Facing the tense and bewildered stares of Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, Zhang Pianpian started off with a different topic altogether.

“Roughly a few decades ago, the number of admissions for the university-level Foundation License program began to shrink.”

“Do you know why?”

She clearly wasn’t expecting them to answer and continued on her own. “Because there’s a cap on the total number of Foundation Establishments allowed each year.”

“And reducing the number of licenses issued through universities was to reserve a portion of them for high school students.”

Huh?

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were stunned. University students giving up Foundation Licenses for high schoolers?

Do we even deserve that?

Seemingly reading their minds, Zhang Pianpian added, “Not high schoolers like us.”

She gestured upward. “High schoolers up there.”

The two looked at her, puzzled, as she explained further. “Think about those living on the higher floors of Kunxu—people on the fifth, tenth, or even twentieth floor…”

“Those Gold Core Cultivators, Nascent Soul experts, and even higher up—Transformation and Void Refining stage super-rich. Their wealth in the Immortal Path is beyond imagination… Do you think their children, descendants, or disciples take the university entrance exam like we do, hoping to get into the Ten Great Academies?”

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen blinked. Their gut instinct said: of course not. Those "upstairs" kids probably don’t need to sit through exams like them.

But then how exactly do those students enter the Immortal Path? Aside from the Heaven's Chosen Class, how do they go through high school and university? They had no idea.

Zhang Pianpian explained, “Even the offspring or disciples of the ultra-rich have to follow the rules of Kunxu. They still need to step onto the Immortal Path while in high school.”

“The Foundation Licenses reserved for high school students—those are for that kind of student. That’s why there’s a special exam: an exam high schoolers can register for to earn a Foundation License.”

Bai Zhenzhen asked, “Can we take that exam too? Wait… don’t tell me we’d have to compete with those elite high schoolers?”

Zhang Pianpian shook her head. After a moment’s thought, she looked toward the slums across the river in the outskirts and said, “In Songyang City, the wealthy in the city center band together to suppress the rise of geniuses from poor families. In schools, they use every trick to limit the poor, to maintain their own dominance.”

“But these same wealthy people also fund food programs, distribute daily necessities, offer menial jobs that cultivators don’t want to do, and help the poor in the outskirts survive—and even give some a chance to study in city schools.”

“The attitude of rich people in the city center toward different types of poor people is completely different.”

“It’s the same in Kunxu. To the immortals at the top of the Ten Great Sects, those super-rich folks yearning for immortality—their descendants, disciples—are the ones to suppress.”

“But the lower levels of Kunxu? They’re like the outskirts—fertile ground for the rise of poor geniuses.”

As she spoke, the Evil God disguised as a prayer bead let out a cold chuckle in Zhang Yu’s mind: “Heh… the immortals just want more and more people who want to go to college but can’t, want to enter a company but aren’t accepted, want to join a sect but are rejected, want to become immortal but never make it…”

“Only when the competition below is this fierce—people squeezing themselves dry, draining their families, sacrificing everything—can the Ten Great Sects reap maximum profit. That’s how the gods above, the immortals overlooking Kunxu, continue living in luxury atop their clouds.”

There was a deep jealousy in the Evil God's voice—she sounded like she’d trade anything to lie comfortably at the top of Kunxu, feeding off billions.

But suddenly, she paused and muttered, “Wait a minute… Don’t tell me this whole mess is because some damn Evil God King sabotaged me? Afraid I’d keep rising and become the next Evil God King?”

Whatever she was thinking, Zhang Yu had no way of knowing. He was just listening to her words in his mind, a contemplative glint flashing in his eyes.

Until now, he'd always lumped all the wealthy together—rich people in Songyang City, rich people on Kunxu’s second or third floor—they were just symbols to him. He never cared to differentiate.

But now, he truly realized: there are huge gaps among the wealthy.

Especially in Kunxu, each floor marked a hierarchy. Those a floor above him treated him differently than those two or three floors above. Likewise, each tier treated people below or above them with entirely different attitudes.

Suppression, competition, manipulation, exploitation, support… All tangled into a web of relationships sprawling through Kunxu—an impossible knot.

Zhang Pianpian’s voice continued.

“In any case, the high school-level Foundation License exam was ultimately ratified by the Heavenly Court.”

“Besides the quota for the elite high schoolers, each floor was also granted a limited number of slots for their own high school students, to identify and promote talent from every tier.”

“But the lower the floor, the fewer the spots.”

Listening to her, Zhang Yu could already envision the storm of blood this exam must’ve caused.

One could only imagine how many power struggles and negotiations took place among Kunxu’s upper ranks to even allow such an exam on every floor.

Zhang Pianpian added, “That said, even though the exam was extended down to Kunxu’s First Floor under Heavenly Court pressure…”

“It’s like how city-center rich people give the outskirts poor a chance to interview for high school, but then the high school’s rich students suppress them all over again.”

