, with her aura withered; Li Changfeng, whose Flying Sword had been broken...

This group of Prodigies from noble Families, who were originally high and mighty in Tianhai Province and couldn't stand each other, were now standing in a semicircle with remarkable tacit understanding.

Being subtly guarded by them in the very center was a commoner youth with black hair and a calm expression.

Lin Yuan.

Everyone understood in their hearts that the end of the exam meant the abyss core source had been shattered.

The nine people standing here were the game-breakers who had ended this battle royale.

The elders from the noble Families on the viewing platform walked down the steps one after another.

Usually, these powerful conglomerate directors and heads of noble Families always viewed commoners with the scrutiny of superiors.

But now, they walked quickly to their own juniors, asking after their well-being, their eyes filled with pride.

The head of the Chu Family patted Chu Yunxuan on the shoulder, nodding repeatedly.

The Grand Elder of the Bai Family even rushed up directly, grabbed and hugged the paralyzed Bai Ye, shouting, "My grandson has done well."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries.

The eyes of these noble elders all landed on Lin Yuan.

There was no disdain, no contempt.

Chu Yunxuan pushed aside the Family physician and walked up to Lin Yuan.

He raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist.

Lin Yuan glanced at him and likewise raised his right fist.

Bang. The two fists gently tapped together in mid-air.

"Thanks." Chu Yunxuan's voice was hoarse.

Li Changfeng wiped the blood from his face, walked over holding his broken sword, and nodded at Lin Yuan.

Su Yueying bowed slightly and performed a standard knight's salute.

Qian Duoduo shoved a blank magic scroll over, grinning in a way that looked worse than crying.

This group of arrogant Prodigies used the most direct actions to acknowledge Lin Yuan's core position in the team.

This scene, falling into the eyes of the 140,000 commoner examinees in the back, was no less than a magnitude 10 earthquake.

The class barriers that had stood for thousands of years were cracked open today.

A commoner, relying on the courage to throw a punch in a desperate situation, had beaten the most top-tier monsters in Tianhai Province into submission.

A sound of steady footsteps approached.

Commander Xiao Lie walked through the crowd.

This supreme commander of the Spark Legion ignored the complex gazes of the surrounding noble Family heads and walked straight to Lin Yuan.

Slap.

Commander Xiao Lie's palm patted heavily on Lin Yuan's shoulder.

"Good lad." Commander Xiao Lie stared into Lin Yuan's eyes and laughed out loud, "Well done! You didn't embarrass me!"

Lin Yuan's shoulder was patted until it hurt, but he did not back down, merely responding calmly, "Just luck."

"On the battlefield, surviving and taking the heads is strength." Commander Xiao Lie restrained his smile and turned to face the entire audience.

"Silence!"

A loud shout suppressed all the whispering in the square.

Deputy Commander Chen Tie stood on the high platform, a holographic console unfolding before him.

"The mid-term Streaming Exam is officially over." Deputy Commander Chen Tie's voice spread throughout the fortress via amplification equipment, "Now, we begin the final point calculation."

"The standards for this point calculation: the number and rank of monsters killed, the total value of looted abyss resources, and the contribution to the destruction of the abyss core source."

Deputy Commander Chen Tie pressed heavily on the console.

Above the fortress, a 100-meter-long holographic screen lit up.

It finally settled on a long leaderboard.

The rankings scrolled rapidly from bottom to top.

Countless students craned their necks, staring fixedly at the screen, searching for their own names.

This concerned their future destiny—whether they would remain in the Deity Academy or be relegated to logistics.

Soon, the leaderboard scrolled to the top ten area.

The scrolling speed slowed down, and every time a name appeared, it was accompanied by a mechanical announcement.

10th Place: Xiao Ting. Total Points: 14.5 million.

Seeing this name, a slight uproar broke out in the square.

Although Xiao Ting performed poorly in the core area and almost got his allies killed.

But he had relied on his Lion Dragon army to sweep the outer perimeter in the early stages, accumulating massive points for himself.

However, this 10th place was undoubtedly a resounding slap in the face for the number one noble Family of Tianhai Province.

9th Place: Xu Xingyan. Total Points: 16.8 million.

8th Place: Murong Bai. Total Points: 18.2 million.

7th Place: Zhan Kuang. Total Points: 19.5 million.

6th Place: Qian Duoduo. Total Points: 21 million.

5th Place: Su Yueying. Total Points: 24.5 million.

4th Place: Li Changfeng. Total Points: 27 million.

Every time a name was announced, the corresponding Prodigy would straighten their back.

This was the honor they had fought for with their lives.

The light on the screen brightened.

