On the Fourth Star Ring, news about the gods was always sparse and fragmented, but here, the existence of the gods seemed so close to humanity.
Divine Manifestations descending, Divine Artifacts bestowed, Destined Ones emerging… news kept coming, even gods personally taking action to suppress anomalies.
A few more students gathered, discussing the news.
“Hey? Shiva of the Indian Pantheon actually appeared with his Divine Manifestation. Do you think it’s because that S-class anomaly was particularly troublesome?”
“I don’t think so. It’s clearly to hype up his Divine Summoner Mohan Singh. I heard he’s a rare case, carrying dual Divine Powers of destruction and rebirth…”
“That makes sense, but there have been a lot of S-class anomalies recently…”
Su Fu watched the news cycle through, noticing there was no mention of the Chinese Pantheon anywhere.
At that moment, Lin Mo’s envious voice sounded, “Ah, Destined Ones really are the gods’ favorites.”
“Oh, Su Fu, did you know there’s also a leaderboard comparing Destined Ones across all Divine Pantheons?”
“A comparison chart? Putting everyone on the same stage?” Su Fu asked in confusion—how had she never heard of this?
Lin Mo explained, “Well, for now we can only see others’ rankings; to get on the leaderboard yourself, you have to wait until university. That really puts all the Pantheons on the same stage for competition—so thrilling. Basically, people use the Destined One comparisons to measure which Pantheon is stronger.”
She suddenly paused, “Wait, you can actually check the Perseus University leaderboard. I happen to have access!”
Before Su Fu could reply, Lin Mo brought up a light-brain hologram, “Here, look at Perseus’ Audience Stairway rankings.”
Su Fu instinctively glanced at it, seeing a neat list of names:
[Audience Stairway · Perseus Academic District Destined One Rankings]
[1. Andrei (Greek Pantheon – Athena)]
[2. Patil (Indian Pantheon – Shiva)]
[3. Eileen (Greek Pantheon – Apollo)]
[4. Yu Luoshui (Norse Pantheon – Odin)]
…
[18. Igor (Greek Pantheon – Hermes)]
Lin Mo sighed as she looked at the list.
“Lately, I don’t know what happened. Igor fell straight from third to tenth place in just a few days.”
“Ah?” Su Fu was shocked, “Can rankings really drop like that?”
She had thought that once you became a Destined One, it was set in stone and your resonance with the gods only went up.
“Of course, to be favored by a god also means you can be abandoned by them,” Lin Mo lowered her voice.
“Rumor has it, Igor made a huge mistake on his last mission and the gods immediately withdrew their favor…”
She made a throat-slitting gesture.
“In this age of gods, being forsaken by the gods is basically a death sentence.”
Su Fu looked thoughtfully at that name—a genius favored by the gods, cast down from grace after a single failure?
“But honestly,” Lin Mo said with envy, “just getting onto the Destined One leaderboard is already amazing. I hope I can make it before my sophomore year!”
Just then, the news broadcast ended, switching to a visually striking poster.
[4051 Interstellar Divine League Finals]
At the center was a girl who looked sharp and decisive, her eyes fierce and heroic.
On either side were two boys with completely different vibes—one holding a golden spear, the other surrounded by eerie blue flames.
“Lisa!”
Lin Mo’s eyes lit up, “The finals are about to start!”
“Lisa?” Su Fu looked at the girl radiating such a strong aura.
“Yeah,” Lin Mo went on excitedly, “she’s the youngest twin Divine Summoner of the Greek Pantheon, with an unparalleled fierce fighting style. I bet she’ll be the champion. By the way, you must have been too busy with exams to pay attention, but after the college entrance exam, you have to watch. I highly recommend it.”
Su Fu’s interest was piqued so she asked, “Does this league have any rewards? Can anyone participate?”
“Basically all university students join. This kind of interstellar-level tournament is the best stage for showcasing talent; the results are recognized throughout the entire Interstellar. As for rewards… well, I doubt you could refuse.”
“What?”
“Remember the commercial time before every exam paper, the Shen Yan ads? If you win the championship, you get a whole week of free advertising!”
Su Fu was stunned.
That was quite the prize.
The Ministry of Education’s exam papers were faith propaganda broadcast across the entire Interstellar.
For any Divine Summoner, this was an irresistible temptation.
Ahem, especially for her, a poor student.
“So generous…”
Su Fu couldn’t help but wonder, “Who pays for this? The organizers?”
“Yeah, the organizers are the Five Major Conglomerates,” Lin Mo said matter-of-factly, “Skydome Technology, Eternal Cardinal, Saintlight Bank, Wanxiang Pavilion, and Stellar Abyss Group—they take turns hosting every year.”
“Don’t worry, the Five Major Conglomerates can definitely afford this little ad expense.”
Su Fu roughly understood that if such big capitalists were behind it, it certainly wouldn’t be a loss.
First was brand effect—having their logo broadcast Interstellar-wide—and second, the broadcasting rights alone could sell for astronomical sums, not to mention the entire derivative industry chain.
It seemed the league was a carefully planned investment project, with tangled interests on all sides, raking in huge profits annually, and digging out countless talents.
Su Fu felt a bit ashamed of underestimating them.
But suddenly she thought: if the Five Major Conglomerates were this rich…
Since she was now in the Third Star Ring and still a college entrance exam candidate, shouldn’t she go back to Eternal Cardinal and borrow more Divine Power?