“Even though the exam was formally introduced to the First Floor, it’s already been gradually monopolized by the top-tier powers here.”

“On one hand, they’ve worked together to bury the information. Year after year, fewer people talk about it, and fewer still even know it exists.”

“In short… this is a path hidden from the vast majority of First Floor high school students.”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. If Zhang Pianpian hadn’t told him today, he might’ve never known about this exam his whole life.

He immediately understood: this was yet another information gap—something Zhang Pianpian always emphasized as a key weapon in Kunxu’s cutthroat system.

Just like the outsourced Divine Role exam he once took—normal high schoolers knew nothing about it.

Same with this Foundation License exam. Most high school students didn’t just miss the chance to take it—they probably didn’t even know it existed.

He suspected even most teachers weren’t aware of it.

Even Lei Jun, who once explained how to take the Foundation License exam in college, probably didn’t know it could be taken in high school.

Zhang Pianpian went on. “On the other hand, the students who do manage to take this exam are the strongest, most talented, and wealthiest high schoolers on the First Floor—those who dare dream of earning a Foundation License before college.”

“Only four slots are available each year on Kunxu’s First Floor. Excluding Dao Techniques, which aren’t considered for evaluation, the four slots are awarded in four distinct categories: Dao Heart, Mana, Athletics, and Martial Arts.”

“To win this license, you basically have to become one of the four strongest high schoolers on the First Floor. That difficulty alone is another form of monopoly by the top-tier powers.”

Seeing the grim looks on Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen’s faces, Zhang Pianpian said flatly, “Like I said—if you want to climb in Kunxu, you can’t avoid exams and licenses.”

“Take getting into the Ten Great Academies. No matter which path you choose… you’ll hit an exam at the end.”

“Skipping the Heaven’s Chosen Class to go for the Foundation License just means choosing an even harder exam.”

Just from her brief explanation, Bai Zhenzhen could already feel how brutal this exam would be. But with no hope of entering the Heaven’s Chosen Class, if this path led to the Ten Great Academies, she’d try—no matter how fierce the competition.

What truly worried her, though, was the First Floor’s elite forces monopolizing the exam.

She asked, “If we take the exam, will we be in danger? Like how the city’s rich collude to crush poor kids trying to get into the top schools?”

Zhang Pianpian replied, “From what I’ve learned through the Inspectorate Department, the high school Foundation License exam is an official Heavenly Court event. Its standards are high, and its rules are strict—meant specifically to promote true talent from every tier.”

“There are mechanisms to prevent cheating and stop upper-floor students from coming down to steal slots.”

“To prevent fraud, all candidates must keep their identities hidden. The Eight Divine Officials oversee it personally.”

“Kunxu First Floor’s elites might suppress info about the exam, or train their students harder to raise the bar.”

“But they absolutely cannot cheat during the exam or break through the Eight Divine Officials’ protection to leak a candidate’s identity.”

“In short, if you manage to register, you don’t need to worry about your identity being exposed.”

Bai Zhenzhen asked her second question. “If we pass the Foundation License exam, can we get into the Ten Great Academies?”

Zhang Pianpian answered truthfully, “If you obtain the Foundation License, all you need is a score of 600 or higher on the university entrance exam—you’ll be admitted to any of the Ten Great Academies without even needing an interview.”

“In other words, once you have the license, you can spend the rest of high school hiding your true strength and intentions. As long as you quietly take the entrance exam, you won’t attract the rich families’ wrath.”

“No need to fear the kind of group hunt the Songyang City clans would launch.”

“But understand: this won’t be easy.”

She paused to think. “It’s mid-April now. The next Foundation License exam for Kunxu’s First Floor begins registration around mid-June—shortly after I leave.”

“First round is in August, second round in early October, and final round in early January—about halfway through your sophomore year.”

“That means once I’m gone, you’ll have to balance school and the exam at the same time.”

“And without my protection, you’ll face all threats on your own.”

“Of course, as long as you don’t reveal your exam plans or your goal of entering the Ten Great Academies, the big clans in Songyang City won’t come after you.”

“But Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling—those two will definitely target you once I leave.”

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen both nodded silently. Compared to a city-wide clan hunt, dealing with Zhou Chechen and Lan Ling seemed manageable. As long as they had each other’s support, they believed they could overcome it.

No—the real obstacle would be the difficulty of the Foundation License exam itself.

Zhang Pianpian looked directly at Zhang Yu. “So, have you really decided to give up the Heaven’s Chosen Class… to go for the much harder Foundation License instead?”

Before Zhang Yu could reply, the Evil God had already spoken in his mind:

“Say yes.”

“You can win that Foundation License.”