Chapter 404

A voice tinged with excitement echoed throughout the gymnasium.

All the trainees and instructors of the Heaven's Prodigy Training Camp instinctively turned to look.

"Cao Ren! It really is him!"

"Why has he suddenly challenged Xu Jingming?"

"Xu Jingming may be strong, but he shouldn't be on that level yet, right?"

"......"

Amid the murmurs, everyone was taken aback.

Most people in the crowd knew this Supreme Commander Cao Ren of the Black Dragon Legion.

He possessed an A+ grade elemental wind ability—the so-called pseudo-S-grade ability.

At mid-sixth rank, he had fought evenly against a seventh-rank lower-tier Master with a B-grade ability.

Though a battle fanatic, very few youths his age could spark his interest.

So why had he suddenly challenged Xu Jingming?

"Cao Ren?" Xu Jingming on the arena naturally recognized the man.

His gaze swept the audience seats; upon spotting Wu Shuo and others, he immediately understood.

It must be because his feat of slaying the sixth-rank King-class beast had been exposed, drawing Cao Ren's interest.

"Cao Ren?"

Su Qingli on the other side was also surprised.

Today was the assessment match for her Lei Thunder Martial Arts Academy's Heaven's Prodigy Training Camp—if anyone else had said this, it would have been an outright challenge to the school.

But coming from Cao Ren, it simply meant he wanted to fight Xu Jingming.

Logically, Xu Jingming shouldn't have caught his interest at all.

After a moment's thought, Su Qingli decided to leave the choice to Xu Jingming:

"Cao Ren, I know you're a battle fanatic.

But Xu Jingming just finished a fight—whether to accept depends on his own decision."

With that, her beautiful eyes turned to Xu Jingming.

The meaning in her gaze was clear: fight if you can, don't force it if you can't.

Cao Ren was five years older than Xu Jingming, and he wasn't even a trainee in the Heaven's Prodigy Camp.

Even if he refused, there would be no issue.

Facing Su Qingli's questioning gaze, Xu Jingming's choice was simple:

"I can fight you—but I have a condition.

A bet of ten billion Daxia coins: winner takes all. Accept, and I'll fight you."

Honestly, neither of today's two fights had satisfied him; fighting a powerhouse like Cao Ren wasn't bad.

Of course, he wouldn't fight for free—he deserved a fee.

For Cao Ren, ten billion Daxia coins meant nothing.

"Fine! No problem—ten billion it is!"

Cao Ren leapt from the audience seats, his body wreathed in swirling green winds, his long hair whipping behind him.

He descended slowly to the center of the alloy arena, his eyes flickering with burning battle lust:

"But I have a condition—you must use the elemental techniques you used to kill that sixth-rank King-class beast!"

Though a battle fanatic, Cao Ren only challenged other elementalists.

If Xu Jingming used close-combat methods, it wouldn't stir the slightest interest in him.

The implications in his words

were like a boulder cast into a calm lake—immediately sparking a storm of uproar.

"Did I hear that right? Elementalist? Xu Jingming just entered fifth rank—when did he become an elementalist?"

"Sixth-rank King-class beast? Xu Jingming actually has that kind of record?"

"Insane! Everyone's gone insane!"

"......"

Su Qingli was a ninth-rank Law Saint; as her student, Xu Jingming would inevitably follow the elementalist path.

No one doubted that.

But the key point was Xu Jingming had only just entered fifth rank—he'd only just met the condition to begin practicing the Divine Mind Art.

Logically, he shouldn't be an elementalist yet!

But Cao Ren wouldn't lie—meaning Xu Jingming truly was already an elementalist!

Even more shocking was that Xu Jingming had slain a sixth-rank King-class beast inside Dungeon #4.

That was something no one had dared imagine.

"So that's how he got his Yuanling Fruit."

In the inner audience seats,

with her sharp intellect, Su Qingli instantly grasped the full story.

Meanwhile, Vice Director Hu Jinyu was stunned.

What's going on?

Didn't Xu Jingming just enter the Heaven's Prodigy Training Camp over a month ago?

How is his cultivation progress faster than trainees who've been here for one or two years?

"SSS-grade ability? An elementalist at twenty?!"

Li Hao stared fixedly at that figure, his expression filled with shock and anger.

With mediocre cultivation talent, he naturally resented such prodigies.

And now Xu Jingming possessed an SSS-grade ability while also having astonishing insight—it only deepened his resentment.

Especially when he noticed Ling Shuang's gaze toward Xu Jingming carried a hint of admiration.

A nameless fury surged in his chest!

'This guy is still on Su Qingli's side.

No good—I'll have to find a chance to discuss this with Director Hu—can we kick him out?

This guy is just too annoying...'

"Fine, no problem."

On the arena, Xu Jingming immediately accepted Cao Ren's demand.

In truth,

after practicing the Divine Mind Art, possessing the high-grade elemental weapon Yao Lei Staff, and learning the SSS-grade technique 'Lei Shen Descends,'

his elementalist techniques were far superior to his close-combat methods!

He had already planned to fight Cao Ren using elementalist techniques.

"Good. Do you need rest? I can wait a while—I'm not in a hurry."

Cao Ren eagerly said.

He disliked taking advantage of weakened opponents—the more fully recovered his opponent, the more his battle lust ignited.

"No need. The energy expenditure from my last fight was negligible—I've fully recovered."

Xu Jingming shook his head.

On the other side, Chen Hai, who had just returned to Wang Dong and the others, nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Damn it!

So all that grueling struggle I just went through, and you recovered in seconds? Is this even fair?

Chen Hai seethed inwardly, but the audience paid no attention to his reaction.

All eyes were fixed eagerly on the arena.

On the arena, Xu Jingming's space ring flickered faintly.

The blood-grooved, fearsome and bloodthirsty Liuyun Jin Feng Spear vanished.

In its place appeared a staff over two meters long.

At its tip was embedded a core the size of a fist, brimming with swirling, violent blue lightning.

It crackled and flashed incessantly.

"That's Director Su's Yao Lei Staff! She's already given it to Xu Jingming?!"

"The Yao Lei Staff demands extreme spiritual force to wield—Xu Jingming pulling it out proves he's definitely an elementalist!"

"Good heavens! An elementalist at twenty? Has he broken Daxia's age record for elementals?!"

"......"

Gazing at the tall figure standing amid the lightning, holding the Yao Lei Staff,

waves of stunned exclamations rose and fell, unceasing...