Chapter 121: The Foundation Establishment Certificate
Facing Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s tense and bewildered gazes, Zhang Pianpian first spoke of another matter.
“About a few decades ago, the number of planned admissions for the university’s Foundation Establishment certificate program began to shrink.”
“Do you know why the numbers were reduced?”
Zhang Pianpian didn’t expect the two to answer, continuing on her own, “Because the total number of people who can achieve Foundation Establishment each year is limited.”
“And reducing the number for universities was done to allocate a portion of the Foundation Establishment certificates to high school students.”
Huh?
Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were shocked. University students were allocating Foundation Establishment certificates to them, high schoolers?
Were they worthy?
As if guessing their thoughts, Zhang Pianpian continued, “Not high school students like us.”
Zhang Pianpian pointed upward and said, “It’s for those high school students up there.”
Under their surprised gazes, Zhang Pianpian explained further, “Do you think those people on the second layer of Kunxu and above, like those on the fifth, tenth, or even twentieth layers…”
“Those Golden Core True Monarchs, Nascent Soul great cultivators, and even the super-rich higher up, like those at the Spirit Transformation or Void Refinement realms, whose Immortal Dao wealth is already an astronomical figure… do you think their children, descendants, and disciples will be like us, having to take the college entrance exam to get into the Ten Greats?”
Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen paused. Intuitively, they almost instinctively felt that the high school students from above probably didn’t have to obediently take the college entrance exam like them.
But as for how those students from above actually entered the Immortal Dao, or how they went through high school and university, aside from the Prodigy Class… the two of them couldn’t imagine it.
Zhang Pianpian went on to explain, “The descendants or disciples cultivated by those upper-level super-rich still have to abide by Kunxu’s rules and enter the Immortal Dao in high school.”
“The allocation of Foundation Establishment certificates to high school students that I just mentioned was for that kind of high school student. This led to the creation of a special exam, an exam for the Foundation Establishment certificate that high school students can register for.”
Bai Zhenzhen asked, “Can we also participate in this kind of exam? Does that mean… we’d have to compete with the high school students from the upper layers?”
Zhang Pianpian shook her head, thought for a moment, and looked at the slums in the distant suburbs across the river.
“In Songyang City, the rich in the city center will band together to suppress the geniuses that emerge from among the poor, and they will try every means possible in school to limit the poor and ensure their own advantages.”
“But at the same time, it is these same rich people who pay to distribute food and some daily necessities to the paupers in the suburbs, provide jobs that cultivators are unwilling to do, help the paupers in the suburbs to reproduce, and even give them the opportunity to study in the city center.”
“They are all poor people, yet the attitude of the rich in the city center towards different poor people is completely different.”
“The same applies to Kunxu. To the immortals who stand at the pinnacle of the Ten Great Sects, the super-rich both inside and outside the sects who wish to become immortals, along with their descendants and disciples, are targets for restriction and suppression.”
“Meanwhile, the people in the lower layers of Kunxu, perhaps like this suburban slum, are considered a group to be supported, a source from which to constantly produce poor geniuses.”
Listening to Zhang Pianpian’s words, the evil god, still disguised as a prayer bead, sneered coldly in Zhang Yu’s mind.
“Hehe, the immortals… they want to make sure that the number of people who want to go to university but can’t, who want to join a company but can’t get in, who want to join a sect but can’t, who want to become immortal but can’t achieve it… they want more and more such people, so that the competition becomes increasingly fierce.”
“Only by making the competition among those below more and more intense, making them exhaust themselves, their families, and offer up everything for the sake of competition, can the profits of the Ten Great Sects grow higher and higher, enough for those lofty gods, those immortals who look down upon Kunxu, to continue to sit comfortably above the clouds.”
The evil god’s tone was filled with extreme envy, as if it wished it could be the one lying at the pinnacle of Kunxu, enjoying the endless contributions of trillions of living beings.
But suddenly, a thought struck it, and it realized something.
Wait, speaking of which… could it be that some Evil God King did this to me? Afraid that I would continue to advance and become a new Evil God King?
Zhang Yu naturally had no way of knowing the evil god’s thoughts. He only listened to its words in his mind, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.
Originally, in his mind, all rich people who were wealthier than him, whether they were the rich of Songyang City, the rich of Kunxu’s second layer, or the rich of Kunxu’s third layer, were all just rich people, like a single symbol, and he couldn’t be bothered to distinguish between them.
But at this moment, Zhang Yu truly realized the vast difference between one rich person and another.
Especially on the different levels of Kunxu, the attitudes of rich people one, two, or three layers above him towards him would all be different.
And the attitude of the rich on each of these layers towards people of different levels below or above them would, in turn, be completely different.
Thus, various forms of suppression, competition, alliance, support, and exploitation… incredibly complex relationships ran through Kunxu like a tangled mess of yarn.
Meanwhile, Zhang Pianpian continued to speak.
She said, “In any case, the high school Foundation Establishment certificate exam was ultimately established by the Heavenly Court.”
“In addition to the spots for the high school students from above, in order to make exceptions and promote geniuses from all layers, a certain number of Foundation Establishment certificate spots were also given to the high school students of each lower layer, to be competed for among the students of that layer.”
“It’s just that the lower the layer, the fewer the spots.”
Listening to Zhang Pianpian’s words, Zhang Yu could almost see the countless bloody battles that must have surrounded this ‘high school Foundation Establishment certificate exam.’
He had no idea how much political maneuvering and how many struggles had taken place in the upper echelons of Kunxu to establish such an exam for high school students on every layer.
Zhang Pianpian continued, “However… although this exam was also arranged for the first layer of Kunxu at the insistence of the Heavenly Court.”
