Transcending Godhood: I Extract Keywords and Crush the Gods

The central square of the Demon Suppression Fortress.

One hundred and forty thousand eyes were all fixed on the front of the square.

There were nine people standing there.

Bai Ye, covered in blood; Zhan Kuang, his armor tattered; Su Yueying, her breath weak; Li Changfeng, his flying sword broken…

These once arrogant and disliked aristocratic prodigies in Tianhai Province now stand in a semicircle with remarkable tacit understanding.

Surrounded by them in the very center was a black-haired, calm-looking commoner boy.

Lin Yuan.

Everyone knew that the end of the great test meant that the core source of the abyss had been shattered.

The nine people standing here are the ones who will break the deadlock in this battle royale.

The elders of the family clans on the viewing platform descended the steps one after another.

On ordinary days, these powerful chaebol directors and heads of aristocratic families always look at ordinary people with the scrutiny of those in power.

But now, they strode up to their younger relatives, offering words of comfort and concern, their eyes filled with pride.

The head of the Chu family patted Chu Yunxuan on the shoulder and nodded repeatedly.

The eldest elder of the Bai family rushed forward, grabbed Bai Ye who was slumped on the ground, and shouted, "My grandson has made something of himself!"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries.

All the elders of these aristocratic families focused their gazes 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 made a fist.

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

Bang. The two fists lightly touched in mid-air.

"Thanks," Chu Yunxuan said in a hoarse voice.

Li Changfeng wiped the blood from his face, carried the broken sword over, and nodded to Lin Yuan.

Su Yueying bowed slightly and performed a standard knightly salute.

Qian Duoduo shoved a blank magic scroll at him, his grin more like a grimace than a cry.

These arrogant and proud individuals acknowledged Lin Yuan's core position in the team through their most direct actions.

This scene, seen by the 140,000 ordinary test-takers behind the scenes, was nothing short of a magnitude 10 earthquake.

The class barriers that have stood for thousands of years have been shattered today.

An ordinary man, relying on his courage to fight in a desperate situation, defeated a group of the most elite monsters in Tianhai Province.

A series of steady footsteps approached.

Xiao Lie walked through the crowd.

The supreme commander of the Starfire Legion ignored the complicated gazes of the surrounding family heads and walked straight up to Lin Yuan.

Snapped.

Xiao Lie slammed his palm heavily on Lin Yuan's shoulder.

"Good lad." Xiao Lie stared into Lin Yuan's eyes and burst into laughter. "Well done! You didn't embarrass me!"

Lin Yuan's shoulder ached from the pat, but he didn't back down, simply replying calmly, "Good luck."

"On the battlefield, surviving and taking down heads is the mark of strength." Xiao Lie's smile faded as he turned to face the entire audience.

"quiet!"

A loud shout silenced all the whispers in the square.

Chen Tie stood on the high platform, with the holographic control panel unfolding in front of him.

"The midterm exam for stream allocation is officially over." Chen Tie's voice echoed throughout the fortress through the loudspeaker. "Now, let's begin calculating the final scores."

"The scoring criteria for this test are: the number and rank of monsters killed, the total value of resources plundered from the Abyss, and the contribution to the destruction of the Abyss Core Source."

Chen Tie pressed a heavy button on the control panel.

A holographic screen, hundreds of meters long, lit up above the fortress.

The final result was a very long list.

The rankings scroll rapidly from bottom to top.

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

This concerns their future fate: whether they will remain at the Divine Academy or be relegated to logistics.

Soon, the list scrolled to the top ten.

The scrolling speed slowed down, and each name was accompanied by a mechanical announcement.

10th Place: Xiao Ting. Total Points: 1450 million.

Upon seeing the name, a slight murmur arose in the square.

Xiao Ting performed poorly in the core area, almost causing the death of his ally.

However, in the early stages, he relied on the Lion Dragon Army to sweep across the outer perimeter, accumulating a huge number of points for him.

However, this 10th place is undoubtedly a resounding slap in the face for the top family in Tianhai.

9th place: Xu Xingyan. Total points: 1680 million.

8th Place: Murong Bai. Total Points: 1820 million.

7th Place: War Maniac. Total Points: 1950 million.

6th place: Qian Duoduo. Total points: 2100 million.

5th Place: Su Yueying. Total Points: 2450 million.

4th Place: Li Changfeng. Total Points: 2700 million.

