Once everyone had gathered, Zhong Tianyue stood up and delivered an impassioned speech before finally announcing the start of the exam.
In the simulation arena, hundreds of simulation pods were lined up, resembling the divine realm game pods but with different functions. These simulation pods could summon creatures from other dimensions to invade the students' divine realms during the exam.
The students' task was to withstand these invasions for as long as possible; the longer they held out, the better their scores would be.
Since it was a simulation, any injuries or deaths of the creatures in the students' realms wouldn't be permanent. Upon exiting the pods, everything would return to normal. The idea was to ensure the students' development wasn't hindered by significant losses.
The first batch of students soon took their places in the simulation pods.
Meanwhile, large virtual screens above the arena lit up, showing live feeds of the students' divine realms. Rivers, mountains, swamps, lakes... all appeared on the screens, though only rough overviews were shown to protect the students' privacy. During the actual exam, only a small portion of each divine realm would be displayed to prevent revealing too much of their development.
The screens switched between different students' realms, and the spectators could choose which ones to watch.
The students entered their divine realms through the simulation pods, which then connected to another dimension, triggering the invasion of their realms by the creatures from that dimension.
For Xu Luo, with his extensive invasion experience and upgraded invader title, watching these battles was incredibly dull.
If he were to evaluate them, "weaklings pecking at each other" would be the only appropriate description.
It was evident that without substantial resources, ordinary students struggled to develop their realms effectively. In just ten months of divine realm time, they could only do so much: build settlements, create tools, and perhaps expand their populations slightly. Not every species was as easy to maintain as the Zerg or had such steadfast faith.
Breeding and developing species was a long and costly process.
The invading creatures, though only at the Bronze tier, were well-armed with weapons and armor, and some even had skills. Against the unarmed species in the students' realms, the outcome was predictable.
After about ten minutes, the last student's divine realm was breached, and the first batch of students emerged from the pods.
Seeing the results, the class teachers of these students looked grim, but there was nothing they could do. This was the reality of the situation.
Without resource backing, ordinary students could only achieve so much. Each year, there were occasionally surprising outcomes, with some students lucky enough to start with powerful species, but these cases were rare.
Moreover, having a powerful starting species wasn't always beneficial. There was once a student who started with a mythical dragon, but as a regular student, he couldn't afford to feed it, and it starved within three days.
Even if given a strong species, ordinary people couldn't sustain it.
There were prodigies, but they were few and far between.
Batch after batch of students took their exams, with very few managing to last more than fifteen minutes, and those who did for twenty were even rarer.
Most students' divine realms were swiftly overrun, their core shattered by the invaders.
"This..."
Zhong Tianyue frowned deeply. The current batch of students seemed particularly weak. How would they fare in the upcoming Tianhai High School League, let alone the planetary or even interstellar selection?
Sixth Middle School hadn't produced a representative for the global league in many years.
The other school leaders exchanged glances, shaking their heads in disappointment. A standout student would benefit them all, but it seemed that apart from the elite class, the other students were unlikely to rise to the occasion.
"Next batch of students: Class 1, Class 15, Class 19, Class 24!"
The mechanical voice echoed through the arena.
With around 320 simulation pods available and only four classes left to take the exam, all remaining students would be tested together.
Sixth Middle School had 28 classes, each with about 50 students. Six classes were tested each time, with the classes chosen randomly.
"It's our turn, everyone. Don't stress too much, just perform as you normally would. Everyone will be watching your performance!" Zhang Jianming encouraged his students.
After each exam, many students found it hard to cope with the stress and the blow to their confidence.
At this point, however, the other three classes were merely background noise, as all attention was focused on Class 1.
"Class 1 is up?"
"They're the elite class! I've heard every student there is exceptional, either geniuses or from very wealthy families."
Students who had finished their exams and were dissatisfied with their performances perked up at the news.
Now they could see how they measured up against the elite class.
Meanwhile, some students pitied those from the other three classes. Without Class 1, standout performers in these classes could have drawn some attention. But with Class 1 in the mix, they would be overshadowed.
With Class 1's brilliance on display, who would notice the lesser talents?
Students who had finished their exams were relieved not to be in the same batch as Class 1, knowing they would have been completely overshadowed.
"Xu Luo, don't stress too much!"
Hearing the murmurs around them, Zhang Jianming patted Xu Luo on the shoulder.
He had high hopes for Xu Luo, the strongest student in his class.
"I understand, teacher."
Xu Luo nodded.
Pressure? What pressure?
They should be thankful this was a simulated battle against invaders and not a direct student vs. student confrontation. Otherwise, he would show them what true brutality looked like.