The Era of Gods

Even if their power came from the Black Dragon Nejelanmu, they would not be suppressed.

Without suppression, a Rank 7 Naga Knight could easily confront Black Dragon Nejelanmu head-on, but that was only in physical combat—in the face of Dragon Language Magic, they would be no match.

But now within the Divine Realm there were already thirty-six Rank 7 Naga Knights, and just one or two more would be enough to overwhelm Black Dragon Nejelanmu.

In such a situation, Black Dragon Nejelanmu could no longer be as arrogant as before.

The Black Dragon was now somewhat nostalgic for the days without natural predators, unlike now in this Divine Realm, filled with powerful opponents, no longer able to be as arrogant as before.

But even if he tried to keep a low profile, there were still Naga Knights who would seek him out from time to time, not to become Dragon Slayers, but to use him as a sharpening stone to enhance their combat experience, each time attacked by a group of Sixth Level Naga Knights.

Without being suppressed, the Rank 7 Naga Knights were definitely able to confront Black Dragon Nejelanmu head-on—but of course, strictly in physical combat, for against Dragon Language Magic, they would be no match.

But now in the Divine Realm there were already thirty-six Rank 7 Naga Knights, and just one or two more would be enough to overwhelm Black Dragon Nejelanmu.

In such a situation, Black Dragon Nejelanmu could not be as arrogant as before.

By now, the Black Dragon was somewhat nostalgic for the days when he had no natural predators, unlike the current Divine Realm, which is home to a host of powerful foes, and arrogance like in the past was no longer an option.

But even when being low-key, from time to time, there were still Naga Knights who came looking for him, not to become Dragon Slayers, but to use him as a whetstone to improve their combat experience, each time aggressively attacked by a group of Sixth Level Naga Knights, while on the side…

He chose to manifest directly in the west, and with a single thought, pillars of light descended from the sky, wherewith all the Clan members were preserved and shot into it, and his will was projected alongside them.

This place was a river plain located between mountain ranges, beside a river several kilometers wide that flowed from the edge of the plane, meandering back and forth towards the interior of the plane. At the edge of this plane, there was a wide, sloping, triangular plain by the river, and the location where he descended was right on this triangular plain.

As an Incarnation, Lin Xiao flew thousands of meters above the plain and looked eastward toward the seemingly endless mountain ranges. The only path out was following the river downstream, which very quickly disappeared from sight, concealed by the ranges.

“This starting terrain… is pretty strategic!”

Unable to resist, he began to worship the Deity of Truth and the Creator.

He found that every time he got beaten up, these fanatic strange Naga would shout that he was a “non-believer!”. He wondered if being a little more devout would mean getting beaten up less severely?

It turned out to be very effective, for when his faith reached that of a True Believer, he found that the Naga’s blows were not as mindlessly heavy as before, and they were no longer as eager to hang him up and chop him up as they had been.

This filled the Black Dragon with enthusiasm. He prayed once a day, and every time he fought or got beaten, he would cry out the name of the God of Truth. His faith grew more and more devout without him realizing, and when he reached the level of Devout Believer, even Lin Xiao paid him some unexpected attention.

Merely reaching Devout Believer status, the Power of Faith that the Black Dragon Nejelanmu provided had already surpassed all the Fanatic Believers in Lin Xiao’s God’s realm, second only to Slarda, and even the faith intensity of the Wise Goblin Hero Alemente paled in comparison.

This was the power of the Dragon Clan, deservedly one of the most powerful races within the Chaos Sea All Crystal Universe, providing an immensely vast Power of Faith.

Even though the number of dragons was small and their faith usually not devoted, the quality was simply too high.

It’s said that just a hundred true believing Dragons could easily maintain the faith required by a newly Divine-enthroned Dragon God. Such high-quality believers, capable of fighting and providing a large amount of Power of Faith, were the favorite of many deities across the Crystal Wall Universe.

However, due to their immense strength, dragons are extremely proud and difficult to truly believe in.

Such exceptional quality believers are worth caring for.

Lin Xiao covertly issued a Divine-mandate for Slarda to take care of them, to prevent his own Clan from killing them off.

As the midterm exam drew nearer, the strength of Lin Xiao’s God’s realm grew like a rolling snowball, but a doubt in his heart was growing stronger…

His God’s realm was vast, his knowledge reserve was rich, his Clan was powerful, and even his own Divinity had reached twenty points, meeting the standard of Rank 4 Divinity. Even Wu Zhonglin, a candidate on the prestigious list just half a year ago, was now at this stage. Considering all these factors, he was still not eligible for the prestigious list?

Curious about what the criteria for this so-called prestigious list actually were, he inquired with his head teacher.

Jin Sisi saw his question and quickly replied:

“There’s no specific standard for this question because the strength of the candidates on the prestigious list varies greatly. Even those already on the list aren’t very clear about the selection criteria, but by observing the situations of candidates from previous lists, we can deduce a rough standard. You can refer to your current situation for comparison.”

“First: A minimum of Rank 4 Divinity is required, which you should meet.”

“Second: At least the fourth section of a true name must be condensed, perhaps even more.”

“Third: The target Godhood must be a high-ranking one, and it must be successfully condensed upon becoming a Demigod.”

“Fourth: Having high-ranking or mutated core races is a must, and they must possess strength and potential far beyond ordinary people; your Supreme Naga should meet this criterion, but you need more in number.”

“Fifth: Other factors that affect strength or potential, for instance, a vast Divine Realm or possession of Ancient Treasures, and your inheritance from the predecessor Keri during the Super Newcomer Summer Camp counts.”

Jin Sisi very patiently explained each of these standards to him, adding her own interpretations.