The names of the top three turned into a dazzling gold font.

[3rd Place: Chu Yunxuan. Total Points: 38 million.]

The mechanical voice added: [This examinee demonstrated excellent tactical literacy on the periphery of the core area, and in the final battle, self-destructed his flagship, opening a path to destroy the core source, with extremely high contribution.]

The crowd erupted into thunderous applause.

Chu Yunxuan deserved the title; the self-destruction of the kilometer-long flagship was an indispensable contribution.

[2nd Place: Bai Ye. Total Points: 52 million.]

[This examinee summoned three Diamond-tier initial undead, confronting a Diamond-tier Peak Source Beast head-on, buying critical tactical time, with extremely high contribution.]

The Grand Elder of the Bai Family was smiling so wide his molars were showing, though the surrounding noble Family heads cursed Bai Ye in their hearts for being a coward in the early stages.

But they also had to admit that those three Diamond undead at the end were undoubtedly a life-saving trump card.

The whole venue held its breath.

Everyone's breathing slowed down.

140,000 pairs of eyes stared fixedly at the very top of the screen.

That position was without suspense, but everyone was anticipating the number.

Golden light burst forth.

[1st Place: Lin Yuan!]

[Total Points: 77 million!]

[This examinee commanded a mutant legion to sweep the periphery in the early stages and single-handedly annihilated the Nine-Party Allied Forces.]

[In the final battle, he broke the Four-Elephant Statue's infinite recovery mechanism and delivered the fatal blow to the abyss core source. Contribution: Decisive.]

77 million

More than 20 million more than the second place.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, the square erupted into thunderous applause and cheers.

These were not shills arranged by the noble Families, but the heartfelt fanaticism of 140,000 students.

They looked at Lin Yuan as if they were looking at a flag.

There was no jealousy, only worship and awe.

Because what Lin Yuan had achieved exceeded the limits of their understanding.

When the gap becomes too large to bridge, jealousy transforms into endless admiration.

In the middle of the crowd.

Ye Ninghan was wearing a clean combat uniform, looking out of place among the surrounding examinees.

She looked at Lin Yuan's name on the big screen, patted her flat chest, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Good thing this Young Miss ran fast."

Ye Ninghan muttered to herself.

Recalling her decision to decisively order her entire army to retreat back when they were in front of the Source Crystal vein.

It was simply the wisest choice she had ever made in her life.

Just look at the fate of Zhao Xinghe and that bunch of idiots; their army of over two million was slaughtered completely.

Not only did she retreat unscathed, but she also took out a few mining veins on the way, and later played it steady.

She successfully managed to get into the top fifty.

"Steadiness is the only truth for survival." Ye Ninghan gave herself a thumbs-up for her ingenuity.

On the high platform.

Lieutenant General Chen Tie straightened his military uniform and spoke in a deep voice: "The exam rankings are set. Next, we will proceed with the awards and rank conferment ceremony."

Two rows of fully armed military honor guards marched onto the square with steady steps.

They held trays covered with red cloth in their hands.

"According to military regulations, the top 100 in the province for this exam will be directly granted military status!"

Deputy Commander Chen Tie personally walked down from the high platform and came before Lin Yuan.

He took a metal shoulder badge from the tray in his adjutant's hands.

On the shoulder badge was engraved a dark golden star.

Deputy Commander Chen Tie personally pinned the shoulder badge onto Lin Yuan's combat uniform, stepped back, and saluted.

"Lin Yuan, by special approval of the Military Command, you are granted the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Spark Legion."

Deputy Commander Chen Tie's voice was thick and powerful, "From this day forward, you enjoy the authority to mobilize company-level conventional military units."

"You enjoy partial access to the military's internal confidential database, and all purchases of military strategic supplies below Tier 3 are at a 70% discount."

"Furthermore, throughout Tianhai Province, all cross-boundary teleportation fees and transaction taxes are waived!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of the knowledgeable students below turned red.

Tax-free! Military supplies at a 70% discount!

Not to mention the real power to mobilize company-level units; this was a privilege that many veterans who had been fighting on the front lines for over a decade couldn't even obtain.

"As for the final reward for first place—the Divinity Fragment." Deputy Commander Chen Tie lowered his voice, speaking at a volume only the two of them could hear.

"It involves the transfer of strategic materials, so after the exam ends, Commander Xiao will personally help you select the attributes."

"Understood." Lin Yuan nodded and returned the salute.

Something like a Divinity Fragment would just be inviting trouble if distributed publicly; the military's arrangement was very reasonable.

The rank conferment ceremony lasted for half an hour.

