The Era of Gods

Through the shuttle’s window, Lin Xiao saw the mountains below were incredibly vast, easily dozens to hundreds of kilometers tall, extending beyond the horizon.

In front of the flying shuttle stood a colossal peak rising between heaven and earth. Surrounding mountains, towering tens to hundreds of kilometers in height, seemed trivial before this behemoth. Countless streaks of light shuttled above this mountain range, converging towards the indescribably huge vortex-like portal at the pinnacle of these billions of peaks. Billowing clouds transformed into a massive vortex resembling a star system.

Their shuttle, like the other streaks of light, headed toward the immense vortex, feeling ever so small as it neared.

This gigantic vortex, resembling a nebula, was the gateway to the Brilliant Super College, with Radiance lying in the space beyond this gateway.

The shuttle passed through the vast portal, which seemed invisible from below, feeling as if it was moving through a thin layer of light film. Lin Xiao could clearly sense the change in rules beyond the membrane much weaker than that of the Main World.

As it reflected on their bodies, he saw Shen Yuexin’s figure exuding a faint purple glow, with threads of light faintly visible, while the space above his own head was collapsing inward like a black hole, drawing in all lines of sight, yet the Magic Cube wasn’t visible.

But none of this captured their attention, as they were completely drawn to the scene outside.

Behind the massive vortex wasn’t the kind of space he had imagined, but instead a vast starry world; they were situated within a colossal star system, with the immense light gate behind them. Far behind the vortex and gate, in the distant void, a huge star burned, releasing terrifying energy.

In the star system where this star was located, immense stars moved along their predetermined trajectories, slowly orbiting the star.

This was a vast star system.

But it was not a star system found in the starry skies, but rather… a simulated star system.

In other words, this space as large as a star system wasn’t truly the cosmos, but a colossal Divine Realm that had been transformed.

Yes, a Divine Realm. Divine Beings would know as soon as they entered this space that it was a Divine Realm, only far more immense.

The shuttle stopped in front of the light gate, and seconds later, a beam of light shot out from a giant planet far away in the void, striking the shuttle. A gentle voice reached Lin Xiao’s ears:

“Do not move, and do not resist.”

Then, guided by the beam, the shuttle sped across billions of miles of void to arrive near another slightly smaller planet above the blue planet.

Looking out through the window, Lin Xiao was astounded to find that these two planets bore the exact relationship of Earth to the Moon.

No, when he saw the landforms on the larger planet below, he realized these were simulations of Earth and the Moon, or rather, the Divine Realm was a simulacrum of the Solar System as it was 300,000 years ago.

The shuttle was guided to a massive spaceport on the Moon, and the two stepped out. Waiting at the door stood a young woman with a clean, crisp aura, dressed in what looked like a uniform, her hair tied back in a ponytail. She smiled slightly upon seeing them and asked crisply:

“May I ask if you are Lin Xiao and Shen Yuexin?”

Lin Xiao nodded:

“We are.”

The woman said:

“I’m Yang Yue from Class Five, Senior Year, Level 2 at Shining High School Department and an assistant there. You can call me Little Yang. I’m here to escort both of you to complete the enrollment procedures.”

Lin Xiao asked:

“If it’s possible, could we see your ID?”

The woman hesitated slightly, then handed over the badge hanging on her chest. Lin Xiao gave it a quick scan, confirmed it was legitimate, then smiled and said:

“Then please, lead the way, senior.”

“Not at all, please follow me.”

It was highly improbable for someone to impersonate a staff member from Brilliant College, but nothing is ever absolute, and it was always better to be cautious.

“By the way, the rules here are looser than in the Main World, you can fly here.” With that, the woman soared into the air towards a large cluster of shadows suspended in the distance. Lin Xiao and Shen Yuexin hurried after her.

At first, Lin Xiao thought it was a high-tech modern structure floating in the air. After all, the level of mythological technology within this Divine Realm was quite high. But as they got closer and could see clearly, it wasn’t the modern floating cities he had imagined. Instead, they came upon a vast array of floating cities of various sizes adrift in the sky, bristling with foreign-style towers, filled with Magic architecture that gave off the aura of having arrived in an alien Arcane Empire.

Yang Yue led them to one particularly immense Floating City which seemed larger than an ordinary city, explaining as they flew:

“This Floating City is designated as N0.02 Floating City and serves as the general office space for the Shining High School Department. The enrollment process usually takes place here.”

Along the way, they saw figures occasionally flying in from afar to land in the floating City, or departing it. Most of them were young people. Yang Yue continued to explain:

“It’s a bit crowded these days because of the enrollment period, of course, you two being special recruits won’t have to queue, as there are dedicated staff to handle your enrollment procedures.”

With that, she led Lin Xiao and Shen Yuexin around a tower with several long lines queued up and brought them to another tower with few people around.

