The Era of Gods

Chapter 90: Five-Star Construction Card - Bloody Gladiator Arena

The Divine Artifact Platform was bustling with people, a torrent of voices filling the air as many teachers looked on silently amid the clamor.

When the teachers officially announced the end of the term exams and that a total of seven students had perished, including Wan Ying, the shock was too much for the students to suppress. Whispering among themselves, their voices eventually drowned out the teacher’s, even as the announcement of the top ten rankings passed by with little attention. All were preoccupied with the shock of Wan Ying’s demise.

It was not unusual for students to perish during the year-end exams due to greed or accidents, but it was extremely rare for a talented student like Wan Ying to fall.

Thankfully, the teachers did not disclose the reasons for her downfall and naturally did not mention the incident involving Lin Xiao and Yan Renjie. They merely cautioned the students to always consider their abilities before taking action and to avoid undertaking tasks beyond their limitations.

The term exams concluded amidst the clamor, and the still-stunned students dispersed in groups. Lin Xiao, on the other hand, was communicating with the Divine Artifact Platform to claim his reward for ranking first: a golden mythological five-star card.

Speaking of which, this term exam had been a huge windfall. He acquired not one, but two golden mythological cards, several treasures of comparable quality, and a heap of extremely rare goodies. This haul alone surpassed the cumulative gains of all his previous ones by several folds.

He had specially chosen the mythological five-star card—a rare Construction Card named Bloody Gladiator Arena—from the dozens of card options provided by the school.

Five-Star Construction Card—Bloody Gladiator Arena (Mythical): Summons a Bloody Gladiator Arena in the Divine Realm.

Effects: The Bloody Gladiator Arena offers lvi, 3V3, 5V5, iovio, and ioovioo combat modes. Gladiators who defeat their opponents can gain a significant amount of combat and occupational experience.

The school’s selection did not include Divinity Cards, so he chose the one that would best suit him.

With this, his Clan could enter the arena to battle and gain experience even without immediate enemies, thus maintaining their combat power even during extended periods of peace.

After all, considering the time difference between the Main World and the Divine Realm, a month in the former equates to thirty years in the latter—a period without battle could mean the death of many experienced members of the Clan and leave the newborns without the necessary combat strength, which would eventually cause a decline in the Divine Realm’s strength.

Using the arena, members of the Clan can fight against each other, maximizing the preservation of their combat power.

However, he couldn’t integrate this card into the Divine Realm just yet; there were no card slots available. He would have to wait until next month.

“Miss!

H

A pale blue mist sprayed out from the Divine Realm Login Cabin as Lin Xiao opened his eyes to the mist before him, exhaled softly, and chose not to exit the cabin immediately but to lie there in thought.

He was reflecting on his experiences during the term exams, from carrying out the first task in the plane to boldly plotting against a Normal Demigod, and all the experiences in between.

He mentally replayed the entire experience, summarizing lessons learned, identifying his shortcomings, and considering where he might have performed better or if better options were available.

In the eyes of some, this might seem like hindsight—events were in the past, so what use was there in summarizing? Wouldn’t anyone avoid repeating the same mistakes next time without such reflection?

For Lin Xiao, however, the distillation of experience was indeed valuable, not only to avoid repeating mistakes but to review his actions from an outsider’s perspective, to evaluate their appropriateness, and to consider whether alternative approaches might yield better outcomes.

Most importantly, learning from experience meant not just avoiding the same mistakes but the ability to draw parallels and broaden one’s imagination. He aimed to anticipate not just identical mistakes but even similar ones or any situation with a semblance of familiarity, so he could respond more adeptly.

This was the true utility of learning from experience.

With the term exams over and vacation underway, many students left the school immediately after coming out of the Divine Realm Login Cabins.

After leaving the Divine Realm Login Cabin, Lin Xiao tidied up and visited the office of his class teacher, Wu Hai, for a few hours before finally heading home.

With that, a two-month holiday stretched before him, and he would be a second-year high school student when it ended.

Back at home, he indulged in a restful long sleep. Upon waking up the next afternoon, he found numerous unread messages, including one from his lovely mom. Opening her message, an image of his mother, as youthful as a twenty-eight-year-old woman, emerged, expressing her concern:

“Son, I heard there was a big incident during the exams at your school, with the Wan family’s young lady being involved. What exactly happened?”

This was a message from his mother and couldn’t be streamed live. With a hint of regret, she said:

“That young lady was quite beautiful. I was hoping to find an opportunity for you two to become friends. 1 didn’t expect…”

“Also, do you know what happened to her? 1 always say, ambition is fine, but be sure to stay safe. You must be careful, son. Don’t take unnecessary risks. I don’t ask for much, just that you stay safe and sound.”

“Another thing, how did you do in your exams? The school said results will be out in half a month. Tell me how you did.”

Several more messages followed, all from his mother’s incessant yet caring chatter, which brought a spontaneous slight smile to Lin Xiao’s lips.