Each time a name is announced, the corresponding prodigy straightens his back.

This is an honor they earned with their lives.

The screen lit up.

The names of the top three were displayed in a dazzling gold font.

[3rd Place: Chu Yunxuan. Total Points: 3890 million.]

Mechanical voice supplementary broadcast: [This candidate demonstrated exceptional tactical skills on the outskirts of the core area and made a crucial contribution by self-destructing their main ship in the final battle, thus opening a passage to destroy the core source.]

A burst of enthusiastic applause erupted from the crowd.

Chu Yunxuan truly deserved the title; his contribution to the self-destruction of the thousand-meter-long main ship was indispensable.

[2nd Place: Bai Ye. Total Points: 5020 million.]

[This candidate summoned three low-level Diamond undead to directly confront a peak-level Diamond Origin Beast, buying crucial tactical time and making a very high contribution.]

The eldest elder of the Bai family laughed so hard that his back teeth were showing.

Although the heads of the surrounding noble families cursed Bai Ye for his cowardly survival in the early stages, they were inwardly cursing him.

However, it must be admitted that the last three diamond ghosts were undoubtedly the trump card that saved their lives.

The entire audience held their breath.

Everyone slowed their breathing.

Fourteen thousand pairs of eyes were fixed on the very top of the screen.

That position was a foregone conclusion, but everyone was waiting to see that number.

A burst of golden light erupted.

[1st Place: Lin Yuan!]

Total points: 77 million!

[This candidate previously commanded a mutated army to sweep across the outer perimeter, single-handedly annihilating the nine-party allied forces.]

[In the final battle, the infinite regeneration mechanism of the Four Symbols Statue was broken, and a fatal blow was dealt to the core source of the Abyss. Contribution: Decisive.]

7700 million

It's more than 2000 million more than the second place.

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

This was not a setup by a powerful family, but rather the heartfelt fervor of 140,000 students.

They looked at Lin Yuan as if he were a flag.

There was no jealousy, only admiration and awe.

Because what Lin Yuan accomplished exceeded their comprehension.

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

In the middle of the crowd.

Ye Ninghan was dressed in a clean combat uniform, making her stand out from the other examinees.

She looked at Lin Yuan's name on the big screen, patted her barren chest, and let out a long breath.

"Luckily, I ran fast."

Ye Ninghan muttered to herself.

Recalling the time she made the decisive decision to order the entire army to retreat in front of the source crystal mine.

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

Just look at the fate of Zhao Xinghe and his group of idiots; their army of over two million was completely wiped out.

Not only did she escape unscathed, but she also managed to take over several mines along the way, and then proceeded steadily and cautiously.

They successfully made it into the top fifty.

"Being prudent is the only truth for survival." Ye Ninghan gave herself a thumbs up for her wit.

On the high platform.

Lieutenant General Chen Tie straightened his uniform and said in a deep voice, "The rankings for the major examination have been determined. Next, we will proceed with the awards and rank conferment ceremony."

Two rows of fully armed military honor guards marched in unison onto the square.

They were carrying trays covered with red cloth.

"According to military regulations, the top 100 students in this major exam across the province will be directly granted military positions!"

Chen Tie personally stepped down from the high platform and came to Lin Yuan.

He picked up a metal epaulette from the tray in his adjutant's hand.

A dark gold star is engraved on the epaulettes.

Chen Tie personally pinned the shoulder insignia on Lin Yuan's combat uniform, took a step back, and saluted.

"Lin Yuan, with special approval from the General Headquarters of the Military, you are hereby awarded the rank of Second Lieutenant of the Spark Legion."

Chen Tie's voice was deep and powerful: "From this day forward, you are authorized to mobilize regular military units at the company level."

"Enjoy partial access to the military's internal network of classified data databases, and receive a 30% discount on all purchases of military strategic materials."

"Furthermore, all cross-border teleportation fees and transaction taxes will be waived throughout the entire Tianhai Province!"

Upon hearing this, the knowledgeable students below turned red with envy.

Tax-free! Buy military supplies at 30% off!

Not to mention the real power to mobilize company-level troops, a privilege that many veterans who have fought on the border for more than a decade cannot obtain.

"As for the final reward for first place—a fragment of godhood," Chen Tie said in a low voice, in a volume only the two of them could hear.

"It involves the handover of strategic materials. After the major test, Commander Xiao will personally help you select the attributes."