Ahem, she needed to find time to… well, re-evaluate.
Just then, Lin Mo suddenly remembered something and warned, “Hey, don’t think these Five Major Conglomerates are all good guys. Especially, don’t borrow from them. Don’t trust those so-called low-interest loans. They say 10% annual interest, but with fees and guarantees it’s at least 30%. The worst is the compound interest clause…”
“Last year, two of our seniors got trapped by this. One couldn’t repay the loan and had to drop out; now he’s working odd jobs. The other was forced to sign a lifetime work contract—he’s basically a slave to the conglomerate forever.”
“You’re right; they’re heartless capitalists.” Su Fu nodded solemnly in agreement.
“Good that you know,” Lin Mo relaxed, “we have to rely on ourselves and cultivate hard; can’t be greedy for easy gains.
“Look at those who borrowed—ended up in an endless pit of debt. No matter how much Divine Power they use, they still have to keep working. One wrong step leads to a lifetime of mistakes.”
Su Fu nodded seriously.
So these heartless capitalists?
She’d take it upon herself to punish them properly!
As they talked, they reached the dormitory area.
Su Fu’s eyes brightened at the sight before her.
Rows of exquisite villas were scattered beautifully among the greenery, each with its own courtyard.
The fountain’s water sounded crisp and pleasant, and a few small birds strolled gracefully across the lawn.
“Wow…” Su Fu’s eyes sparkled, “Are the students in the Third Star Ring really treated this well?”
However, Lin Mo didn’t stop, pulling her along in another direction.
They twisted and turned through several tree-lined paths, finally arriving at a relatively quiet area.
Before them stood a gray high-rise building, dozens of floors tall, silently imposing.
“Here we are,” Lin Mo pointed at the building, “this is our dorm.”
Su Fu turned back to glance at the villa district.
“So that area just now is for the school leaders?”
“Accommodation costs 500,000 Contribution Points per semester. That’s the noble heirs’ dormitory area.” Lin Mo shook her head matter-of-factly.
“We can’t afford it.”
Hearing this, Su Fu fell silent.
The first step in capital’s distortion is measuring everything by money, making privilege ‘reasonable.’
Class differences become packaged as consumer choices and eventually accepted as normal.
“Let’s go,” Lin Mo didn’t notice the weight of this, continuing seriously, “Your check-in paperwork was handled in advance; I’ll take you straight to the dorm.
“Oh, you’re lucky; you got a south-facing room with lots of sunshine.”
Su Fu followed her, glancing back at the distant villa district.
From the bustling academy center to this secluded corner, it felt like an invisible but unmistakable boundary divided the world into two stark halves.
The Third Star Ring’s prosperity was real.
For those noble scions, it meant arriving by private starship straight to their villas.
Lavish restaurants lit up at night, and always having the latest Divine Power equipment.
But for commoners, it meant endless concessions, early mornings and late nights of hard training, scrimping and saving for tuition, giving up all entertainment just to increase a bit of Divine Power…
She sighed—class existed, and would forever exist.
She hadn’t expected the Third Star Ring’s prosperity to not narrow the gap, but rather sharpen the chasm between classes.
Night had silently fallen as Su Fu followed Lin Mo step by step into the dormitory.
Just as they arrived, Lin Mo suddenly turned to look at her, her expression complex.
She hesitated for a moment but finally leaned in to whisper, “I see your grades are really good; getting up here from the Fourth Star Ring must’ve taken a lot of effort. So… just one more piece of advice. Don’t ever provoke those noble heirs. For us, the college entrance exam is the only chance to change our fate. But for them…”
“It’s just a decoration that adds to their glory, a standard part of their identity. The consequences of provoking them? You’ll ruin yourself for life. Besides, their stronghold is in the Second Star Ring. There, they have connections and resources we can’t even imagine.”
How can commoners possibly fight back?
“Actually, switching exam districts is quite common,” Lin Mo said, trying to convince herself, her expression a little blank, “But this year it’s especially severe…”
Su Fu listened silently.
For them commoners, the college entrance exam was a do-or-die opportunity.
Countless people clung to every second, fighting desperately to climb higher and avoid falling.
One more quota meant one more chance to change a life.
And for those noble heirs?
University was just a shiny label on their resume.
So to grab those quotas, they leisurely came to the Third Star Ring, aiming to snatch those places.
What about the excellent candidates who originally could have entered the Second Star Ring with those quotas?
“Lin Mo,” Su Fu suddenly asked, “what’s your rank in Perseus High School?”
Lin Mo was silent for a while, her voice a little hoarse, “Third.”
“Wow… Probably going to Perseus University.”
She forced a smile, “That’s fine; it’s reasonable to go from Perseus High to Perseus University, right?”
“Actually, there’s not much room to move up anyway. This time, it’s just bad luck.”
Even though it was clearly an opportunity stolen from her, she still called it bad luck.
“Well, get some rest. I hope you do well on the exam.” Lin Mo changed the subject.
“If you have any questions, contact me anytime on the light-brain.”
“Thanks for all your help along the way.”
“You’re welcome, it’s only right to help each other out. Good luck on the exam!” She waved and turned to leave.
Watching Lin Mo’s departing back, Su Fu murmured softly, “Good luck to you on your exam too.”
A commoner who could break through in the Third Star Ring must be truly outstanding.
She looked up toward the brightly lit villa district in the distance.
“You guys like crossing exam districts, huh? Fine, I’ll crush your heads first!”