Chapter 121: Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate

Facing Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen's nervous and puzzled gazes, Zhang Pianpian spoke of another matter first.

"About several decades ago, the number of students admitted to the university's Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate program began to decrease."

"Do you know why the numbers were reduced?"

Zhang Pianpian didn't expect them to answer and continued on her own: "Because there's an annual quota for the total number of individuals who can achieve Foundation Establishment."

"Reducing the number of university students achieving Foundation Establishment was done to allocate a portion of the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificates to high school students."

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were stunned. University students allocating Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificates to high school students like them?

Are we worthy?

As if guessing their thoughts, Zhang Pianpian continued, "Not high school students like us."

Zhang Pianpian pointed upwards and said, "It's for those high school students higher up."

Amidst their surprised gazes, Zhang Pianpian further explained: "Do you think people in Kunxu from the second level upwards—for example, those on the fifth, tenth, or even twentieth level and beyond..."

"...those Golden Core Immortals, Nascent Soul Grand Cultivators, or even higher, like Soul Transformation and Void Refinement billionaires whose immortal wealth is already astronomical... would their descendants, offspring, and disciples have to take the college entrance exam and get into the Top Ten like us?"

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were slightly taken aback. Instinctively, they felt that high school students from higher levels probably didn't have to dutifully take the college entrance exam like them.

But how exactly did those high school students from higher levels enter the Immortal Path? How did they attend high school and university, apart from the Prodigy Class? Neither of them could imagine.

Zhang Pianpian then explained: "The descendants or disciples cultivated by those upper-level billionaires still have to abide by Kunxu's rules and enter the Immortal Path during high school."

"The Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificates I just mentioned being allocated to high school students are meant for this type of student. This led to a special examination—an exam for the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate that high school students can register for."

Bai Zhenzhen asked, "Can we also take this exam? Does that mean... we'd have to compete with high school students from the upper levels?"

Zhang Pianpian shook her head. After a moment's thought, she looked towards the shantytown on the opposite side of the river, located in the distant suburbs, and said, "In Songyang City, the wealthy residents in the city center will band together to suppress talented individuals emerging from the poor, finding ways to restrict the poor in schools to ensure their own advantages."

"But at the same time, these same wealthy people are funding food and daily necessities for the impoverished residents in the distant suburbs, providing jobs that cultivators are unwilling to do, helping the poor in the distant suburbs to multiply, and even giving them opportunities to study in the city center."

"Even among the poor, the attitudes of the wealthy in the city center towards different impoverished groups are vastly different."

"It's the same in Kunxu. For the Immortals at the pinnacle of the Ten Great Sects, the billionaires inside and outside the sects who aspire to become Immortals, along with their descendants and disciples, are targets for restriction and suppression."

"Meanwhile, people in the lower levels of Kunxu, perhaps like the impoverished areas in the distant suburbs, are meant to be supported, to continuously produce talented individuals from humble backgrounds."

Listening to Zhang Pianpian's words, the Evil God, disguised as a rosary bead, sneered and spoke in Zhang Yu's mind: "Heh heh, the Immortals... they want more and more people who want to go to university but can't, who want to join companies but can't get in, who want to join sects but can't, who want to become Immortals but can't achieve it... Only by having more such people can competition become more intense."

"Only by making the competition among those below more intense, forcing them to exhaust themselves, their families, and sacrifice everything for competition, can the profits of the Ten Great Sects soar. This allows those gods high above, those Immortals who look down upon Kunxu, to continue to comfortably enjoy their perch above the clouds."

The Evil God's tone revealed extreme envy, as if she wished she could also lie at the summit of Kunxu, enjoying the endless contributions of billions of living beings.

But suddenly, a thought struck her, and she realized something: "Wait a minute, damn it... Could it be one of the Evil God Kings who messed with me? Are they afraid I'll keep progressing and become a new Evil God King?"

Zhang Yu, of course, had no way of knowing the Evil God's thoughts. He merely listened to what the other party said in his mind, a contemplative look flashing in his eyes.

Originally, in his mind, all wealthy people—whether in Songyang City, Kunxu's second level, or Kunxu's third level—were simply "wealthy people," like a single symbol, and he hadn't bothered to distinguish between them.

But at this moment, Zhang Yu truly realized the vast difference between different wealthy individuals.

Especially within the different levels of Kunxu, wealthy people one, two, or three levels above him would treat him differently.

And each level of wealthy individuals would, in turn, have entirely different attitudes towards those below or above them at various levels.

Thus, various forms of suppression, competition, co-option, support, and exploitation formed an incredibly complex web of relationships throughout Kunxu, like a tangled mess.

Meanwhile, Zhang Pianpian continued speaking.

She said, "In short, the high school Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate examination was ultimately decided upon by the Heavenly Court."

"Besides the quota for high school students from higher levels, to exceptionally select and promote talents from all layers, a certain number of Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificates were also allocated to high school students on each lower level, with competition occurring among students within each of those levels."

"However, the lower the level, the fewer the quotas."

Listening to Zhang Pianpian's words, Zhang Yu seemed to envision the countless bloody struggles surrounding this 'High School Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate Examination'.

He wondered how much maneuvering and conflict had occurred at the higher levels of Kunxu to establish such a Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate Examination for high school students that existed at every level.

