Chapter 22: Xu Jingming, He

This is trouble.

Zhou Mingyang couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

If it were any other ordinary second-rank beast,

the four of us together might have held out for a while.

But with the Bloodthirsty Rampager’s strength, that massive paw—like a giant iron wok—would crush us all to death!

We couldn’t even hold it for a second.

“There’s another possibility: right when we entered the compound,

we’d have been wiped out by these first-rank high-tier beasts before the Bloodthirsty Rampager even had to move.”

The bald youth snorted.

The four of us together could barely handle three or four first-rank high-tier beasts.

But down in the compound’s open area, there are over thirty first-rank high-tier beasts!

That means, whether it’s that second-rank Bloodthirsty Rampager,

or the remaining first-rank high-tier beasts, we dare not provoke any of them.

“The beast distribution between the innermost zone and the core zone is too extreme.

In the core zone, the strongest beasts are barely first-rank mid-tier; but in the innermost zone, the strongest become second-rank,

and even the ordinary beasts are first-rank high-tier—how are we supposed to play this?”

The petite girl Meng Di pouted unhappily.

“Before the exam, I heard our Wu Ke Gaokao examiner was Old Liu, and I didn’t believe it.

Now I see—this monstrous beast arrangement? Definitely him!”

The long-haired boy gritted his teeth.

Each year in Jiangnan Province, the Wu Ke Gaokao examiner rotates.

Old Liu is one of the most ruthless among them.

His Wu Ke Gaokao has a death rate more than double that of other years!

“First-rank high-tier beasts and second-rank beasts in the innermost zone are a fixed pairing nationwide.

Old Liu just swapped them for the Bloodthirsty Rampager—harder to deal with.

We can’t blame anyone else; we just lack the strength.”

Zhou Mingyang sighed.

The Wu Ke Gaokao is designed to select the best of the best; the innermost zone is like the final major question on a math exam.

Only those who solve that final question can truly be called chosen ones.

He was the genius of Jiangcheng, watched by all.

But across Jiangnan Province, he didn’t even have the qualification to touch that final question...

“Speaking of it, Xu Jingming worked his ass off all day, scraped together over three thousand points,

yet it’s still slower than killing this one second-rank beast and thirty-plus first-rank high-tier beasts.”

The long-haired youth smirked slightly, mocking.

The point value of innermost zone beasts is far higher than core zone beasts.

Killing one first-rank high-tier beast grants 100 points.

Kill the final second-rank beast, and you gain a massive 4,000 points!

“Humanity needs powerful warriors with combat prowess—killing countless low-rank beasts is useless!”

The long-haired boy spat contemptuously on the ground, clearly harboring resentment toward Xu Jingming.

Zhou Mingyang frowned at this, but ultimately said nothing.

After all, it was true.

The Wu Ke Gaokao demands ferociously strong warriors!

Not mere killing machines who only slaughter low-rank beasts.

Just like today’s Blue Star: though beasts rampage,

if we kill all nine-rank Beast Emperors, the rest will collapse on their own.

But if we don’t kill the Beast Emperors, no matter how many ordinary beasts we slaughter, it’s meaningless.

That’s precisely why the Wu Ke Gaokao assigns such high points to innermost zone beasts.

Kill the second-rank beast, and you instantly gain enough points to dominate the entire exam.

And the second-rank beast is the mandatory target for any candidate aiming for provincial champion.

Still, though he said all that, Zhou Mingyang silently added in his heart:

‘What good is Xu Jingming? Then what about us, whose scores are lower than his? Are we useless too?’

He thought this, but since they’d soon fight side by side, he held his tongue.

“Enough talking.”

“Let’s go down and try to lure out a few first-rank high-tier beasts.”

The open area under the second-rank Bloodthirsty Rampager’s watch? Impossible to enter directly.

So Zhou Mingyang’s strategy was to lure them out one by one—kill as many as possible.

Of course,

we might not lure out a single one.

If that happens, we’ll have to retreat to the central zone.

“Alright, let’s get to work.”

“Tch, luring beasts into a zone guarded by a second-rank beast? Isn’t that suicide?”

“Heh, even if it is suicide, don’t we still have to try?”

“...”

The group teased each other as they prepared to head downstairs.

But just then, a dark figure sprinted toward them from afar.