The top 100 Prodigies each received their own military ranks and resource allocations.

The 140,000 students below watched this scene, their eyes filled with longing, but no one felt it was unfair.

This was exchanged for with their lives.

The ceremony ended, and the exam concluded perfectly.

300,000 high school seniors welcomed the divergence of their fates.

The teleportation arrays on the square began to activate in batches, sending the students back to their respective cities and starports.

"Brother Yuan! My own brother!"

A howl came from the side.

Fatty Wang squeezed out of the crowd like a meatball.

His clothes were dirty, but his face was glowing.

He rushed to Lin Yuan and grabbed Lin Yuan's thigh.

"Brother Yuan! I survived! I passed!"

Fatty Wang was so excited that his fat was trembling all over.

He had firmly implemented Lin Yuan's policy of playing it safe.

After landing, he had the Black Demon Pig dig an underground air-raid shelter hundreds of meters deep in the frozen soil at the very edge.

Outside, the fighting was earth-shattering, but he was mining peacefully in the hole.

Relying on the few tons of low-tier magic ore he dug up, he managed to get his points to the passing line.

"Get up, stop rubbing against me." Lin Yuan pulled his leg away in disgust, but couldn't move it.

"I won't! Brother Yuan, you don't know how proud I am!" Fatty Wang raised his head, his face glowing, "Now the whole province knows I'm your only subordinate god!"

"Those noble children look at me differently now; just a moment ago, a Young Miss from a second-rate noble Family even came over to ask for my contact number!"

The corner of Lin Yuan's eye twitched slightly.

He couldn't be bothered to deal with this clown, letting him hug his leg and howl.

The large starport on the outskirts of the Demon Suppression Fortress.

The teleportation array had already started.

The other Prodigies were standing at the boarding gate, preparing to return to their respective Family bases.

Chu Yunxuan stopped and turned to look at Lin Yuan: "This time, I owe you a life. However, this is just the exam."

"The formation period of the Mechanical Deity is still to come." Battle Intent ignited in Chu Yunxuan's eyes, "A few months from now, at the Federal Supreme Deity Academy, we will fight again."

"By then, my Mechanical Legion will let you see true firepower."

"I'll be waiting." Lin Yuan responded calmly.

Li Changfeng walked over with his sword box on his back and snorted coldly: "My sword heart isn't broken, see you at the Supreme Academy."

Su Yueying and Qian Duoduo also bid farewell to Lin Yuan one after another.

Having experienced life and death, there was now an unspoken tacit understanding among this group of people.

Bai Ye was the last one to walk over.

He had already changed into a flashy white trench coat, completely unrecognizable from the miserable state of bleeding from seven orifices at the bottom of the pit.

"Alright, stop tensing up, everyone's almost gone." Bai Ye bumped Lin Yuan's shoulder and said with a grin, "See you at university, Second Lieutenant Lin."

Lin Yuan looked at Bai Ye, his brow slightly furrowed.

He captured a common point in the words of these Prodigies.

"Why do you all say 'see you at the Federal Supreme Deity Academy'?" Lin Yuan asked, "In a few months, isn't there still the national unified college entrance exam?"

According to the usual process, after the mid-term exam streaming, the second semester of the third year of high school is the sprint stage.

The final results of the national college entrance exam determine which university one is admitted to.

Bai Ye was stunned for a moment, then exaggeratedly covered his mouth: "Holy crap, you don't know?"

"Know what?"

"That's true, you're from a commoner background; Commander Xiao probably hasn't had the chance to let you in on the secret yet."

Bai Ye reached out and patted the Second Lieutenant badge on Lin Yuan's shoulder.

"A military Second Lieutenant, the first place in the Tianhai Province exam." Bai Ye lowered his voice, "This kind of resume has long since jumped out of the conventional rules of the game."

"As for exactly how it works..." Bai Ye teased, turning to walk toward his Family's starship, waving at Lin Yuan with his back turned.

"You'll know when the time comes."

The transport ship's hatch slowly closed.

Lin Yuan stood in the cold wind of the starport, watching the fleet sail into the starry sky.

He raised his hand and touched the Second Lieutenant badge on his shoulder.

The conventional rules of the game no longer applied, which meant that in the coming months.

He would face a brand-new Deity ecosystem completely different from high school.

Lin Yuan withdrew his gaze and turned to walk toward the transport ship of Jiangcheng No. 3 High School.

Deep within the Divine Domain, the three abyss core source fragments were still continuously emitting high-level energy fluctuations.

Once back in Jiangcheng to get the Divinity Fragment, combined with the Heaven-Defying ability of [Creation Extraction].

The true leap was only just beginning.