[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ascending-to-divinity":3,"chapter-ascending-to-divinity-ascending-to-divinity-chapter-27":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Ascending to Divinity",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2280577,4461,"Chapter 27: White Night Neon","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-27",27,"\u003Cp>Du Fang stood before the cabin window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing at the towering mountain that pierced the heavens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Linjiang Academy is built on a mountain? How tall is it?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Xuan chuckled: “This mountain range stretches a thousand li, spanning the entire Linjiang Prefecture.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Its base is Linjiang State.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As for its height...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Xuan extended his hand and traced a line on the particle glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This Whale-Ray vessel ascends vertically.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It takes over ten minutes to reach the mid-slope.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, the Whale-Ray vessel suddenly accelerated!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dense clouds on either side were violently torn apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even producing a roaring, explosive sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside Cabin 1, blue light flickered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cold mechanical voice sounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Destination: Linjiang Academy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Time remaining: 10 minutes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Passengers in Cabin 1, prepare for disembarkation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing the announcement, the new students in the cabin began packing their belongings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian finished his drink, set down his backpack, and said: “For the departmental assessment, we’ll likely be at a disadvantage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ling sat beside him, turned her head, and asked: “Jiang Jian, what do you mean by that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Students from Linjiang State hold a privilege: priority in departmental assignment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian fastened his black cloth bag and gazed out the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The annual departmental assessment for new students at Linjiang Academy is a major event.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After all,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“the academy’s ranking determines the amount of resource subsidies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We are outsiders from other states.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Linjiang State is the primary source of students for Linjiang Academy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Priority in departmental assignment—meaning, naturally,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“if two candidates have identical assessment scores,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“the student from Linjiang State is admitted first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only then do we outsiders get considered.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ling’s eyes flashed with indignation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet she understood,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>these were matters beyond her control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ling organized her backpack and said: “But we’re Level 3 Talents—getting into the First Department shouldn’t be hard, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian smiled faintly and shook his head: “The First Department has only fifty spots.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are already twenty-two Level 3 Talents here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And don’t forget,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“these twenty-two are only the Level 3 Talents Gu Qi gathered after traveling through six states.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not to mention students from other states.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just consider Linjiang State itself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I checked the Linjiang Prefecture forum earlier—it had the results of Linjiang State’s major exam.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Linjiang State alone had forty Level 3 Talents this year!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Based on discussions on the prefecture forum, I can roughly estimate,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian swiped the screen and shut off his identity device.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This year’s entire cohort of new students at Linjiang Academy,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Level 3 Talents,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“total around ninety.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ninety.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Competing for the top fifty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not easy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the Whale-Ray vessel began to slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the blazing sunlight,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the massive cabin windows on either side grew increasingly transparent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Destination: Linjiang Academy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Time remaining: 1 minute.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cabin 1 passengers, prepare to disembark!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The announcement came again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Fang suddenly turned his head, his expression stunned: “Jiang Jian, Song Ling, come look!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian raised an eyebrow, rose from the couch, and walked over to Du Fang’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Fang’s mouth hung open, his finger pointing outside the glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian looked through the particle glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An unimaginably vast mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It could no longer even be called a mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It stood like an unreachable, towering celestial wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It stood silently before them, enduring countless ages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its height was beyond measure, its breadth beyond comprehension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath Tianzhu Mountain lay an even more astonishing steel forest!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Five-Tier Jiangcheng!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My god!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around them, exclamations rose in waves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Streams of light surged; flying shuttles filled the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A colossal neon city, entirely forged of steel, stacked in five layers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five-Tier Jiangcheng clung to the mountain, tier upon tier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At every moment, countless vessels took off and landed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond that,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the sky beneath Jiangcheng was occasionally streaked by showers of luminous meteors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each barely visible speck of light was a flying shuttle moving at extreme speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Five-Tier Jiangcheng: one hundred million people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Inside this majestic, colossal steel metropolis,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“humans are no different from ants.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Xuan stood beside Jiang Jian, his expression unreadable: “Jiang Jian, do you know what’s in First-Tier Jiangcheng?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Xuan lowered his gaze, peering through the glass at the dark forest at the very bottom of Jiangcheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The residents of First-Tier Jiangcheng,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“are all non-citizens.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Fang spun around, pupils constricting: “What did you say?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ling, too, looked horrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Xuan was quite pleased with their reactions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He smiled and continued: “These non-citizens are the livestock of Linjiang State.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Put simply,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First-Tier Jiangcheng is a self-sustaining treasure trove of spiritual materials.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These countless demons, spirits, ghosts, and monsters...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though they reside in the First Jiangcheng, they are trapped by the Mountain Array and cannot escape until death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They can only grow slowly, waiting to be harvested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Xuan looked at Jiang Jian. “Even our Linjiang Academy owns numerous breeding grounds within this First Jiangcheng.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian had previously heard hints of this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, seeing it with his own eyes,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he could not help but feel admiration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Linjiang Province had immense audacity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It used a single massive city, capable of housing ten million people,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>as a breeding ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It raised countless “non-citizens.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking out the porthole,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the lowest level of First Jiangcheng lay dark as an abyss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In stark contrast to the daylight neon above,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>from the other four levels of Jiangcheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep in the darkness,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>faint outlines of steel cities could be seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And countless silent roars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>surrounding this city of ten million souls,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>loomed an unimaginable Heavenly Pillar Mountain Array.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whenever those things in the darkness reached the city’s edge, trying to flee,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>transparent ripples appeared, effortlessly blocking them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This breeding ground isn’t easy to enter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Xuan squinted. “The branch academy entrance exam grants one free entry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Beyond that,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“every entry into First Jiangcheng requires payment in Alliance Coins.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian sharply caught the hidden meaning in his words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shi Xuan, are you saying the branch academy entrance exam takes place inside First Jiangcheng?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Xuan nodded. “By tradition, Linjiang Academy’s branch exam requires one entry into the breeding ground.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The breeding ground teems with countless demonic spirits and monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Fang, thinking of this, clenched his teeth. “It shouldn’t be dangerous, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Xuan smiled. “The entrance exam has proctors to protect you—no one dies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Du Fang exhaled. “Good to hear.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jian, however, frowned slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Xuan’s answer only said “no one dies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond that,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>minor injuries, serious injuries, even disability—all seemed possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Destination: Linjiang Academy, beside Jiangcheng.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Arrived!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1106,"2026-06-20T01:21:34.271Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","61d408fb3466d7fae3811d9cc375a4e52cf4ad8d6905337dc399ff0a19ec0326","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-28","ascending-to-divinity-chapter-26",306,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fascending-to-divinity-cover.jpg"]