Chapter 10: Xu Jingming, 46th? Did I Read That Right?

On the old street, the black gun, forged from F-grade alloy, danced in Xu Jingming’s hands like a sleek black dragon—nimble and swift!

Hss—

When Xu Jingming abruptly halted his swing, the gun’s tip shifted from extreme motion to absolute stillness.

The intense friction with the air had raised its temperature, steaming up a plume of heat!

“Just with this gun technique alone, he could kill a Class One ferocious beast!”

Xu Jingming had originally believed gun technique was inferior to the two foundational attributes: physique and spirit.

But after truly mastering the advanced gun technique with the help of the Deep Blue System, he realized he’d been wildly wrong.

With his gun technique upgraded to advanced, his striking speed had more than doubled.

He now fully understood every technique for wielding the spear—no matter the enemy, he had a counter.

In short, even a Class One ferocious beast with physique several times stronger than his would be toyed with and killed by this technique.

Xu Jingming then glanced at his system panel.

Upgrading his gun technique to advanced had cost him 200 energy points; the panel now showed only 13 left.

“Pity I don’t have enough energy points—I’d love to see just how terrifying a Master-level gun technique would be.”

Shaking his head, Xu Jingming opened the map.

The white dot representing him now sat at the edge of the green outer zone, not far from the central yellow region.

“I’ll reach the central zone in about half an hour—it’s filled with peak non-class ferocious beasts and Class One beasts.”

“There, my rate of gathering energy points will increase dramatically.”

The former Weiyuan Town, now a ruin, had been built decades ago but resembled a modern city in layout.

Its buildings were all constructed of cement, divided into urban and suburban areas.

Xu Jingming was currently inside a residential compound in the ruin’s suburban zone.

After the ferocious beast invasion and years of decay, the entire compound lay in ruins.

Of the six-story apartment buildings, more than half had collapsed; the rest were severely weathered.

The stone pavement beneath his feet was overgrown with weeds, a desolate scene.

As Xu Jingming sheathed the black gun and turned to leave,

figures of several other examinees appeared at the far end of the opposite road.

It was a group of five: three women and two men.

Leading them was a tall girl dressed in a silver-white combat suit.

This girl was Lin Qingyuan, the Class 5 monitor who had invited Xu Jingming to join her team before entering the exam hall.

“Xu Jingming?”

Lin Qingyuan had also spotted him; surprised and delighted, she strode forward with long, swift steps.

Most female combat suits were tight-fitting, accentuating the figure.

Lin Qingyuan’s suit was no exception—the silver-white fabric clung to her skin, outlining her curvaceous silhouette.

Her legs, wrapped in the suit, appeared long and toned as she moved.

“Monitor.”

On his way here, Xu Jingming had encountered other examinees.

But they were either from other schools or other classes.

This was the first time he’d met a classmate—he couldn’t help but smile.

“Phew, didn’t expect to run into you here. Did you come alone?”

Lin Qingyuan glanced around; seeing no one else, she asked curiously.

The four members trailing behind also stared at the lone Xu Jingming in surprise.

Typically, E-grade energy awakeners were eliminated within one or two hours after the Wu Ke exam began.

It was now nearly twelve noon—over three hours since the exam started.

How had Xu Jingming not only survived but penetrated this deep?

“It’s more convenient alone.”

In response to Lin Qingyuan’s question, Xu Jingming didn’t hide it—he nodded.

“Impressive!”

Lin Qingyuan’s eyes sparkled; she gave a thumbs-up. “We only made it here thanks to Xiao Qiao’s help.”

Behind her, a petite girl nodded shyly.

This girl, named Xiao Qiao, had awakened a Class D auxiliary energy: “Swift Step,” which boosted her and her teammates’ movement speed to a certain degree.

Thanks to Xiao Qiao, Lin Qingyuan’s team had traveled this far.

“I got lucky—every ferocious beast I encountered along the way was weak.”

Facing Lin Qingyuan’s smile, Xu Jingming unusually spoke a bit more.

After all, in this place crawling with monstrous horrors, what could be more uplifting than seeing a beautiful girl?

After chatting with Lin Qingyuan for a few more moments, Xu Jingming took his leave:

“Monitor, time is tight—we’ll talk after the exam.”

“Mm, go ahead. I hope you get a good score.”

Lin Qingyuan knew this was a high-stakes Wu Ke exam—she didn’t stop him.

“Never thought Xu Jingming could make it this far.”

“So he really did have his reasons for signing up for the Wu Ke exam.”

Xu Jingming, who had lost both parents as a child, was seen by Lin Qingyuan as a pitiful soul.

If he died in the Wu Ke exam, it would be tragic—seeing him alive and well now eased her heart.

“Captain, come look—this rhinoceros seems to have just died!”

A cry drew Lin Qingyuan’s attention.

The others were gathered around the rhinoceros’s corpse, discussing excitedly.

“The blood hasn’t dried yet—death must have occurred within the last few minutes.”

“It has many wounds, but the fatal one is on the head.”

“The wound shape suggests a penetrating injury from a long-handled weapon… looks… like a spear!”

Lin Qingyuan’s team had noticed the rhinoceros’s corpse earlier but paid it no mind, assuming it was killed by another examinee group.

But now, upon closer inspection, they realized the rhinoceros had died very recently—and all its wounds resembled spear strikes.

“You don’t mean to say this rhinoceros was killed by Xu Jingming, do you?”

One of the boys said, his expression strange.

The rhinoceros was a notoriously difficult ferocious beast.

They themselves only dared fight it because they had five people.

To claim an E-grade energy awaker could kill it alone? They simply didn’t believe it.

“Whether Xu Jingming killed it? Just check his score ranking.”

One boy opened his smartwatch and quickly found Xu Jingming’s name on the score ranking:

‘Rank 46: Xu Jingming, 256 points. (Jiangcheng No.2 High School)’

“Xu Jingming, Rank 46?!!

What the hell?! He broke into the top fifty?! Did I see that right?!”

Seeing the rank, the boy froze, then rubbed his eyes hard.

After confirming he hadn’t misread, he screamed in disbelief.

“What rank 46?”

“Did you find Xu Jingming’s ranking?”

The rest of the team hurried over.

Seeing Xu Jingming’s rank on the virtual screen, their expressions turned equally stunned.

Even Lin Qingyuan, their captain, widened her eyes in dumbfounded shock.

The others all simultaneously wondered:

“What the hell—can E-grade energy awakeners really be this strong these days?!”