The figure moved fast, like a cheetah, reaching the Jingshe Garden compound gate in mere seconds.

“Xu Jingming!”

Zhou Mingyang’s gaze sharpened.

Though they were on the eighth-floor rooftop, their enhanced vision as adepts

let him instantly recognize the figure below as Xu Jingming, whom he’d met once.

“Xu Jingming came too? Where? Where?”

“Xu Jingming? Hmph, I want to see what kind of person he really is!”

Unlike Zhou Mingyang, Meng Di and the others had never encountered Xu Jingming.

So upon hearing his name, they turned back from the stairwell entrance and looked down.

When adepts evolve into adepts with abilities, not only do their abilities strengthen, but their physical traits improve too.

Thus, the height of the eighth floor meant nothing to them—they could clearly see the person below.

Below, in front of the compound’s open area, a young man stood.

Tall and sturdy, his face resolute, his eyes sharp as an eagle’s.

After countless battles, his black combat suit was half-dyed dark red.

The black long spear strapped to his back—once sharp and gleaming—now resembled a cleaver worn down from hacking bones, its blade uneven and chipped.

Precisely because of that spear, his steady, powerful aura gained an extra edge of ferocity.

“So handsome!”

Women, at any time, remain emotional creatures.

Instantly upon seeing Xu Jingming, Meng Di’s eyes lit up.

“An F-grade spear worn down to this state? Hard to imagine how many beasts he’s killed.”

The bald boy marveled at the weapon’s destruction.

Remember,

F-grade alloy is incredibly hard; to wear it down like this proves the brutality and frequency of his battles.

“Showing up right in front of a beast horde? That’s suicide.”

The long-haired boy sneered, delighted by the prospect.

“Roar—”

“Howl—”

Indeed, Xu Jingming’s arrival triggered immediate chaos among the beasts below.

In an instant, over a dozen first-rank high-tier beasts roared and charged at him!

“Damn! He’s stirred the whole horde!”

Meng Di gasped.

“How reckless is Xu Jingming?”

Zhou Mingyang frowned.

At this distance, even if they wanted to help, they couldn’t reach him in time.

By the time they got down, Xu Jingming would already be dead beyond saving.

"What else? His confidence from coming in first, not knowing the limits of heaven and earth."

The long-haired boy sneered, his gaze locked on the scene below. "So he uses a gun—but that broken rifle of his won’t save him."

As he’d said, Xu Jingming could initially handle the few ferocious beasts charging at him.

But the beasts that followed in quick succession overwhelmed him; his figure was soon swallowed by more than a dozen ferocious beasts...

"Xu Jingming... won’t he just die like this?"

Watching the figure vanish into the swarm of ferocious beasts, Zhou Mingyang found it hard to believe.

In just a few hours, the man had risen like a comet.

And now, was he about to fall like a meteor?

Most importantly, what was Xu Jingming thinking?

He knew the core zone was filled with High-Stage First-Rank and Second-Rank ferocious beasts—so how dare he stroll out so boldly in front of them?

"Come to think of it, he was lying to me all along—he never once used a lightning-based ability."

"Whatever. When a man dies, his lamp goes out. I won’t pursue it further."

Zhou Mingyang and Xu Jingming had only met once; he felt little concern for the man’s safety.

At most, he was merely puzzled by the man’s foolish behavior.

Then, suddenly, Zhou Mingyang and the others felt a jolt in their hearts.

A low, commanding voice echoed beside them:

"Lightning, come!"

The next instant.

Amidst chaotic, piercing thunderclaps, a violet shockwave erupted violently from the center of the ferocious beast swarm directly beneath their line of sight!

BOOM!!

The ferocious beasts struck by the shockwave turned completely charred, flung backward five or six meters!

The once densely packed beast swarm vanished as if erased by an eraser, leaving a wide, empty circle.

In the center of the clearing, Xu Jingming’s tall, lean figure stood like a war god.

Around his body, streams of violet lightning swirled, as if welcoming their sovereign’s arrival, cheering and dancing in joy.

At that moment, Zhou Mingyang and the others finally realized.

What they’d thought was a shockwave was actually a high-voltage net woven from violet lightning!!

"This?!!"

Staring at the figure in the clearing, resembling a thunder god, Zhou Mingyang stood dumbfounded. After a long moment, he muttered:

"Xu Jingming... he really does have a lightning-based ability..."