Chapter 239: The Number One: Kong Shi! 500,000 Combat Power!

Virtual training requires a virtual immersion pod, and such pods are only available in the Training Building.

After leaving Professor Yang's villa, Xu Jingming headed straight for the Training Building.

The Training Building of Magic University is a lavishly constructed tower, twelve stories tall.

Each floor covers at least ten thousand square meters.

The first floor of the Training Building is the arena area where Xu Jingming once challenged Lei Zhou.

The fourth floor is where the virtual immersion pods are located.

"Dingdong~~, fourth floor arrived."

The elevator doors opened, and Xu Jingming stepped out.

A single glance revealed the entire layout of the fourth floor.

The interior decoration resembled a typical internet cafe, with a sci-fi aesthetic.

Instead of computers, the lobby housed dozens of virtual immersion pods, each large enough to accommodate one person.

Looking around, there were at least a hundred such pods in the lobby.

Pods with open doors, slightly tilted for easy entry, were unoccupied.

Pods with closed doors, lying horizontally, were in use.

"Last time I nearly cleared Level 10 and broke ten thousand combat power—I'll definitely do it this time!"

"Hah, keep dreaming. Level 10 has twenty lower-tier second-rank rhinoceroses attacking at once."

"You've just entered second-rank—you'd be lucky to kill half before you die!"

"Don't believe me? Just wait and see!"

"......"

Although the winter break had not yet ended and Magic University had not officially reopened, most students had already returned.

After over a month of cultivation, their strength had improved significantly.

Now that they were back, they naturally wanted to test their combat power.

Thus, the fourth floor was far from empty, with students mostly gathered in small groups.

They taunted and bet against each other, none willing to yield, entering the pods one after another.

They would wait until the trial ended, letting combat power decide the winner.

Besides these betting students, many others had just exited the pods and were preparing to leave.

And then came Xu Jingming, tall at nearly two meters, his aura powerful.

In the fourth floor's crowd, he was unmistakably conspicuous, and his identity was quickly recognized.

"Holy shit! That's Xu Jingming?"

"It really is him! He actually came for virtual training?"

"Big news! His name never appeared on the combat power leaderboard—now it will!"

"Looks like we'll finally find out who's stronger—Kong Shi or Xu Jingming."

"......"

On the student forum, most threads right now debated who was stronger—Xu Jingming or Kong Shi—and who deserved to be team captain.

Xu Jingming's arrival at the virtual training ground meant this debate was about to end.

Many students grew excited and immediately pulled out their phones to post this explosive news on the forum.

"SHOCKING! Xu Jingming has arrived at virtual training!"

"Lei Di vs. Iron Bear—who's stronger? The truth is coming!"

"Lei Di's combat power has been zero so far—how much will he get? Xiao Chen brings you live coverage!"

"......"

I have to say, the magic university students are really good at getting to the point.

Soon, eye-catching headlines flooded the forum, and comments surged beneath them.

Xu Jingming knew his presence would spark gossip, but he didn't care.

He walked straight to the front desk and asked:

"Hello, I'd like to undergo virtual training. What do I need to do?"

"Virtual training requires initial combat skill data collection. Since it's your first time, let me guide you."

Behind the desk, a female attendant stood up enthusiastically.

Normally, for first-time visitors, the front desk only needed to answer simple questions.

But for Xu Jingming—handsome, with an extraordinary aura—she was happy to offer deeper guidance.

"Thank you." Xu Jingming nodded slightly.

He'd never been here before and truly didn't know how to proceed.

Amid the stares and murmurs of onlookers, Xu Jingming followed the attendant out of the lobby into the side hall on the right.

The side hall was slightly smaller than the lobby and held no virtual pods.

Instead, it contained dozens of massive black machines, over five meters tall.

"The virtual space will simulate a body matching your rank and physical strength."

"But your unique abilities and mastered combat techniques must be recorded in advance using these machines."

"You don't need to fully unleash them—just demonstrate enough for the machine to confirm you can perform them."

With the attendant's explanation, Xu Jingming finally understood the purpose of the black machines.

"This machine is free. Just swipe your student ID to use it."

"Got it."

Xu Jingming pulled out his student ID from his space ring and swiped it on the machine's sensor. A prompt sounded:

"Welcome, S-Class authorized student Xu Jingming, using Data Collection Device."

"S-Class student?" The attendant froze beside him.

She'd worked here two or three years—this was her first S-Class student.

Xu Jingming paid no mind to her surprise and stepped into the machine.

Hss—

The heavy door sealed shut, blocking all view.

"Respected S-Class student, please activate your unique ability and demonstrate your mastered combat techniques."

At the machine's instruction, Xu Jingming unleashed his Divine Thunder.

Golden lightning coiled around his body; he gripped a spear and demonstrated various S-Class and basic combat techniques, including Thunder God's Finger.

Of course,

none of these techniques were fully unleashed—otherwise the entire Training Building would've been destroyed.

Moreover, the five-meter-tall machine clearly accounted for users with giantization abilities.

Xu Jingming's two-meter-two height in Thunder Form felt no crowding inside the machine.

Finally,

after over ten minutes, Xu Jingming completed all demonstrations and stepped out.

The attendant then led him back to the lobby.

He thought he could now pick any pod at random.

But the attendant led him straight to the largest virtual pod in the center of the lobby.

"This is...?"

Xu Jingming stared at the pod before him—its design far more advanced than the others.

"This is the only top-tier virtual pod in the Training Building. It offers superior realism and is reserved exclusively for S-Class students," the attendant said respectfully.

In truth, this was her first time escorting someone to use it.

"S-Class only? Magic University really enforces hierarchy strictly—every privilege differs. But... I like it."

Amid the envious gazes of onlookers, Xu Jingming smiled faintly and lay down inside.

Whsh—

The door sealed. His vision went black, then faint white luminescence glowed within the pod.

【Scanning physical data...】

【Scan complete. Detecting neural connections...】

【Detection complete. Entering virtual space...】

After a series of prompts, Xu Jingming's consciousness blurred.

When he awoke again, he stood on an endless silver plain.

The silver ground stretched infinitely; besides him, only one door remained—a massive gate fifty meters wide and over ten meters tall.

The gate had a classical design, entirely black, radiating heavy energy.

Beside it stood a colossal stone pillar.

The pillar bore countless engraved names.

"So this is the combat power leaderboard."

Xu Jingming scanned the pillar and quickly found his name.

Rank 4123: Xu Jingming, Combat Power: 0

At the very top of the pillar, towering above all others, was another name.

Rank 1: Kong Shi, combat power:!