Chapter 122: Targeting Weak Points! Terrifying Combat Instinct!

Ten minutes later, Song Qiuyun, having reached some agreement with her aunt Zhou Ying.

Striding with long legs, she exited the main building of the supply base, satisfied.

Back at the training hall, Xu Jingming resumed his training in the private training room.

Since the next day's entry into the Wild Zone, Xu Jingming didn't train too late.

At just past ten p. ., he stepped out of the private training room with Song Qiuyun.

At this hour, the public training area in the lobby still had many people.

Compared to the afternoon, the spacious lobby was even more crowded.

Various training sounds and the hum of abilities mingled together, creating a noisy din.

Under such circumstances, two people leaving a private training room should attract little attention.

But Xu Jingming and Song Qiuyun—one nearly nine feet tall, with a powerful, sharp aura—

the other, beautifully delicate and gracefully slender—

stood out strikingly in any crowd.

Thus, the moment they stepped out of the private training room, they drew widespread attention.

"That's the S-rank from Magic University, Xu Jingming?"

"That's him! His aura is too strong!"

"Tsk tsk, if Jing University hadn't brought in outsiders, this year's champion would definitely be him!"

"Yeah, but honestly, both Magic University and Jing University have S-ranks—our Jincheng is the worst, not even one S-rank."

"......"

Inside the hall, Magic University's freshmen naturally knew their own new king.

Hearing the murmurs from Jing University and Jincheng University freshmen, they subtly wore expressions of pride.

Jing University had brought in outsiders, but only to secure first place—nothing to complain about.

Thus, Jing University's freshmen also smiled.

Only Jincheng University's freshmen wore bitter expressions.

Their school had no S-rank at all, destined to lose any chance at the championship.

Damn it! We want an S-rank too...

"Xu Jingming, when the competition starts tomorrow, I look forward to your performance—hope you don't fall too far behind."

Kiran, Jing University's S-rank, stood among his fellow freshmen, looking utterly confident.

"Oh? I'd rather hope you don't fall too far behind me."

Xu Jingming raised an eyebrow slightly.

He replied indifferently, didn't wait for Kiran's response, and walked off with Song Qiuyun.

"Still bold? Wait till the competition ends in a month—I'll see how you talk then!"

Watching Xu Jingming's retreating figure, Kiran sneered.

He already imagined how, a month later, Xu Jingming's total score would trail far behind his own.

In his heart, he muttered to himself in his native tongue:

"Also, I'll crush you all and show Greater Xia what an S-rank from India can truly do!"

Since the competition officially began at nine a. .,

the next day, after waking and washing up, Xu Jingming did light training in his room.

Only at 8: 0 a. . did he put on his battle suit and boots and step out the door.

All other gear and supplies were stored in his space ring.

Notably,

At school, since he had to enter the Wild Zone every week, Xu Jingming didn't bother preparing supplies each time.

Thus, his space ring held enough freshwater and energy bars to sustain him for three months.

Of course, he also brought a full set of cookware and seasonings.

Ten cubic meters was a large space—these items together occupied only two-thirds of it.

The remaining one-third, he planned to fill with materials collected from ferocious beasts.

"Ding dong~~~"

Xu Jingming arrived at the opposite door and pressed the doorbell beside it.

"Coming."

Song Qiuyun's clear voice came from inside the room.

Before long, the door opened, and Song Qiuyun's slender figure stepped out.

Unlike yesterday, her black hair wasn't tied into a high ponytail.

Instead, it was coiled and gently pinned with a pale blue hairpin.

This was for easier movement in the Wild Zone.

Her training suit had been replaced with a fitted, pale ink-colored battle suit.

Like a second skin, it clung tightly to her body.

Revealing her ample bust, perfect waist-to-hip ratio, and long legs with a hint of soft flesh.

Paired with Song Qiuyun's naturally alluring face, it radiated deadly allure.

"Let's go," Song Qiuyun said, a beautiful smile on her face.

By the time Xu Jingming and Song Qiuyun reached the square in front of the supply base's main building, many freshmen had already gathered.

Most were in teams of four or five, each carrying weapons and gear, with backpacks slung on their backs.

There were also elite two-person teams like theirs, and lone wolves like Kiran—but these were extremely rare.

"Huh? He's bringing a woman along?"

Kiran spotted Xu Jingming and Song Qiuyun from afar.

On his India-typical black-and-yellow face, a hint of disdain appeared.

Though he lusted after Song Qiuyun's family background, any courting would wait until after the competition.

If it were him, he'd never bring a liability into the Devil's Lair.

"Xiao Yun is entering the Devil's Lair with Xu Jingming? No wonder she didn't let her squad follow."

