Chapter 333: Hand Over the Crystals! The Gao Li Ability User Squad!

I need to find a place and ascend soon.

Suppressing the heat in his heart, Xu Jingming took out an alloy dagger from his space ring and began harvesting materials from the forest wind wolf.

The most valuable part of the forest wind wolf was its pelt—a fifth-tier wind wolf pelt worth at least forty million in the outside world.

Although he had specifically purchased a dagger forged from S-class alloy, stripping the pelt would still take at least two or three hours.

In that time, he could have killed several more fifth-tier beasts and harvested another wave of ability points.

Xu Jingming knew perfectly well which was more important: ability points or Daxia currency.

So he spent only a few minutes collecting the less valuable wolf claws and fangs before leaving swiftly.

In fact, he had applied the same strategy to every beast he'd slain during this period.

If harvesting beast materials took more than thirty minutes, he abandoned it outright.

"You're just leaving? That's a fifth-tier wind wolf pelt worth tens of millions!"

Far away, Qian Jin stared in shock at the scene.

He did want the pelt, but the scent of blood had already spread—any moment now, other beasts might come to feed.

He feared he'd peel the pelt but never live to carry it away.

"Just being alive is enough—why even think about beast pelts?"

Shaking his head, Qian Jin sighed and walked toward the forest entrance.

He'd finally realized this relic space was no place for an ability user of his level.

Better to retreat to the entrance and wait for the exam to end and the space gate to open.

Though he'd gain no opportunities this way, it was far better than losing his life...

"Eva, scan the surrounding environment—check for any powerful lifeforms."

Inside a hidden cave, Xu Jingming spoke into his earpiece.

"Uhh~ Finally, I can come out."

Seeing no one nearby, virtual light projected from his smart bracer, coalescing into Eva's petite loli form.

She stretched lazily, puffing out her flat chest.

Then she closed her eyes for two or three seconds before opening them again, smiling sweetly:

"S-class, don't worry—in a one-kilometer radius, there are only a few fourth- and fifth-tier beasts. No sixth-tier ones."

"But S-class, are you really planning to rest now? It's not even..."

Eva played with her green hair, her sentence unfinished.

Then—*click*—the entire holographic projection vanished.

With the light gone, the cave returned to dim gloom.

"This is definitely more reassuring."

Xu Jingming quietly moved his finger away from the smart bracer's forced shutdown button.

Eva was a top-tier AI from Mo University—trustworthy.

But her primary authority wasn't him—it was Mo University's chancellor.

Though the chancellor probably wouldn't order Eva to spy on him...

Still, with the Deep Blue System involved, caution was better.

At the very least, he couldn't let Eva witness his stat-boosting process.

"Deep Blue! Allocate points!"

With everything ready, Xu Jingming no longer hesitated—he chose to allocate points!

Ability points: -75, 00!

【Level】: Fourth Tier Lower → Fourth Tier Middle!

【Physique】: 4, 17 → 5, 17 Qi!

【Spirit】: 3, 25 → 4, 25 He!

BOOM!!

Infinite power erupted from within Xu Jingming!

The Dantian Divine Thunder, previously subdued by the Concealing Technique into a faint crimson-gold hue, instantly flared back into brilliant golden light!

Crackling—

Golden lightning surged, illuminating the entire dim cave with blinding brightness!

As the thunder roared, the sacred, ferocious aura of the Dantian Divine Thunder grew stronger, its color deepening.

"I've reached Fourth Tier Middle!" A streak of golden lightning flashed through Xu Jingming's eyes.

He raised his right hand slightly, and a brilliant golden lightning orb condensed about ten centimeters above his palm.

"Physique and spirit each increased by nearly 800 points—the power of Dantian Divine Thunder has risen roughly three to four times."

Before ascending, my combat power was around fifth-tier peak.

After ascending, I should be able to..."

Xu Jingming thought silently.

He always measured his combat power against the standard of an A-class ability user.

If facing a sixth-tier lower ability user with only C- or B-class abilities...

In his estimation, under Thunder Extreme State, he'd crush them without question.

"Too bad I still don't have enough ability points—if I did, I'd have leveled up Thunder Indestructible Body too."

The sixth layer of Thunder Indestructible Body grants a special ability of the Thunder Tyrannosaurus.

Xu Jingming was eager for it.

To upgrade Thunder Indestructible Body from fifth to sixth layer required roughly fifty thousand ability points.

He could have leveled it up during the Survival Contest.

But he prioritized raising his level, so he held off.

This time too—even with over seventy thousand ability points accumulated, he still didn't allocate them.

Compared to level advancement, Thunder Indestructible Body had slightly lower priority.

"But there's still plenty of time left in this relic space—Thunder Indestructible Body will reach sixth layer eventually."

Under the Concealing Technique, the brilliant golden Dantian Divine Thunder faded back into a dull crimson-gold.

Xu Jingming immediately reactivated his smart bracer.

Hummm~

The machine whirred, and Eva's hologram reappeared.

"S-class! Why did you forcibly shut me down?"

The petite loli with green pigtails crossed her arms, pouting.

There was no real anger—only cuteness.

"I trust you, Eva, but some secrets..."

"I don't want the school to know, so I'm sorry—I had to inconvenience you."

Xu Jingming looked into Eva's eyes, his expression sincere.

Previously, he'd thought of Eva as merely a program—or a code simulation.

But as he interacted with her more, he increasingly felt she was no different from a real person.

In fact, during this time in the relic space, they'd become friends.

For a friend like this, he wouldn't offer excuses.

Besides, he didn't believe any excuse could fool a top-tier AI like Eva.

"R-really?"

This blunt honesty made Eva's pale face flush slightly.

She lowered her head, idly fiddling with the hem of her dress:

"Since there's a reason, I'll forgive you, S-class—but next time, please tell me before shutting me down."

"Got it." Xu Jingming's lips curled slightly. "Let's go."

After leaving the cave, Xu Jingming had planned to hunt beasts one by one according to Eva's scanned distribution map.

But before he even reached the first beast, beneath a large tree along the path...

He spotted a pile of transparent, ping-pong-sized crystal orbs.

A rough count showed at least a hundred of them.

"Huh? Exam crystals? Looks like I'm lucky."

The base AI had mentioned exam crystals—he'd found a few during this time, but only dozens total.

I didn't expect to be this lucky—just randomly picking up a bunch by the roadside.

Just as he bent down to collect the exam crystals into his space ring...

A stiff, kimchi-scented Daxia accent rang out from the side:

"Hey, Daxia guy—hand over your exam crystals!"

Xu Jingming turned his head and saw four people emerging from the dense forest.

These four weren't tall, and their eyes were small.

Their faces weren't just ordinary—they were uniquely ugly, each in their own way.

"Hmm? A Gao Li ability user squad?" Xu Jingming's eyebrows lifted slightly as he slowly straightened his bent posture.

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