Chapter 16

The ruins of the town, central zone.

As its throat was slit by a sharp dagger, blood gushed forth, and the Level 1 Lower-tier Shadow Cat collapsed.

Behind it, Tang Qi’s slender figure, dagger in hand, slowly emerged.

She wore a purple-black cat-shaped energy veil over her body, with a pair of cat ears atop her head—uncontrolled, yet strikingly agile.

Enhanced-type B-rank ability: Shadow Cat!

During activation, it greatly boosts her sprint speed, reaction speed, and attack power.

It was precisely this B-rank ability that allowed her, merely an Awakened, to slay a Level 1 Beast.

Of course, she herself had trained in the Ability Cultivation Method.

Though still some distance from transforming into a full Ability User, her physical foundation was solid—she was far from weak.

Yet, slaying a Level 1 Lower-tier Beast was already the limit of her strength.

That was why she dared only to roam the central zone, never venturing into the core zone where Level 1 Mid-tier Beasts dwelled.

To conserve her ability, Tang Qi immediately exited Shadow Cat form after killing the Beast.

The cat-shaped energy veil around her body vanished, and her vertical feline pupils reverted to normal.

“#12, Tang Qi, 567 points (Jiangcheng No.1 High School).”

Opening her smartwatch and seeing her rank, Tang Qi furrowed her brows: “I dropped one spot.”

She instinctively looked upward, wondering who had pushed her down.

But to her surprise, she saw a familiar name at #9.

“Xu Jingming from No.2 High, 607 points, #9?!”

Tang Qi froze for a moment, then regained her composure, a tall figure bearing a long spear flashing in her mind.

“So it was you who made that strike yesterday, Cousin Jingming...”

She hadn’t dismissed the possibility that the name on the list was merely a coincidence—same name, different person.

But both were at No.2 High, and the names matched exactly—how could such luck exist?

Add to that the suspicion she’d felt yesterday at Thunder Martial Hall.

It confirmed beyond doubt: the Xu Jingming on the list was her cousin.

“But how could you, with only an E-rank ability, accomplish all this?”

A flicker of curiosity crossed Tang Qi’s lovely face. “Looks like my cousin isn’t as innocent as he seems...”

“Holy shit, is Ah Ming that strong?!”

“I should’ve called him Dad and clung to his leg from the start!”

Outside the ruins town, Liu Jie—enlarged to twice his normal size—stared at the virtual projection showing Xu Jingming’s rank, filled with regret.

Compared to his Wu Ke exam results, calling him Dad meant nothing.

“Xu Jingming made the top ten!”

“Incredible!”

“He’s now our No.2 High’s highest-ranked student!”

“...”

Lin Qingyuan’s squad, ever since spotting Xu Jingming at #46, had kept close watch on him.

Now that he’d entered the top ten, they all sighed in awe.

How the hell did he do it?

“If Xu Jingming made the top ten, we’ve got to push harder—aim for the top 300!”

Looking at the rankings, Lin Qingyuan’s face was filled with emotion.

Though she didn’t know how he did it, she and her team were different from Xu Jingming.

Just making the top 300 would be more than enough...

When Xu Jingming’s rank hadn’t reached the top ten, it wasn’t particularly noticeable.

But now that he’d entered the top ten, nearly everyone in the exam zone noticed him.

Those who knew him reacted in various ways.

Yet he remained unaware—right now, he was sprinting full speed toward the core zone.

With his physique strengthened, Xu Jingming’s sprinting speed had increased dramatically.

Added to that, his position in the central zone wasn’t far from the core zone.

Thus, in just over thirty minutes, he stepped into the core zone marked on the map.

The core zone of the ruins town was once the most bustling downtown area of Weiyuan Town.

Compared to the central zone, the buildings here were taller; even in their ruined state, traces of past elegance remained visible.

More importantly, the Beasts here ranged from Level 1 Lower-tier to Level 1 Mid-tier—no unranked Beasts remained!

Any candidate daring to enter the core zone was at least among Jiangcheng’s top five.

Of course, he was the exception.

During his journey, he hadn’t actively sought out Beasts, resulting in only four or five kills in over thirty minutes.

His rank dropped instead of rising—down to #10.

“If I can find a large group of Beasts, my rank will climb fast again.”

“This time, I’m going straight for #1!”

Xu Jingming’s gaze sharpened. As before, he headed straight for the area with the most intense Beast roars.

“Roar—”

“Howl—”

In the ruined city, Beast roars rose and fell—a true paradise for them.

Xu Jingming listened carefully, then sprinted toward the southeast—the source of the loudest, densest roars.

Most candidates moved cautiously within the exam zone, fearing noise would attract Beasts and lead to being surrounded.

But Xu Jingming moved like a sleek cheetah, racing through the city.

The 50-kilogram Black Glow Spear strapped to his back hindered his movement not at all.

Sprinting along the ruined road, wind howled past his ears, scenery blurring on either side—he could faintly spot one or two Beasts active among the ruins.

For these scattered Beasts, he had no desire to even strike.

Soon, the source of the dense roars drew near—a rusted, broken-down bus blocked the road ahead.

Yet Xu Jingming didn’t slow. Just before colliding, he pushed off hard, leaping five to six meters into the air.

“Thud!”

His combat boots landed on the bus roof; his gaze swept downward, revealing the scene below.

It was a fitness square, littered with broken exercise equipment and inhabited by numerous Beasts.

So many Beasts filled the air with blood and the pungent stench of beasts, making Xu Jingming frown slightly.

“One, two, three... There are ten Beasts here—all Armblade Tigers. Looks like I’ve stumbled upon an Armblade Tiger pack.”

Beasts were divided into solitary and pack types; Armblade Tigers were pack dwellers.

Ordinary candidates avoided such packs entirely.

But Xu Jingming’s cold, clear black-and-white eyes burned with fierce battle lust.

This was exactly what he wanted!

“To form a true pack, there must be a king to dominate them all.”

Xu Jingming looked toward the center of the square, where a half-eaten, blood-drenched Unicorn Rhino corpse lay.

Beside it crouched a much larger Armblade Tiger—the pack king.

Its limbs were massively thick; its forelimb blades were enormous and razor-sharp.

“Level 1 Mid-tier Armblade Tiger. So it’s the king of this pack.”

Xu Jingming’s lips curled slightly.

Killing all these Beasts would grant him plenty of Ability Points.