I his towering structure was the very definition of what one would expect a Mage Tower to be in the Main World, modified. More advanced than the Mage Towers of The Aboriginals of exotic world, its surface was like Crystals, shimmering with flowing light. Two towering Diamond Golems stood guard at the door, a type of Golem comparable to the Legendary Level in strength, possessing extremely high defense capabilities and an immunity to nearly all Spells, making them suitable opponents for even Dragons in hand-to-hand combat. They were exceptionally well-suited for home defense.

When the three arrived at the entrance, Little Yang snapped her fingers, and a beam of light emitted from a large Crystal embedded at the entrance of the Mage Tower, shining on the three of them. Seconds later, a mechanical voice spoke:

“Identity verification passed, please enter!”

The door opened quietly, and Lin Xiao entered the tower. It felt like crossing the spatial membrane when he first entered this star system. The Mage Tower actually contains its own distinct space.

From the outside, it looked only like a tower with a diameter of five to six meters and a height of about forty to fifty meters, but in reality, the first level alone was tens of thousands of square meters, essentially a modern large office building.

Dozens of staff members paid no attention to them. Xiao Yang led them to the office labeled ‘Director of Instruction’ and knocked softly. Through the glass door, they could see a bald middle-aged man browsing the net. Upon seeing them arrive, he quickly turned off the smaller screen in front of the large light screen and, straightening up, called out seriously:

“Come in.”

“Director Zhang, these are the two special recruits for this year’s Super Newcomer Summer Camp.”

Yang Yue placed a document on the desk and stepped aside. The bald man named Zhang touched his head, flipped through the documents casually, threw them aside, and glanced over them nonchalantly. His eyes suddenly narrowed in surprise when he saw Shen Yuexin, and his demeanor became serious. After tapping on his personal terminal for a moment, his gaze grew stricter, he sat up straight, and said in a deep voice:

“Before we admit you two, we’ll go through the routine procedure. Please show your special recruit marks.”

Lin Xiao rolled up his left sleeve, and strands of crystal light converged on his wrist, tracing out the mark from Radiance. On the other side, Shen Yuexin simply showed the back of her hand where her mark was located.

“Very good, that’s correct!”

Director Zhang suddenly became enthusiastic, tapped a few times on the terminal in front of him, and looked up with a genial face, saying:

“You two are indeed two of the ten special recruits for our school this year. According to the documents shown here, this student Lin Xiao will be allocated to Level 2, High School Year 2, Elite Class 1, and this student Shen Yuexin…”

He paused with an even brighter smile on his face:

“Will be allocated to First Level, High School Year 2, Elite Class 1.”

As soon as the words were spoken, Zhang Yue wore a shocked expression, sizing up Shen Yuexin.

Both Lin Xiao and Shen Yuexin were also surprised and taken aback. If they understood correctly, it seemed First Level only accepted direct descendants of Radiance, and his aunt’s background was clear, she should have been allocated to Level 2, just like him.

Pointing to herself in complete surprise, she asked:

“Is there a mistake? Am I really assigned to First Level?”

Yes, there’s no mistake, the document indeed has it allocated this way!”

Director Zhang explained with a smile, very patiently.

Shen Yuexin…

Lin Xiao…

Yang Yue…

Coming out of the high tower, Lin Xiao and Shen Yuexin stood silently beside the grand door of the tower.

The school’s decision had caught him offguard; he had envisioned the two of them being in the same class. They were relatives, acquaintances, and classmates, spending days and nights together-wouldn’t that give him the chance to win her over during their second year?

He had not at all anticipated that she would be assigned to the First Level, which was quite embarrassing.

Yang Yue, observing their demeanor, realized their relationship was anything but ordinary and didn’t rush them, instead walking a little distance away to wait for them quietly.

It couldn’t be helped. Different classes might be negotiable, but different branches definitely couldn’t be sorted out. He couldn’t go to First Level, nor could he make her come to his.

“This is really…”

He sighed inwardly and looked up just as she was also looking over. As their eyes met, Lin Xiao, who was instinctively ready to look away, suddenly mustered up the courage to gaze straight into her eyes.

Shen Yuexin’s face flushed with a hint of red, and she bit her lip, turning her head to reveal her charming jawline.

He stepped forward, standing before her, closely examining her delicate and enticing features, and said:

“I’ll send you a message once I’m done with the formalities. Let’s have a chat.”

She turned her head to look into his eyes, her gaze complex, and after a long while, she responded with a soft hum.

Lin Xiao’s face lit up with a faint smile, and he said gently:

“Then you should go ahead.”

She nodded, and Yang Yue approached from a distance. The two of them sat on a magic carpet, rising into the air and flying off into the distance.

Lin Xiao, on the other hand, rose alone into the sky, tapped his wristband to unleash a light screen displaying the map of the school. He flew in the direction indicated by the navigation.

After officially registering, he and Shen Yuexin both gained certain privileges within Radiance—a sprawling divine territory including both the college and high school areas, akin to a star system. These privileges included fixed-point teleportation and the authority to fly, among others.

Any official high school student of Radiance has First Level privileges within the divine realm, including the freedom to fly. College regular students and elite high school students have Level 2 privileges..