Chapter 23: Purple Dome Divine Thunder! Overwhelming Sweep!

Crackle, crackle—

Crackle, crackle—

In the center of the clearing, with Xu Jingming at its core, the Purple Dome Lei Ting spread outward more than three meters!

The thunderclaps were as piercing as a thousand birds crying out at once.

The terrifying Lei Ting seemed to turn the area around Xu Jingming into a forbidden zone for life!

Beyond three meters, one fierce beast after another lay scorched black by the electricity!

Within three meters, there was only Xu Jingming alone, like a sovereign, his whole body wreathed in lightning......

"As expected, relying on raw physical strength alone to deal with this many high-tier first-grade fierce beasts is still a bit much."

Xu Jingming raised his left hand, gazing somewhat raptly at the purple arcs of electricity dancing on his fingertips.

An ability's power is closely tied to its rank and the two foundational attributes.

Although he was still only an Awakener, his 180 points of Qi and blood and spirit made his Doushen Shenlei considerably stronger than when he had first awakened!

It could even deal tremendous damage to high-tier first-grade fierce beasts!

"This is what an S-rank ability is — overbearing... and ferocious."

Xu Jingming looked ahead.

The grievously wounded, near-death state of over a dozen fierce beasts had drawn the attention of the local Beast King — the Bloodthirsty Berserker Bear rose straight up from its resting state.

Five meters tall, plus a body width of over three meters, it was like a heavy tank.

Just imagine the oppressive pressure of a heavy tank rising up on its hind legs.

What Xu Jingming faced was exactly such a scene.

"A rare fierce beast, the Bloodthirsty Berserker Bear — this year's Wu Ke Gaokao really is unusually difficult."

Xu Jingming licked his lips.

In Jianghe during summer, the sun sets a little later.

The slanting sunset light struck the Bloodthirsty Berserker Bear, casting a long shadow on the ground.

Because he was facing away from the light, Xu Jingming could not see the bear's face clearly.

But its pair of blood-red eyes carried an overwhelming pressure.

Affected by this aura, the remaining dozen-plus fierce beasts that had been cowed by Xu Jingming's might and cowering, unwilling to advance, grew frenzied once more.

They lowered their bodies, bared their fangs, and let out roar after low growl.

"This scene would be pretty fitting for a horror film."

"But once the fight starts, these small fry will be a bit of a hassle."

"In that case, I'll clear the field first!"

Xu Jingming's gaze sharpened.

The Doushen Shenlei, originally only active on the surface of his body, under his control plunged directly inward!

Hum—

As if injected with a powerful stimulant, Xu Jingming's body shuddered violently!

Then,

His clear, spirited eyes were flooded with purple Lei Ting, and at the same instant, an incomparably vast power surged forth from his limbs and bones!

"This is the feeling!"

On Xu Jingming's sharply defined face, his smile was wild and unrestrained.

An ability is a power inherent to humans themselves, wielded as naturally as one's own arm.

Therefore, beyond combat techniques — a more refined method of ability use — there are also cruder methods of application.

For instance, Zhou Mingyang's wind-type ability: used casually, it reduces air resistance and speeds up running.

Or his earlier eruption of Doushen Shenlei, which can achieve an effect similar to a powerful plasma cannon.

And his current state is also a basic application of a lightning-type ability.

By channeling Lei Ting into the body to stimulate every cell, one's own physique can be greatly enhanced!

In the past, Xu Jingming had tried using his E-rank ability 【Weak Electricity】 to stimulate his body, but aside from making his body go numb, there had been no other effect.

But now, switching to the S-rank Doushen Shenlei, it was completely different!

Xu Jingming could feel the Doushen Shenlei surging through his body like a Jianghe, pushing his physique to an utterly monstrous level!

Of course,

this was, after all, not a combat technique.

Moreover, Lei Ting coursing through the body was extremely dangerous — one careless slip could damage the meridians.

Therefore, Xu Jingming could not maintain this state for long.