"Understood." Lin Yuan nodded in return.

Distributing divine fragments in public would be utterly ostentatious; the military's arrangement was quite reasonable.

The conferment ceremony lasted for half an hour.

The top 100 talents each received their own military rank and resource allocation.

The hundreds of thousands of students below watched this scene with longing in their eyes, but no one felt it was unfair.

This was earned with one's life.

The ceremony concluded, marking the successful completion of the major test.

Three hundred thousand senior high school students are facing a divergence in their destinies.

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

"Brother Yuan! My dear brother!"

A howl came from the side.

Fatty Wang squeezed out of the crowd like a ball of flesh.

His clothes were filthy, but his face was ruddy.

He rushed up to Lin Yuan and grabbed Lin Yuan's leg.

"Brother Yuan! I survived! I passed!"

Fatty Wang was so excited that his whole body of fat trembled.

He resolutely implemented Lin Yuan's policy of expediency.

After landing, the Black Demon Pig dug an underground air-raid shelter several hundred meters deep in the frozen soil at the very edge.

While the outside world was engulfed in chaos, he peacefully mined in his cave.

With the few tons of low-level magic ore they mined, they managed to get their points up to the passing grade.

"Get up, stop rubbing." Lin Yuan tried to pull his leg away in disgust, but couldn't.

"No! Brother Yuan, you have no idea how proud I am!" Fatty Wang raised his head, his face beaming. "Now the whole province knows I'm your one and only follower!"

"Those scions of powerful families are looking at me differently now. Just now, a young lady from a second-rate family came up to me asking for my contact number!"

Lin Yuan's eye twitched slightly.

He couldn't be bothered with this clown and let him cling to his leg and wail.

A large starport on the outskirts of the Demon-Suppressing Fortress.

The teleportation array has been activated.

The other prodigies stood at the boarding gate, preparing to return to their respective family residences.

Chu Yunxuan stopped and turned to look at Lin Yuan: "Consider this a life I owe you. However, this is just a major test."

"The mechanical deities will take shape later." Chu Yunxuan's eyes blazed with fighting spirit. "A few months from now, at the Federation's highest deity academy, we'll fight again."

"At that time, my mechanical legion will show you true firepower."

"I'll be waiting," Lin Yuan replied calmly.

Li Changfeng walked over carrying his sword case, and snorted coldly: "My sword heart is not broken. See you at the highest academy."

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

Having gone through life and death together, this group of people developed a tacit understanding that needed no words.

Bai Ye was the last one to arrive.

He had changed into a flashy white trench coat, completely obscuring the gruesome sight of the man bleeding from all seven orifices at the bottom of the pit.

"Alright, stop being so serious, most people have left." Bai Ye nudged Lin Yuan's shoulder and said with a grin, "See you at university, Lieutenant Lin."

Lin Yuan looked at Bai Ye, his brows furrowing slightly.

He noticed a common thread in the words of these prodigies.

"Why are you all saying we'll meet at the highest divine academy?" Lin Yuan asked. "Isn't there the national unified college entrance examination in a few months?"

According to the usual procedure, after the midterm exams and the subsequent stream division, the second semester of senior year is the sprint stage.

Ultimately, the university admission decision is based on the students' scores in the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao).

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

"Know what?"

"That's true. You come from a common background, so Commander Xiao probably hasn't had a chance to tell you yet."

Bai Ye reached out and patted the lieutenant's epaulettes on Lin Yuan's shoulder.

"A second lieutenant in the military, and the top scorer in the Tianhai Province's major exam," Bai Ye said in a low voice. "This kind of resume has long since defied the conventional rules of the game."

"As for the specifics of how to operate..." Bai Ye kept it a secret, turned around and walked towards his own starship, waving his hand with his back to Lin Yuan.

"You'll find out then."

The transport ship's hatches closed slowly.

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

He raised his hand and touched the second lieutenant's epaulettes on his shoulder.

The usual rules of the game no longer apply, which means that the next few months will be tough.

He will face a completely new pantheon of deities, unlike anything he would encounter in high school.

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

Deep within the divine realm, three fragments of the abyss core source continue to emit high-level energy fluctuations.

Once we return to Jiangcheng and obtain the fragments of divinity, along with the incredible ability of [Creation Extraction], we'll be ready.

The real leap forward has only just begun.