Chapter 15: Regret, Yet Another Boost in Power!

'Whoa, that spear thrust was fast!'

'Incredibly fast—like a bolt of lightning!'

'His speed rivals that of a Wind-ability awakened, but isn’t he a Thunder-ability awakened?'

'......'

Seeing the black figure on the projection screen instantly slay the Shadow Cat beast with a strike like lightning, the teachers in the audience were stunned.

Fast! Precise! Brutal!

That was their first impression of Xu Jingming.

Chen Fan, the homeroom teacher of Class 5, widened his eyes.

Since the school arranges combat training, he basically knew the combat strength of most students in his class.

But during combat classes, Xu Jingming’s level was barely passable—nowhere near this standard!

'Damn, you’ve been hiding this from me for so long!'

'With a spear technique like this, why not show it earlier? Wait until the Gaokao to shock everyone?'

'Still, with a technique like this, even an E-rank ability could secure a solid Gaokao score.'

Chen Fan nodded slightly, 'Looks like advising him not to take the Wu Ke Gaokao was unnecessary.'

'Strong physique, and formidable spear technique.'

Zhao Yao, principal of No. 2 High School, exhaled slowly, then shook his head. 'What a pity...'

'Yes, truly a pity.'

Zhang Wenshan, director of the Education Bureau, also looked disappointed.

A strong physique and weapon mastery are indeed significant advantages during the Awakened stage.

But as ranks climb higher, the edge from physique and technique gradually diminishes.

After all, an Awakened is an Awakened.

Combat ultimately depends on the ability!

'If only he had a C-rank ability, paired with this physique and spear technique, he’d be the top scorer in Jiangcheng!'

'But he’s only an E-rank ability.'

Zhang Wenshan couldn’t help sighing again in regret.

Compared to the principal and education director’s regret, Chen Fan, homeroom teacher of Class 5, took it more calmly.

Top ten in Jiangcheng—if he maintains this until the Gaokao’s end, he’ll definitely get into a decent Awakened university.

Even if Xu Jingming kills no more beasts from now on, this score alone will still get him into an Awakened university, just not a top-tier one.

And this result is already countless times better than the failure—or death—he’d feared...

'Slain one First-Rank Shadow Cat. Ability points +9.'

In the Ruins Town, Xu Jingming, having just slain a Shadow Cat, heard the notification in his mind and felt deeply pleased.

The beasts in the central zone of the Ruins Town were even more numerous than he’d expected.

He’d only been inside for an hour and change, yet already slain over twenty First-Rank Low-tier beasts, plus over ten Peak Non-Rank beasts.

His system panel now held 312 ability points!

'Good. Killing beasts in the central zone is indeed more efficient.'

Xu Jingming nodded in satisfaction, then heard the whirring of rapidly spinning propellers.

A drone flew in from afar, hovering dozens of meters above his head.

'Tracking camera drone? I’ve made the top ten?'

Xu Jingming opened his smartwatch to check his ranking:

'No. 9: Xu Jingming, 607 points. (Jiangcheng No. 2 High School)'

'Indeed, I’m in the top ten.'

A smile appeared on Xu Jingming’s face.

The appearance of the camera drone meant his future battles would be broadcast to the outside world.

Even his use of the S-rank Purple Thunder would be exposed.

After all, the S-rank Purple Thunder he summoned was too extraordinary to pass off as an E-rank weak electricity ability.

Of course, Xu Jingming never intended to hide it.

'The Wu Ke Gaokao tests a candidate’s strength and potential. The higher your score, the more choices you have.'

'Only a fool would hide his ability to gain a few extra points.'

Xu Jingming’s gaze sharpened as he opened his system info panel:

【Name】: Xu Jingming

【Rank】: Awakened

【Ability】: Purple Thunder (S)

【Physique】: 141 Qi Blood (+)

【Spirit】: 160 Hertz (+)

【Skills】: Spear Technique (Advanced), Lightning Wind Break (Beginner+)

【Ability Points】: 312

'Over three hundred ability points, and still no level-up?'

Xu Jingming frowned—no plus sign appeared after his rank.

Only two possibilities could explain this.

First: the ability points needed to evolve from Awakened to Ability User are too high—three hundred still isn’t enough.

Second: there’s a hidden condition to evolve from Awakened to Ability User, and until that condition is met, even the system can’t raise the rank.

'To evolve from Awakened to Ability User, one must first learn an Ability Cultivation Method.'

'So it’s because I haven’t learned one yet that I can’t level up.'

Xu Jingming silently speculated.

An Ability Cultivation Method is the basic requirement to advance from Awakened to Ability User.

Yet even the worst one costs over a million yuan.

With Xu Jingming’s financial means, he could never afford one.

He’d assumed the system could bypass this requirement—but now it seemed he was wrong.

'Still, my current combat power is no worse than a true Ability User’s.'

'I’ll wait until after the Gaokao, enter an Ability User university, learn a cultivation method, then become one.'

Xu Jingming didn’t dwell on it—right now, the key question was: how to spend these three hundred-plus ability points?

'Only base attributes and combat skills can be upgraded now. Skills aren’t urgent—boost base attributes.'

After a moment’s thought, Xu Jingming allocated all ability points to the two base attributes.

【Physique】: 141 → 181 Qi Blood

【Spirit】: 160 → 182 Hertz

With his base attributes enhanced, Xu Jingming instantly felt power surge through his body, his mind clearer than ever before.

The fatigue from travel and consecutive battles vanished completely.

'Awesome!'

Xu Jingming laughed aloud and spun his Black Glow Spear into a dazzling flourish.

His spear speed and force had increased dramatically!

'With this physique and my Advanced Spear Technique, even a First-Rank Mid-tier beast in the Core Zone—I can kill it easily without using my ability!'

At that moment, Xu Jingming was utterly confident in his strength.

'The beasts in the Core Zone are stronger, more numerous!'

'Since my strength has improved again, there’s no need to linger in the central zone—I’m heading straight for the Core Zone!'

He shook his spear—blood clinging to its tip flew off cleanly from the inertia.

Then, slinging the spear over his back, he glanced at the map and sprinted toward the Core Zone.

With his enhanced physique, his sprinting speed now even surpassed Zhou Mingyang’s, despite the latter’s Wind-ability boost.

Behind him, the camera drone followed like a loyal shadow...