"Still, it's more than enough to deal with you beasts."

The corner of Xu Jingming's mouth curled up.

The next instant.

Lei Ting flashed, and his figure vanished from the spot.

When he reappeared, he was already beside a high-tier first-grade Horned Rhino!

Then, spear in hand, he carved a purple-black arc through the air like a bolt of lightning.

Before the Horned Rhino could react, a thin line of blood appeared on its neck.

Then, the rhino's massive head slid off with eerie smoothness and dropped to the ground.

Its hide, supposedly as hard as steel, had offered not the slightest defense in that moment!

Squelch~~~

Fresh blood gushed from its neck like a fountain.

With the tenacious vitality of a high-tier, first-rank fierce beast, even with its belly ripped open it could still move.

But once it lost its head, there was simply nothing to be done.

The headless body of the One-Horned Rhinoceros thus crashed down into a pool of blood.

"Roar!!"

Seeing the One-Horned Rhinoceros slain right before it, the Bloodthirsty Berserker Bear could hold back no longer.

With a furious roar, it charged at Xu Jingming.

Although the Bloodthirsty Berserker Bear was huge in size, its running speed was no slouch—on all fours, it covered over thirty meters in the blink of an eye!

Rather than calling it running, it was more like leaping!

However, fast as the Bloodthirsty Berserker Bear was, Xu Jingming was even faster!

Empowered by the Doushen Shenlei, he became a purple-black phantom, weaving through the beasts.

With every strike, the Black-Glory Spear wreathed in purple Lei Ting reaped the life of another beast.

'Ding~. Slain one high-tier, first-rank fierce beast, One-Horned Rhinoceros. Ability Points +15.'

'Ding~. Slain one high-tier, first-rank fierce beast, Shadow Cat. Ability Points +13.'

'Ding~. Slain one high-tier, first-rank fierce beast, Blade-Arm Tiger. Ability Points +14.'

'......'

System notification after system notification rang out in Xu Jingming's mind.

Accompanying them were the bursts of impotent rage from the Bloodthirsty Berserker Bear, unable to catch Xu Jingming.

"What kind of lightning-type ability is this? This fierce?!"

On the rooftop, Zhou Mingyang and his group were all utterly dumbfounded.

"Just the eruption of his ability alone has grievously wounded a high-tier, first-rank fierce beast to the brink of death.

And Xu Jingming is only an Awakener—even an A-rank ability shouldn't reach this level of intensity, right?"

The petite girl Meng Di swallowed hard.

Thanks to the prevalence of the internet, she had seen A-rank lightning-type ability users before.

Yet even the oppressive aura those high-tier A-rank lightning-type ability users gave off was not as intense as what Xu Jingming was radiating right now!

"Stronger than an A-rank ability—could it be..."

Zhou Mingyang and the bald young man exchanged a glance and said in unison: "S-rank?!"

The moment the words fell, Zhou Mingyang immediately shook his head in denial:

"No, that's not right."

"If he were truly S-rank, from the very day his ability awakened, the entire Great Xia nation would be shaken."

"Moreover, in this day and age, it's very hard to conceal one's ability rank."

Ability awakenings are arranged uniformly by the state; every Awakener's ability is recorded in the national database.

If someone truly had an S-rank ability, the state would have long since taken them in for elite training.

Why would they still be stuck here at Jiangcheng No. 2 High School, so starved of educational resources?

"Could it be an ability mutation?"

The bald youth asked tentatively.

"An ability mutation?"

Zhou Mingyang pondered for a moment, then nodded. "That is indeed possible."

The world is vast, and full of wonders.

Although ability mutations are rare, they have happened before.

There have been cases in the past where a D-rank ability mutated into an A-rank ability by chance.

"But no matter how you look at it, after today, the whole of Jiangcheng will likely be shaken for his sake."

Watching the black figure below—spear in hand, galloping through the beast horde, clearing the field with domineering force—Zhou Mingyang's expression was utterly complicated...