Chapter 19: Lightning System? 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 side were lunch.

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

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

In terms of strength, the gap between them was not great—the Arm-Knife Tigers held only 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 battle begins, they won’t 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, growling a threatening rumble toward the compound gate.

That low growl triggered a chain reaction—every Arm-Knife Tiger and Unicorn Rhinoceros in the area simultaneously ceased fighting in unison.

They 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 and combat boots, his frame long and imposing.

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 razor-sharp tip gleamed with chilling frost under the sunlight.

“Twelve ferocious beasts. Good.”

Xu Jingming nodded in satisfaction.

This group was the largest he’d encountered in the past hour.

He slammed his right hand hard against the spear’s butt, and the black-hued spear leapt into his grasp.

Just as he raised the 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 exam grounds, Zhou Mingyang now looked worn and dusty.

His hair was disheveled, his battle suit splattered with dark red blood—his own or a beast’s, it was hard to tell.

Of course, most examinees in the exam grounds looked much the same.

Xu Jingming himself was no different, though because he used a spear, less blood had splashed 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 few people dare enter the core zone—we’re all old acquaintances.”

“So when a complete stranger suddenly shows up, it can only be you, the number one.”

Zhou Mingyang explained with a smile.

“I see.”

Xu Jingming nodded.

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

Plus, 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 lifted his spear and moved toward the nearby beast pack.

“Wait—are you planning to take on this entire group alone?”

Zhou Mingyang blinked, quickly reaching out to stop him.

“What? You trying to steal my kills?”

Xu Jingming’s gaze turned dangerous.

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

He wouldn’t give these beasts to anyone.

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

What 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’d 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 still in a state of furious rage.

Charging in now would be suicide.

“No need. I can handle it alone.”

Seeing Zhou Mingyang wasn’t trying to steal 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.

“Fine. Since you’re so confident, let me see what tricks you’ve got!”

Zhou Mingyang drew his sword and stood aside to watch, his eyes fixed on Xu Jingming.

If anything went wrong, he’d join the battle immediately.

But what happened next made Zhou Mingyang’s eyes widen.

Xu Jingming, charging into the beast pack, moved like a god unchained.

His black spear became a blur—every thrust claimed the life of a ferocious beast.

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

“This...”

Zhou Mingyang was stunned.

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

Yet now, this man had risen like a comet.

Not only had he quickly climbed into the top ten, but just over ten minutes ago, he’d directly stolen Zhou Mingyang’s number one spot!

Naturally, Zhou Mingyang was deeply curious about this terrifying figure, even imagining what kind of terrifying ability he might possess.

Was it some ultra-powerful A-grade ability?

Yet all this crushing dominance had been achieved with nothing but that single black spear!

Gulp~

Zhou Mingyang swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry: “Could he have some kind of enhancement ability I just didn’t notice?”

While he stood there silently speculating, Xu Jingming swiftly finished his slaughter—the last Arm-Knife Tiger king collapsed.

‘Killed one first-rank low-tier Unicorn Rhinoceros. Ability points +12.’

‘Killed one first-rank low-tier Arm-Knife Tiger. Ability points +10.’

‘Killed one first-rank mid-tier Arm-Knife Tiger. Ability points +15.’

‘...’

Listening to the continuous stream of notifications in his mind, Xu Jingming wore a look of pure delight.

This feeling was simply exquisite.

“But once the Wu Ke exam ends, there won’t be such good opportunities anymore.”

“So I must seize the time...”

Xu Jingming snapped back to reality, nodded to Zhou Mingyang, and quickly left.

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

He shouted loudly: “Xu Jingming! Do you have an enhancement ability?”

“No. It’s Lightning!”

Xu Jingming’s voice echoed from afar—his figure had already vanished from sight.

“L-Lightning?!”

Zhou Mingyang was dumbfounded. Where had there been even a trace of Lightning?

“If you didn’t want to tell me your ability type, you didn’t have to be this dismissive—you’re such a rude guy.”

Zhou Mingyang’s expression was wounded.

“And that look just now—you thought I was going to steal your kills?”

“Who else but a monster like you could handle a group like this?”

“Besides, there are so many ferocious beasts in the core zone—why worry about running out?”

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

Due to Xu Jingming’s terrible attitude, Zhou Mingyang left still muttering curses under his breath.