Zhang Pianpian continued, "However... although this examination was also arranged for Kunxu's first level due to the Heavenly Court's insistence."

"But just as wealthy people in the city center might support suburban commoners, giving them opportunities for high school interviews, and then wealthy high schoolers suppress the poor students who get in."

"Similarly, even though the Heavenly Court mandated the high school Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate examination for Kunxu's first level, over the years, it has gradually been monopolized by the top powers of Kunxu's first level."

"On one hand, various methods were used to jointly conceal information, leading to the exam gradually becoming unmentioned in Kunxu's first level year after year, with fewer and fewer people knowing about it."

"It can be said... this is a path hidden from most high school students in Kunxu's first level."

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 immediately understood that this was another instance of information asymmetry, a crucial competitive tool in Kunxu that Zhang Pianpian had always emphasized.

Just like his previous divine profession outsourcing exam, ordinary high school students had no idea about it.

This Foundation Establishment Certificate exam was no different; ordinary high school students, let alone taking the qualification exam, might not even know such an exam or the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate itself existed.

He even suspected that many teachers probably didn't know there was a Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate exam for high school students.

For example, Lei Jun, who had once told him about taking the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate exam for university, probably didn't know about high school students taking it.

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 in all of Kunxu's first level... so much so that they aspire to obtain the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate before university."

"And Kunxu's first level only has 4 quotas per year. Excluding Daoist arts, which are not considered a selection criterion, these 4 spots are for the most outstanding high school students in four different areas: Dao Heart, Mana, Physical Fitness, and Martial Arts."

"To secure this certificate, you essentially need to become one of the four strongest high school students in Kunxu's first level. This inherent difficulty, in itself, is another form of monopoly by the top powers of Kunxu's first level."

Looking at Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen's solemn expressions, Zhang Pianpian calmly said, "As I just told you, to climb up in Kunxu, you cannot do without exams and certificates."

"For example, when it comes to getting into the Top Ten elite universities, even if various upward paths can be found within the rules... every path ultimately requires an exam."

"If you choose to take the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate exam instead of joining the Prodigy Class, it will simply be another, even more difficult, exam."

Just from Zhang Pianpian's simple description, Bai Zhenzhen could feel the difficulty of this exam. However, with no hope of entering the Prodigy Class, she was willing to try, no matter how difficult or intense the competition, as long as it meant getting into the Top Ten.

In contrast, what worried her more was the monopoly of this exam by Kunxu's top powers in the first level.

So Bai Zhenzhen asked, "If we take this exam, will there be danger? Like how the wealthy in Songyang City banded together to block poor students from getting into the Top Ten?"

Zhang Pianpian said, "Based on the intelligence I've gathered from the Inspectorate, the high school Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate exam is, after all, an exam set by the Heavenly Court. Its standards are not low, and its rules are very strict, specifically designed to exceptionally select talents from all levels."

"It includes various measures to prevent cheating and to prevent students from higher levels from descending to compete for quotas."

"To prevent cheating, all students must participate anonymously, with hidden identities, and the exam is personally administered by the Eight Righteous Deities."

"The top powers in Kunxu's first level might be able to deceive the public outside the examination, concealing information about it."

"They might be able to raise the standards of their own high school students, making the exam more difficult."

"However, they absolutely cannot cheat in this Heavenly Court-mandated exam, nor do they dare to penetrate the protection of the Eight Righteous Deities to discover the identities of the participants."

"In other words, as long as you can successfully register, you don't have to worry about your identities being exposed."

Bai Zhenzhen then asked her second question of concern: "If we pass the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate exam, can we get into the Top Ten?"

Zhang Pianpian answered truthfully: "As long as you obtain the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate, a college entrance exam score of over 600 will grant you admission to any of the Top Ten elite universities without an interview."

"This means that once you have the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate, you won't need to reveal your true strength or intentions during your remaining high school years. You can simply take the college entrance exam quietly and gain admission to the Top Ten, without provoking the wealthy families to collectively suppress you."

"This way, the situation where wealthy families in Songyang City band together to eliminate you won't occur."

Zhang Pianpian said, "But you must understand, this process is by no means simple."

After a moment's thought, she continued, "It's currently mid-April, and registration for the next Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate exam on Kunxu's first level... will likely begin in mid-June, shortly after I leave."

"Then, the first round of the exam will be in August, the second round in early October, and the final round in early January next year. That will be roughly halfway through your second year of high school."

"This means... after I leave, you'll have to attend school while completing the exams."

"During this process, you will also face various threats on your own, without my protection."

"Of course, as long as you don't reveal your intention to take the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate exam or your goal of getting into the Top Ten, there won't be a joint suppression by Songyang City's powerful families."

"However, individuals like Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling will definitely come after you once I'm gone."

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen both nodded discreetly upon hearing this. Compared to the joint suppression by powerful families, they believed that threats solely from Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling could be overcome as long as they supported and looked out for each other.

In contrast, the inherent difficulty of the Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate exam itself might be the most challenging aspect of the entire endeavor.

Zhang Pianpian looked at Zhang Yu and said, "Are you now certain you want to give up on the Prodigy Class and take the more difficult Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate exam?"

Before Zhang Yu could answer, the Evil God spoke first in his mind: "Agree to it."

"You can get this Foundation Establishment Qualification Certificate!"