“But just like how the rich in the city center will support the commoners in the suburbs and give them a chance to interview for high school, yet the rich in the high school will then suppress the poor students who get in.”
“Although the Heavenly Court arranged a high school Foundation Establishment certificate exam for the first layer of Kunxu, over the years, it has gradually been monopolized by the top powers of the first layer.”
“On one hand, various methods have been used to jointly conceal information, so that after year after year, this exam is gradually no longer mentioned on the first layer of Kunxu, and fewer and fewer people know about it.”
“You could say… this is a path that is hidden from the vast majority of high school students on the first layer of Kunxu.”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly. If Zhang Pianpian hadn’t told him today, he might never have known about this exam in his entire life.
He instantly understood that this was another information gap, a crucial tool in Kunxu’s competition that Zhang Pianpian had always emphasized.
It was just like the time he took the divine ministry outsourcing exam; ordinary high school students were completely ignorant of it.
This Foundation Establishment certificate exam was the same. Ordinary high school students wouldn’t just be unable to take it; they might not even know of the existence of such an exam, or even the certificate itself.
He even suspected that many teachers were probably unaware of this high school-level exam.
For example, Lei Jun, who had once told him about the university exam for the Foundation Establishment certificate, was likely ignorant of this matter for high school students.
Zhang Pianpian continued, “On the other hand, the remaining high school students who can participate in this exam are the strongest, most talented, and wealthiest… those who aspire to obtain the Foundation Establishment certificate even before university.”
“And the number of spots for the first layer is only four per year. Excluding Daoist arts, which are not considered a selection criterion, these four spots are for the most outstanding high school students in four different areas: Dao heart, magic power, athletics, and martial arts.”
“To win this certificate basically means you have to become one of the four strongest high school students on the entire first layer of Kunxu. This level of difficulty, in itself, is another form of monopoly by the top powers of the first layer.”
Seeing Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s solemn expressions, Zhang Pianpian said flatly, “Just as I told you earlier, if you want to climb up in Kunxu, you can’t do it without exams and certificates.”
“Take getting into a top-ten university, for example. Even if you can find various different upward paths within the rules… every single path ultimately comes down to an exam.”
“Choosing to take the Foundation Establishment certificate exam instead of the Prodigy Class will only be another, more difficult exam.”
Just from listening to Zhang Pianpian’s brief description, Bai Zhenzhen could feel the difficulty of this exam. But with the Prodigy Class out of reach, as long as she could get into the Ten Greats, she was willing to try, no matter how difficult or intense the competition.
In comparison, she was more worried about the monopoly the top powers of the first layer had on this exam.
Thus, Bai Zhenzhen asked, “If we participate in this exam, will there be danger? Like the rich people of Songyang City ganging up to block the poor from getting into the Ten Greats?”
Zhang Pianpian replied, “Based on the intelligence I’ve obtained from the Inspection Department, the high school Foundation Establishment certificate exam is, after all, an exam established by the Heavenly Court. Its standards are high, and its rules are extremely strict, precisely to make exceptions for and select geniuses from all layers.”
“There are various measures in place to prevent cheating and to stop students from higher layers from dropping down to compete for spots.”
“And to prevent cheating, all students must have their identities hidden from the public, a process personally carried out by the Eight Ministries of Righteous Gods.”
“The top powers of the first layer might be able to deceive the public and conceal information about the exam outside the testing grounds.”
“They might be able to raise the standards of their own high school students, making the exam even harder.”
“But they would never be able to cheat in an exam established by the Heavenly Court, much less dare to penetrate the protection of the Eight Ministries of Righteous Gods to leak a contestant’s identity.”
“In other words, as long as you can successfully register, you won’t have to worry about your identity being exposed.”
Bai Zhenzhen then asked the second question on her mind, “And if we get the Foundation Establishment certificate, can we get into the Ten Greats?”
Zhang Pianpian stated the plain truth, “As long as you obtain the Foundation Establishment certificate, you only need a college entrance exam score of 600 or above to be admitted into any of the top-ten universities without an interview.”
“This means that once you have the Foundation Establishment certificate, you won’t need to expose your true strength and purpose for the rest of your high school life. You can just quietly participate in the college entrance exam and get into the Ten Greats without attracting a joint suppression from the rich.”
“This way, you can avoid the situation of the rich families of Songyang City ganging up to crush you.”
Zhang Pianpian said, “But you must understand, this process will not be simple.”
She thought for a moment, then continued, “It is now mid-April, and the next Foundation Establishment certificate exam for the first layer of Kunxu… registration will begin around mid-June, shortly after I leave.”
“Then the first round of exams is in August, the second round in early October, and the final round will be held in early January of next year, which will be around the time you are halfway through your second year.”
“This means… you will have to complete the exams while still attending school, after I have left.”
“During this process, you will also have to face various threats on your own, without my protection.”
“Of course, as long as you don’t expose the fact that you’re taking the exam for the Foundation Establishment certificate, and don’t expose your goal of getting into the Ten Greats, you won’t face a joint suppression from the great clans of Songyang City.”
“But people like Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling will definitely come after you once I’m gone.”
Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen both nodded silently at this. But compared to a joint suppression by the great clans, the threat from just Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling was something they believed they could overcome as long as they had each other’s support and help.
In contrast, the difficulty of the Foundation Establishment certificate exam itself was perhaps the hardest part of this whole affair.
Zhang Pianpian looked at Zhang Yu and said, “Are you certain now that you want to give up the Prodigy Class and take the much harder exam for the Foundation Establishment certificate?”
Before Zhang Yu could answer, the evil god had already spoken first in his mind, “Tell her yes.”
“You can take this Foundation Establishment certificate!”