It felt good to be cared for!

Rubbing his nest-like hair, he replied:

“Mom, don’t worry, your son is doing great, and I performed quite well in the term exams. There’s a very good chance 1’11 make it into the elite class.”

Check for one last time before virtually pressing Send.

He’d save the specifics for when the report card came out, giving her a surprise.

Within five seconds of sending, Mom responded:

“Really? The elite class? Son, you’re amazing. When you come home, 1’11 cook something delicious for you.”

“That’s right, didn’t you finish your finals already? Go home early when you’re free. In a few days, it’s your grandfather’s birthday. He will surely be happy to hear about your excellent results,” she said.

“Uh….”

The scene of his mother boasting about him to his aunts already played out in Lin Xiao’s mind.

Women, huh.

Show off your husband when you’re young, your son in your middle age, and your grandson when you’re old.

“No problem, I’ll go home tomorrow.”

But what can you do, when you’re the son?

He said tomorrow, but he actually booked a ride that very evening, packed up casually, and took the ride home.

This home is the location of the Lin Xiao Family, situated in a small village in the mountains more than a hundred kilometers outside Dongning City. The entire village is comprised of the Lin Family and their relatives or servants.

Calling it a small village in the mountains, in truth, it is akin to a mini city, even named Lin Family Fortress. It has everything, including a hospital, an elementary school, supermarkets, and even a fairly large bus station.

The Lin Clan, a small family that resides near East Forest City, boasts two True Gods.

The Clan Leader, Lin Youde, Lin Xiao’s grandfather, became a Deity two thousand years ago and established the Lin Clan, which has been inherited for over two thousand years.

He sired five sons and three daughters, but two sons and a daughter have fallen. Today, only three sons and two daughters remain, with both daughters married.

The eldest son, Lin Qirong, Lin Xiao’s eldest uncle, is a High-Level Demigod.

The second uncle, Lin Zhanghong, is the family’s second True God.

The third uncle has fallen, but left descendants behind.

The fourth is Lin Xiao’s grandfather, Lin Chenglei, also a High-Level Demigod.

The fifth uncle also fell but left descendants.

The five sons branched out and spread their leaves, each having several children. Altogether, the Lin Clan’s direct lineage numbers around three to four hundred people.

Grandfather Lin Chenglei had three sons and one daughter.

The eldest uncle, Lin Zhangdong, a High-Level Demigod, has one son and one daughter.

The second uncle, Lin Cunrui, a Normal Demigod, has two sons and one daughter.

The youngest, Lin Xiao’s father Lin Haolin, is a High-Level Demigod with only one son.

As a True God family, descendants not only receive the protection of a True God but also a lack of scarcity in various resources. Direct descendants of the previous generation can usually obtain enough resources to become a Demigod, provided they do not fall midway.

But that only guarantees becoming a Normal Demigod. Whether one can become a High-Level Demigod depends on one’s own ability.

As for becoming a True God, that’s not something that can be achieved simply through resources. It also depends on personal ability and opportunity as well as understanding of the rules, which is the most important.

Therefore, even the son of someone with Powerful Divine Power may not become a True God if they’re not up to par in this aspect.

Of course, if one is indeed a descendant of someone with Powerful Divine Power and cannot become a True God in the Main World, they can choose to enter the Outlands to become an Indigenous deity, lacking a Divine Realm. Many descendants of Powerful Divine Power families make this choice when they see no hope of advancing further.

Such Indigenous deities are far weaker than the New Gods of the Main World, but after all, they are immortal True Gods.

Lin Family Fortress is divided into five parts according to the five branches, namely four corners and the center. The eldest branch occupies the center, and the other four branches each occupy one corner. The branch Lin Xiao belongs to is located in the northwestern sector of Lin Family Fortress.

The flying vehicle stopped at the station. He paid, shouldered his bag, and walked out of the station. At the roadside, he swiped his card, and a flying vehicle, like a sightseeing tour bus, came to a halt in front of him. He boarded, entered the destination, and the flying vehicle took off directly towards his home.

The streets were quite busy, mostly with servants of the Lin Family or their subordinates, companions of the direct lineage, or their subordinates.

In the second year of high school, students are encouraged to form teams to explore different planes. A team is formed with the strongest student as the leader and several slightly less powerful students as support. Each complements the others. This is the rudiment of a future Divine System. If one has the ability to continue growing until Divine Enthronement, they can establish a Divine System with their team.

The relations within a Divine System are extremely close, at times even closer than those of siblings.

Even blood brothers might fall out over inheritance, but within a Divine System, the interests of all members are intertwined. Swearing on Lethe or making vows upon Gaia Will, none dare break their oaths.

This was also an issue Lin Xiao needed to consider during the holidays—when the next semester begins, should he form a team?

Or continue to work alone?

He wasn’t particularly averse to forming a team but finding suitable teammates was difficult for him..