In front of the main building, Aunt Zhou Ying suddenly understood, then furrowed her brows slightly:

"But this girl, alone with Xu Jingming in the Devil's Lair... won't she do something reckless?"

Inside the Wild Zone, danger lurked everywhere.

Two young people, alone, after enduring life-or-death crises, often developed intense emotions.

Especially Xu Jingming—tall, muscular, with a rugged, resolute face—

radiating a deadly magnetism toward women.

"But Xiao Yun has her own sense of boundaries—probably no problem."

Remembering Song Qiuyun's nature, Aunt Zhou Ying felt slightly reassured.

Time passed swiftly, and soon it was exactly nine a. .

"Go! Let's move!"

"Our squad aims to kill one second-rank ferocious beast!"

"Devil's Lair! Here I come!"

"......"

The freshmen surged eagerly toward the Wild Zone entrance; Xu Jingming and Song Qiuyun followed inside.

Devil's Lair No. 7 was essentially a region similar to the Yuan Shui Wild Zone's mountain forests.

But in area, it was a hundred times larger!

Xu Jingming and his fellow freshmen—nearly three thousand people—had been crowded at the entrance.

But the deeper they went, the fewer people surrounded them.

Xu Jingming and Song Qiuyun, after entering the Devil's Lair, headed toward the central region.

The outermost edge of the Devil's Lair was closest to the human base; any ferocious beast with even slight intelligence avoided it.

Thus, only low-intelligence, instinct-driven first-rank ferocious beasts roamed the outermost edge.

Along this path, Xu Jingming and Song Qiuyun didn't waste much time on these first-rank beasts—only killing a few that blocked their way.

Though he slowed his pace slightly to accommodate Song Qiuyun,

Song Qiuyun herself wasn't slow; after traveling half a day through the Devil's Lair,

the surrounding thickets held almost no first-rank beasts—mostly second-rank ones.

But they were mostly solitary second-rank beasts; packs were rare.

After another hour of sprinting, they finally encountered their first second-rank ferocious beast pack in the forest.

It was a group of Iron-Haired Pangolins—about ten in total.

Each pangolin's fur was pitch-black, its body the size of a regular sedan.

Its spines stood straight up like iron needles.

In fact, these spines were harder than E-grade alloy.

If a human adept took a direct hit, he'd be pierced all over with holes!

Standard battle suits of most adepts couldn't block this kind of piercing damage!

"Roar—"

Seeing the human energy users, these second-rank Iron-Haired Pangolins immediately grew restless.

They lowered their heads and emitted threatening hisses.

"Let me handle it."

Xu Jingming would not pass up the chance to harvest energy points; thunder crackled all over his body.

Gripping a dark bluish spear, he charged into the swarm of Iron-Haired Pangolin beasts.

Song Qiuyun knew these second-rank beasts posed not the slightest threat to Xu Jingming.

So she made no move, standing gracefully aside to watch the battle.

Boom—boom—boom—

Seeing a human dare launch the first attack, over a dozen Iron-Haired Pangolins rolled themselves into tire-like shapes.

The next instant,

These dozen massive wheels, bristling with hard iron spines, slammed toward Xu Jingming!

Trees and rocks along their path were shattered by their immense kinetic force and iron-hard spines!

Most energy users, facing such a troublesome "tire" formation, would choose to dodge temporarily.

Yet Xu Jingming, spear in hand, showed not the slightest change in expression.

His charging pace even quickened slightly!

His agile form darted through the "tire" swarm like a phantom.

Simultaneously, his Qingxiao Black Dragon Spear, wreathed in lightning, thrust out repeatedly!

Plop—

Plop—

Each thrust struck precisely on the Iron-Haired Pangolin's tiny, fiercely hidden head!

In mere moments, four or five Iron-Haired Pangolins lay dead in pools of blood!

"Every thrust targets the weak point!"

Song Qiuyun, watching from the side, drew a sharp breath, her beautiful eyes widening slightly.

Keep in mind that

Iron-Haired Pangolins had backs covered in iron-hard spines, utterly unyielding.

Their weak points were the soft belly and the head.

But in their "tire" rolling form, the soft belly was completely concealed inside—impossible to strike!

The other weak point, the head, was exposed.

Yet the pangolin's head was tiny and spinning at high speed.

Even knowing this weak point, one still could not hit it!

Yet Xu Jingming's every thrust struck precisely on this head weak point.

Not a single miss—all were instant kills!

This was not something achievable merely by higher rank—it required terrifying combat instinct!

Moreover, Xu Jingming's energy consumption throughout the entire process was nearly negligible.

He had perfectly controlled every ounce of his energy, wasting not a single bit!

If a group of high-second-rank energy users entered the wilderness without any supplies,

With this refined energy control and combat instinct, Song Qiuyun was certain Xu Jingming would be the one to survive the longest!