Chapter 39: Even Among Geniuses, There Are Gaps!

The students of Class 8 from Jiangcheng No. 1 High School felt even more inferior. It wasn't just because of the taunts from the students of Minchang No. 1 High School; it was more that they were passing through the security gates alongside examinees from other base cities. Everyone else at least had a green marker, while they had white ones hanging above their heads. Although the actual exam hadn't officially begun, this gate mechanism made countless people witness the disparities of the world and the gap between themselves and others.

Even Lin Yi felt a sense of lament. It was too realistic. Although the original intention of this design was to facilitate the screening of examinees and allow them to choose a reasonable difficulty range, it was certainly a blow to morale.

Soon, Lin Yi arrived in front of the gate. As he stepped through, he noticed a staff icon slowly emerging above his head. A Knight's icon was a warhammer, and a Warrior's was an iron sword; naturally, a Mage's was a staff. However, the icon wasn't the point. The point was the star marker that appeared alongside the class icon.

The moment the golden starlight appeared, an uproar erupted throughout the entire exam venue!

"Holy cow, gold!"
"Which big shot has a golden star above their head?!"
"Ahhh, my titanium-alloy eyes, they're going to go blind!"
"Damn, is this the legendary gold? It looks so good!"
"Worship the big shot!"

With the exclamations of countless people, combined with the sheer number of people walking through the gates, the golden marker stood out starkly against a sea of blue and green, not to mention the few purple markers that were already considered eye-catching. In an instant, Lin Yi garnered significant attention.

This naturally included his classmates from Class 8. Every examinee from Jiangcheng No. 1 High School was stunned.

"Holy crap, Lin Yi has a golden marker!"
"Damn it!"
"Isn't he level 20? Shouldn't he be a green marker, or at most a blue one?"
"Nonsense, this just means Zhang Shan completely underestimated the level of the Great Demon King Lin!"
"Damn! A gold marker, that is way too awesome!"
"I feel like I'm just here to make up the numbers..."
"How is the gap between people even bigger than the gap between humans and dogs..."

Zhang Shan, whose face had been burning with frustration, was now completely dumbfounded, followed by a surge of pure ecstasy! If he hadn't already been funneled into the queue for the white markers, he would have rushed over to give Lin Yi a bear hug. He was thrilled. He knew his brother could never be a mediocre or ordinary person, but he hadn't expected Lin Yi to give him such a massive surprise.

In another queue for green markers, Jiang Ya looked at the golden marker above Lin Yi's head and revealed a smile of relief. Yes, she was completely at peace. She was even happy for the achievements Lin Yi had attained. Furthermore, she knew that from now on, she and Lin Yi would likely be living in two different worlds.

As for those examinees from Minchang No. 1 High School who had been so arrogant, they were now speechless and stunned. Watching the golden marker flickering above Lin Yi's head, they all looked like poultry with their necks pinched, gasping for air. Recalling their mockery on the bus and all the way since they arrived, they suddenly felt like they were the clowns. Someone whose level was far beyond theirs had been quietly resting with his eyes closed on the bus, showing no intention of arguing with them at all. It turned out that they were the ones who were unworthy.

The next moment, everyone from Minchang High School felt their faces flush with shame. They hung their heads, wishing they could be swallowed by the crowd so that Lin Yi wouldn't notice them.

"Hello, student, please come with me," said a female examiner who was escorting Lin Yi. Perhaps because of Lin Yi's handsome appearance or the golden marker above his head, Lin Yi noticed that while the other examiners were stern and fierce, this particular one was exceptionally polite to him.

Following the examiner, Lin Yi soon saw an exam hall entrance marked "Entrance 1" in the distance. Over twenty people were already standing in front of it.

"Student, please register your exact level and class specialization at Entrance 1, then choose your difficulty," the female examiner gave Lin Yi a warm smile, provided the final guidance, and left.

Lin Yi walked slowly toward the gate of Entrance 1. At the same time, he saw the neighboring Entrances 2 and 3. The number of people at those entrances was massive, exceeding a thousand. The markers above their heads were all purple. It was easy to imagine how many people were waiting at the entrances for white, green, and blue markers. In contrast, there were only about twenty people waiting at Entrance 1, where he was about to enter.

Upon walking closer, Lin Yi was not surprised to find that the star markers above these people’s heads were, like his, gold. These were likely the so-called "geniuses" cultivated by the top-tier schools and prominent families in the major base cities across Dongjiang.

There were 22 exam venues in total throughout Tianhai. If each venue had about 20 people with gold markers, then across the entire Dongjiang region, there were only about 400 people in this year's batch of awakeners who had reached level 25 or higher. Compared to the more than 100,000 examinees in Dongjiang, this was the tiny fraction standing at the very top of the pyramid.

As Lin Yi approached, the men and women already waiting outside Entrance 1 noticed the new arrival.

"Someone from Jiangcheng?"
"No way, what kind of place is that? Why haven't I heard of it?"
"It seems to be a remote base city in our province..."
"You've got to be kidding me. Is there something wrong with the gate? How can a place like that produce a gold marker?"

Clearly, these so-called geniuses, even if not particularly close, had at least crossed paths before. But Lin Yi was a complete stranger.

"Hello, examinee, please come over to register," said an examiner in a stern uniform.

Lin Yi looked at the others. It was obvious that with only twenty or so people, the registration process at Entrance 1 was incredibly fast. These people had likely already finished registering. Lin Yi stepped forward. As the examiner waved a hand, a spiritual crystal projection screen appeared in front of Lin Yi. Just as he was about to touch the crystal to record his information, he heard a flamboyant voice from behind.

"Hey, brother, it's not easy to reach level 25, is it?"
"Here's a friendly piece of advice: don't choose the Nightmare difficulty, or you'll be cried into submission by the monsters inside!"

Lin Yi turned slightly to see a boy with dyed yellow hair who thought he was very handsome. As the yellow-haired boy stirred up the crowd, several other examinees beside him chuckled in low voices: "Brother Kai, there are gaps even among those with gold markers."
"Not everyone can be like you, reaching level 29, haha!"

The yellow-haired boy felt smug. He was more concerned with the opinion of a stunningly beautiful girl standing beside him. However, when he turned to look at her, he saw a hint of disgust in her eyes. The girl parted her lips slightly: "Zhao Kai, there's no need to use this method to attract my attention."

It was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head; Zhao Kai and his lackeys fell silent instantly. Meanwhile, the girl cast her gaze toward Lin Yi. A moment later, her eyes narrowed, and a look of disbelief appeared on her face.

Because she clearly saw that the moment Lin Yi's hand touched the spiritual crystal, a level number popped up on the screen: 42!

At that moment, everyone at Entrance 1 was stunned. The person who had just spoken about the gaps between gold markers had his brain completely short-circuit. He was right. There were indeed gaps among the so-called geniuses.