Chapter 7: Paying Homage to the God of the Universe

Shi Yu’s thoughts drifted back to the world of the Journey to the West.

Since the system had provided such a prompt, it meant the Great Sage had successfully led the monkeys into the Water Curtain Cave, ascended the throne, and become the true Monkey King.

He would likely be anxious, searching everywhere since he could not find Shi Yu, unaware that his elder brother was not of this world and that any search would be in vain.

Shi Yu sighed. When would he be able to enter that world again?

He knew full well that the high-level soul training pod he had used this time was only available due to temporary permissions granted by Mr. Lin, and it was not a long-term solution. Meanwhile, the lower-level training pods on the second floor of the training building were unusable for him because his own soul level was already too high. He needed to find a proper way to resolve this dilemma.

Rubbing his brow, Shi Yu returned to the teaching building and walked into the classroom of Class 1, Grade 11.

The room was already filled with students who had finished their soul testing, all engaged in heated discussions about their results. Due to the limited number of soul testing pods, each class was divided into four batches; Shi Yu had been in the third. With ten classes in the entire grade at Yali High School and over five hundred students in total, it would take at least two days to complete the testing for everyone.

As Shi Yu stepped into the classroom, it was as if a king had arrived; the room fell instantly silent. It felt as though everyone was seeing him for the first time. Then, the atmosphere erupted like boiling water.

"Stone, you're insane!"
"What 'Stone'? Call him Brother Yu!"
"Brother Yu, sit here!"
"I want to get close to you and soak up some of that good luck!"

Surrounded by his classmates like stars around the moon, their excitement was palpable. Although they did not yet know his exact soul level, the golden vision he had displayed during the test had already spread through the class group chat.

The probability of witnessing one of the nine great soul manifestations was not one in a thousand, nor one in ten thousand, nor even one in a hundred thousand. It was one in several million!

The number of candidates for the Great Xia national college entrance examination had remained steady at around 25 million in recent years. In other words, there were only about ten students per year who exhibited such soul manifestations. In some years, there might be only six or seven, and even in peak years, it rarely exceeded fifteen. This was the total across all forty-two provinces in the country, meaning most provinces wouldn't produce a single such student.

Take Nanhu Province, for example; the last time a student with the nine manifestations appeared, Shi Yu’s cohort was still in elementary school. It was ancient history.

"Stone, what is your soul level?" someone asked excitedly. "Is it level nine?"

Another student scoffed, "How could it be? You're really looking down on Brother Yu."

"Level ten! I bet it's level ten!" a dark-skinned student declared, patting his chest with conviction.

"Damn, level ten soul? You could practically graduate from university already."

The crowd buzzed with speculation. Shi Yu, trapped in the center, shook his head helplessly. He didn't intend to keep them guessing, as this wasn't something he could hide anyway. He cleared his throat.

The students immediately quieted down, eyes fixed on him.

"Well... it’s like this," Shi Yu said, scratching his head. "My soul is level twelve."

Silence descended upon the entire class. They looked at each other, eyes wide with shock and disbelief. This was beyond their comprehension. It was like a normal student hearing that a top scholar had scored a perfect 150 on the college entrance exam.

"Did I hear that right?" someone murmured.

The dark-skinned student had already swallowed his bet. He kept repeating, "Terrifying! Simply terrifying!"

Someone else knelt on the floor: "We can't call him Brother Yu anymore. All hail God Yu!"

"My foster father is here!"
"God Yu truly possesses the qualities of a Great Emperor!"

Amidst the barrage of praise, Shi Yu sighed inwardly. That was just his soul level. If his physical constitution level were also tested, how would he even live? Fortunately, the end-of-term exams for Grade 11 only measured basic indicators like punch strength, speed, and reaction time. The true physical constitution test wouldn't happen until just before the college entrance exam, where it would be uniformly assessed and submitted to the Ministry of Education as part of the application materials.

...

After all the students had finished their evaluations and returned to the classroom, Lin Zhenfeng arrived.

"Now that you all know your soul levels, I will summarize the overall situation," Lin said, his sharp gaze sweeping across the room. "There are 52 students in this class, and all 52 have been tested."

"There are 21 students at level five. You must double your efforts over the next year. If you aren't at level six by the end of next May, you won't be able to apply to martial arts universities and will have to choose liberal arts colleges instead."

"There are 28 students at level six, with 12 of you above 6.5. The coming year is crucial. I hope you seize this final opportunity—don't neglect either your martial arts or your academic studies! If you work hard, getting into a provincial martial arts university will be no problem."

Lin Zhenfeng paused slightly. "As for the rest..."

"Two students at level seven: Li Luoke and Xia Yu."

Lin Zhenfeng nodded approvingly at these two. Level seven was already an excellent standard. Li Luoke was at 7.6, and Xia Yu at 7.2. Generally speaking, anything above 7.5 was at the level of the top two hundred in Star City, equivalent to a rank within the top thousand in the entire Nanhu Province. This was already very impressive and could essentially secure admission to a top-tier provincial university.

If one reached level eight or above, their cultivation talent was considered exceptional, making them the targets of intense competition from key national universities. Aside from the three top-tier institutions, which might remain selective, other schools would absolutely scramble for them.

Lin Zhenfeng’s gaze turned to the final student, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"As for the last one, I believe you all know."

"Shi Yu, soul level twelve!"

Even though they already knew, the announcement still drew gasps of astonishment. This staggering level was a cliff-like disparity compared to the others; it was no exaggeration to call it a dimensional strike. If the gap were smaller, there might be jealousy, but when the gap reached this extent, it only inspired awe, leaving no room for comparison.

The classroom buzzed like a wet market. Lin Zhenfeng took in their reactions, then gave a cold snort and slammed his hand on the desk, silencing the room instantly.

"I have told you some things before, and I will repeat them now."

"The soul is important, but it does not represent everything. It only indicates where you start; it does not determine where you will end up! Those with high levels should not be complacent, and those with lower levels should not belittle themselves."

"So-called destiny—the 'fate' part—may be unchangeable. But the 'fortune' of your future is in your own hands! What we must do now is work hard, strive, and fight. Don't let your youth be a regret!"