Chapter 19: Thunder Element? Bewildered Zhou Mingyang

In the ruins of a small town, within the core zone, inside a dilapidated residential compound.

More than a dozen ferocious beasts divided into two factions, slaughtering each other as if the other were lunch.

The two factions were the Unicorn Rhinos and the Arm-Knife Tigers; if their numbers were equal, the Unicorn Rhinos would completely crush the opposition.

But here, there were eight Arm-Knife Tigers and only four Unicorn Rhinos.

In terms of strength, the gap between them was not great—the Arm-Knife Tigers merely held a slight advantage.

Precisely because of this, though they had been fighting for a long while, tearing bloody wounds into each other, no ferocious beast had died.

Ferocious beasts are inherently brutal; once combat begins, they will not stop until every opponent is slain.

Yet just then, one of the Arm-Knife Tigers sniffed the air and suddenly halted its charge.

It crouched low, letting out a threatening growl toward the compound gate.

That growl triggered a chain reaction, causing all the Arm-Knife Tigers and Unicorn Rhinos to instinctively cease fighting.

They then turned their heads toward the gate, eyes blazing with malice, bodies coiled in ready-to-surge charging postures.

Under the gaze of the ferocious beasts, a tall human youth stepped forward slowly.

The youth wore a black battle suit, boots on his feet, his figure long and towering.

His eyes were clear and sharp, yet as piercing as a lone wolf's.

A thick, jet-black spear was casually slung over his shoulder; its sharp blade glinted with chilling frost under the sunlight.

"Twelve ferocious beasts. Good."

Xu Jingming nodded in satisfaction.

This group of ferocious beasts was the largest he'd encountered in the past hour.

He slammed his right hand hard against the spear's butt, and the blackened spear, leaping upward, landed in his grasp.

Just as he raised his spear to charge into the beast pack, he suddenly frowned, halted, and turned his gaze to the right.

There stood a crumbling, ancient building: "Come out. I've spotted you."

"No wonder you're number one—your senses are truly sharp."

A slender, good-looking boy with a long sword strapped to his back stepped out from the building's shadow.

"Zhou Mingyang?"

Xu Jingming raised an eyebrow.

This man was none other than Zhou Mingyang, the famed student with a B-grade Wind ability, known as Light Wind Sword.

Compared to his elegant demeanor outside the Wu Ke Gaokao arena, Zhou Mingyang now looked worn and dusty.

His hair was messy, his battle suit splattered with dark red blood—his own or that of the beasts, no one could tell.

Of course, most examinees in the arena looked much the same.

Xu Jingming himself was no different, though because he wielded a spear, less blood had splattered onto him.

"But how did you know it was me?"

Xu Jingming was puzzled.

He didn't think this famous star student would know who he was, a student from No. 2 High School.

"Only a handful dare enter the core zone—we're all old acquaintances."

"So when a complete stranger suddenly appears, it can only be you, the number one."

Zhou Mingyang explained with a smile.

"I see."

Xu Jingming nodded.

In the Wu Ke Gaokao, examinees are forbidden from attacking each other; any violation results in permanent disqualification.

Moreover, both of them had tracking drones above their heads, so there was no need to worry about Zhou Mingyang launching a surprise attack.

Xu Jingming therefore raised his spear and moved toward the nearby beast pack.

"Wait—are you planning to face this group alone?"

Zhou Mingyang froze, quickly reaching out to stop him.

"What? You want to steal my kills?"

Xu Jingming's gaze turned dangerous.

To him, these ferocious beasts meant not just points, but also ability points!

He would never give these beasts to anyone else.

Meeting Xu Jingming's gaze, Zhou Mingyang felt as if a mighty beast king had locked onto him—goosebumps rose on his skin.

Such a ferocious aura!

He inwardly gasped, then quickly recovered and said:

"There are two first-rank mid-tier ferocious beasts in here—you can't handle them alone. If we team up, we might have a chance."

These were two separate beast groups, each with a first-rank mid-tier king.

He had been hiding nearby, waiting for them to weaken each other before striking.

Now, though both sides were wounded, neither had lost a member—they were in a state of wild, savage fury.

Charging in now would be suicide.

"No need. I can handle it alone."

Seeing that Zhou Mingyang wasn't trying to steal his kills but offering cooperation, Xu Jingming's demeanor softened considerably.

He clapped Zhou Mingyang on the shoulder, then charged forward with his spear.

"Hey..."

Zhou Mingyang wanted to say more, but seeing Xu Jingming already charging, he gave up.

"Very well, since you're so confident, let me see what tricks you have!"

Zhou Mingyang drew his sword and stood aside, watching the battle, his gaze fixed on Xu Jingming.

If anything went wrong, he would quickly join the fray.

But the scene that followed made Zhou Mingyang's eyes widen.

Xu Jingming, charging into the beast pack, moved as if granted divine might.

The black spear in his hand became a phantom blur—each thrust claimed the life of a beast.

In less than three minutes, of the twelve beasts in the field, only four remained!

"This..."

Zhou Mingyang was stunned.

Two hours ago, he hadn't even known such a person existed.

Yet afterward, the man rose like a comet.

Not only did he quickly climb into the top ten, but just over ten minutes ago, he directly seized Zhou Mingyang's number one spot!

For such a ferocious figure, Zhou Mingyang was naturally curious, even imagining what terrifying ability he might possess.

Was it some ultra-powerful A-rank ability?

Yet the man had accomplished this overwhelming slaughter using nothing but that single black spear!

Gulp~

Zhou Mingyang swallowed hard, feeling his throat dry: "Could he possess some kind of enhancement ability I just failed to notice?"

While he stood there silently pondering, Xu Jingming swiftly completed his slaughter—the last Arm-Knife Tiger King collapsed.

'Slain one First-Rank Lower-tier Unicorn Rhino: +12 Ability Points.'

'Slain one First-Rank Lower-tier Arm-Knife Tiger: +10 Ability Points.'

'Slain one First-Rank Mid-tier Arm-Knife Tiger: +15 Ability Points.'

'...'

Listening to the continuous stream of prompts in his mind, Xu Jingming wore an expression of delight.

This feeling was simply incomparable.

"But once the Wu Ke Gaokao ends, there won't be such a good opportunity anymore."

"So I must seize the time..."

Xu Jingming snapped back to awareness, nodded to Zhou Mingyang, and swiftly departed.

By the time Zhou Mingyang reacted, Xu Jingming had already dashed eight or nine meters away.

He hurriedly shouted: "Xu Jingming, is your ability an enhancement type?"

"No, it's Lightning!"

Xu Jingming's voice echoed from afar, but his figure had already vanished from sight.

"L-Lightning?!"

Zhou Mingyang was dumbfounded—where had there been even a trace of Lightning just now?

"If you don't want to tell me your ability type, you don't have to be this dismissive—what a vile personality."

Zhou Mingyang's expression was plaintive.

"And just now, that look—he was worried I'd steal his kills?"

"Who else but a monster like you could handle a beast pack like this?"

"Besides, there are so many beasts in the core zone—why worry about lacking kills?"

"Come to think of it, I've been waiting here over ten minutes—so if anyone's stealing kills, it's you stealing mine..."

Given Xu Jingming's vile attitude, Zhou Mingyang left still grumbling under his breath.