Lin Xiao, after listening, compared each one to his own situation and discovered that he met all except the second condition, even surpassing in some.

“Could it be that I’m only lacking in this?”

His true name was now “Seberuske Meyer Ao,” with only three syllables, one short of the requirement.

As for the last syllable…

Lin Xiao recalled the subtle change he sensed previously when he was concocting the Shura Naga, having thought it was about consolidating his Godhood or something else. Now he had an epiphany, that overwhelmingly, it was about condensing a new syllable for his true name.

He had thought that simply concocting Grey Dwarves would suffice, but after doing so, he felt the nebulous condensation hasten significantly, yet it was still somewhat short of completion.

“Perhaps what I lackis this part!”

He had a clear understanding now; although he had no leads at the moment, he was no longer in a hurry.

Since he still had half a term before his senior year, he decided to work towards this goal during that time, aiming to reach a high…

“No, it can be faster!”

With the midterms, given his current strength in his second year, akin to the overwhelming advantage Wu Zhonglin had over them during the Super Newcomer Summer Camp, he was certain to achieve good results.

Knowing his homeroom teacher’s expectations, he specially selected this challenge for the midterms. He was sure that if he performed well in the opportunity called “All Phenomena,” the rewards he would receive would undoubtedly be most suitable for him.

Therefore…

“If I handle this midterm exam well, I might satisfy all the conditions in one fell swoop and be listed on the roster of the prodigies’ secondary list.”

And being on the roster of the prodigies’ secondary list would bring benefits that people would go crazy for.

Not to mention the fortune and the Infinite Wish Art from the Main World, as well as the unimaginable status and attention. Additionally, there was the very generous reward from The Affiliated School of Huiyao, which Lin Xiao had looked into before and was quite envious of the many benefits.

While he was dreaming about the various benefits of being on the roster of the prodigies’ secondary list, the voice of his homeroom teacher rang in his ears again:

“The midterm exams will start in a week, and I need to assess your strength before that.”

Lin Xiao confidently replied:

“How will you assess it?”

“Simple, you have not yet challenged the Glorious Middle School Wind and Cloud Ranking. Your current ranking is not high; I need you to be in the top ten of the Wind and Cloud Ranking before the midterm exams.”

“Wind and Cloud Ranking?”

Lin Xiao was briefly stunned before he remembered that the school had such a ranking list. At the beginning of the semester, he considered whether to get on the list, but later forgot about it.

He remembered that this list combined all students from the first and second divisions of Glorious Middle School and was divided into three levels, namely for the first, second, and third years respectively. Every semester, students who ranked on the Wind and Cloud Ranking would receive rewards from the school.

He was not clear on the specifics of these rewards as he hadn’t paid special attention.

“No problem.”

After replying to his homeroom teacher, he opened the campus network to check the status of the Wind and Cloud Ranking.

This system updates the rankings in real-time on the campus network and also offers live broadcasts. Every challenge that involves a change in the top one hundred rankings is broadcast live. When he checked, there were already four live broadcasts with many viewers, looking very lively.

Usually, the Wind and Cloud Ranking is quite deserted, but now there’s only one week left before the end of the semester. The half-year Wind and Cloud Ranking ends after the midterms, and students who previously didn’t have the time are trying to climb the ranking in the last week.

Among the four live broadcasts, one had just ended, and Lin Xiao quickly focused on another where the challenged was ranked in the top twenty of the Wind and Cloud Ranking. When he was about to watch, he discovered that he needed to pay a little Divine Power to view it.

“Well, this is a pretty good way to make money.”

With a token fee of Divine Power for viewing and over twenty people watching, that’s twenty points of Divine Power in the pocket.

Since he couldn’t skimp on this, Lin Xiao paid one point of Divine Power, and the view swiftly changed to a challenge plane.

After a glance at the challengers, the defender was someone he didn’t recognize, introduced as an elite from Glorious Middle School’s First Division. However, the challenger was an acquaintance, the Tiger Slayer, also a special recruit like him.

In fact, most of those who ranked high on the Wind and Cloud Ranking were either from the elite class of the First or Second Division, with no one outside these two classes in the top twenty.

When he joined the view, the battle had already reached a heating point at mid-game. The Tiger Slayer’s fourth Race, the Zoel Elves, which he hadn’t seen many of last time, had now grown to just over twenty thousand. The profession the Tiger Slayer had assigned to the Zoel Elves appeared to be the rare Ranger Profession, shooting arrows from a distance. If an enemy approached, he would pull out the double swords from his back for close combat, showing a decent combat power.

His opponent was also strong, with their core Race being a mutated form of Harpies.

Ordinary Harpies are just an intermediate race with only the advantage of flight, and general combat power, but after mutation, these Harpies had acquired class spell abilities, allowing them to cast thin Lightning Chains.

Lightning Chain was a weakened variant of chain lightning, not only less powerful but also with fewer bounces; even if a crowd clumped together, it would only jump five times.

But there’s strength in numbers. Tens of thousands of Harpies casting a sky full of Lightning Chains was terrifying in terms of mass killing, particularly effective against heavily armored infantry.

The battle was just like that. Lin Xiao reviewed the replay and saw that as soon as the battle started, the Harpies in the air threw down wave after wave of Lightning Chains towards the central gathering of enemies, causing the Tiger Slayer to suffer greatly from the get-go. Even with numerous Zoel Rangers shooting down a large group, the loss of close-combat troops was so severe that they were showing signs of weakness, and defeat seemed inevitable.

Looking at Tiger Slayer’s unconvinced expression, Lin Xiao felt that even if he fought ten more times, he would still lose.

No matter what, he would be at a disadvantage in a head-on battleground.