Chapter 24: You Call This an E-Rank Ability?

Time rewound to four minutes earlier.

When Xu Jingming appeared alone before the bloodthirsty bear beast herd, a chorus of gasps erupted across the military zone outside the exam hall.

“What is Xu Jingming doing? Why did he just appear directly in the beasts’ line of sight?”

“Zhou Mingyang and the others all knew to hide high up and observe first—why is Xu Jingming so reckless?”

“Run! Run fast!”

“......”

The Education Bureau Director and all the school principals were second-rank adepts with sharp eyes.

They had long recognized Xu Jingming’s strength—he could handle two or three high-tier first-rank beasts at once.

But to fight dozens of high-tier first-rank beasts simultaneously? That was pure fantasy.

Not to mention the even more terrifying second-rank beast, the bloodthirsty bear, which he could never hope to face.

So when they saw Xu Jingming appear without any concealment in the core zone, the director and principals all panicked.

Many teachers from No. 2 High School were shouting for him to flee, but Xu Jingming in the footage couldn’t hear them.

Instead, he was swallowed whole by the beast herd.

“Xu Jingming is too confident—he dares to stroll openly into the core zone like this.”

The director shook his head, his expression grim.

Even if Xu Jingming somehow managed to survive this.

After the Wu Ke exam ends, this reckless display will be seen by admissions offices of all major arcane universities—his evaluation will be severely damaged.

“This is it—we’ve finally produced a prodigy from our school, and now he’s going to perish like this?” Principal Zhao Yao’s face turned ashen.

“Isn’t Xu Jingming still carrying a safety ball?” His homeroom teacher, Chen Fan, hurriedly said.

“Forget whether he can even activate the safety ball under these conditions—even if he did, the high-voltage electric net it releases won’t withstand the trampling of this group of high-tier first-rank beasts.”

Principal Zhao Yao shook his head and turned to the overall commander of this Wu Ke exam:

“Commander Wang, please dispatch the nearest adept rescue team to prepare for extraction.”

To maximize candidate survival, besides the safety ball, another measure was the deployment of adept rescue teams scattered throughout the exam zone.

Unlike the inexperienced candidates, these rescue teams were elite warriors forged in battle.

And their composition was highly balanced—though all were merely first-rank adepts, together as a unit, they could hold their own against second-rank beasts!

Of course,

Such elite rescue teams existed in only a handful across the entire military zone, typically reserved for rescuing candidates with exceptional potential.

Xu Jingming, currently ranked first, clearly qualified for deployment of an elite rescue team.

“Understood.” Commander Wang nodded, opening his communicator to contact the rescue team.

“I hope Xu Jingming can hold out until the rescue team arrives.”

Principal Zhao Yao sighed.

Just then, on Xu Jingming’s projection screen, a brilliant light suddenly flared!

From Xu Jingming’s center, countless violet lightning bolts surged outward!

All surrounding beasts were instantly charred black and blasted away by the violent thunder!

Then, Xu Jingming seemed to transform into the Thunder God himself—his eyes crackled with electricity, violet lightning dancing across his skin.

Holding a long spear, he plunged into the beast herd and began slaughtering.

The second-rank bloodthirsty bear chased behind but could never land a hit!

It could only watch helplessly as Xu Jingming reaped through the beasts.

The entire battlefield underwent a miraculous reversal in an instant!

The director and principals were stunned into silence by this sudden turn.

“This... is Xu Jingming’s lightning-based ability?”

Principal Zhao Yao sucked in a sharp breath; Education Bureau Director Zhang Wenshan was equally dumbfounded:

“Principal Zhao, you call this an E-rank ability? Are you kidding me?”

In the ruins of the town, the core zone.

Empowered by Purple Thunder Divine Lightning, Xu Jingming toyed with the bloodthirsty bear like a dog on a leash.

The bloodthirsty bear seemed to realize its speed was insufficient—it could only be led, never catch up—so it stopped chasing altogether.

Its massive body settled in the center of the residential courtyard, its crimson eyes locked on Xu Jingming’s figure.

Each time Xu Jingming killed a beast, the beast’s bloodthirsty aura intensified.

There were thirty-four high-tier first-rank beasts in total.

Thirteen of them, during the initial assault on Xu Jingming, had already been charred black and critically wounded by the initial burst of Purple Thunder Divine Lightning.

The remaining twenty-one beasts were swiftly slain one after another within a minute by Xu Jingming, who had activated his cellular enhancement state.

Crackling—

A flash of lightning, and Xu Jingming’s towering figure, spear in hand and drenched in thunder, appeared eight meters before the bloodthirsty bear.

“Clever of you—you knew I’d come for you and waited right here.”

Xu Jingming’s eyes, brimming with violet lightning, fixed on the bloodthirsty bear ahead—truly electrifying in their intensity!

The bloodthirsty bear, meanwhile, was beyond furious, snorting thick plumes of air.

Its muscular chest heaved violently with each ragged breath.

Its crimson eyes glowed with icy malice.

Any adept with weak nerves would likely collapse on the spot at this sight.

But Xu Jingming’s expression remained unchanged; his left hand gripped the air.

Like a sovereign of thunder, the surrounding Purple Thunder Divine Lightning surged toward him, coalescing into a bolt of violet lightning!

Zzzzt!

Xu Jingming hurled the bolt with force—it struck the bloodthirsty bear dead center with a thunderous boom.

This terrifying lightning, capable of instantly killing a high-tier first-rank beast, now merely danced across the beast’s surface.

It made its face even more grotesque—but otherwise seemed ineffective.

“No wonder it’s a rare breed among second-rank beasts—its defense is formidable.”

Xu Jingming’s gaze sharpened.

Unlike domestic pets, the bloodthirsty bear never groomed its fur.

This caused its hair to mat together, forming armor-like protection.

This fur armor was nearly as strong as E-rank alloy!

More importantly—it didn’t conduct electricity!

Though Purple Thunder Divine Lightning was powerful, Xu Jingming was still merely an awakened.

Attempting to harm a second-rank bloodthirsty bear across two major ranks was indeed a stretch.

“I’ll need to find a way to break its defense first.”

As Xu Jingming pondered inwardly, the bloodthirsty bear on the other side was far from idle.

“ROOOOAR!!!”

It let out a low roar, and its violent blood aura solidified into visible streams around its body.

Like a Super Saiyan, crimson blood energy surged upward in a vortex.

Instantly, its entire body swelled, its monstrous bear face bulging with veins!

Even the broken stones beneath its feet trembled under the force of this overwhelming energy!

Then—

It slammed its legs down hard, cratering the ground.

And its massive, tower-like form leapt straight toward Xu Jingming!

“What the hell?!”

Do you know what it feels like when a Tiger tank charges at you?

That was the sensation Xu Jingming felt.

He instantly changed expression and dodged sideways.

BOOM!!!

The bloodthirsty bear crashed down like a comet onto the spot where Xu Jingming had stood; the already weathered concrete could no longer hold.

Cracks radiated outward from the beast’s impact, dust exploding into the air!

When the dust settled, the bloodthirsty bear’s Super Saiyan-like form reappeared in Xu Jingming’s line of sight.