Chapter 405: Gale Illusion Body! Master-Level Proficiency!

The threshold for an Elementalist is a mental force of 6,000 Hz.

Even for an adept who trains the most elite energy cultivation methods, reaching this value requires at least fifth-rank.

Even after meeting the requirement, merely mastering the basics takes at least half a year, or even one to two years!

Before this, the youngest age at which someone in Great Xia became an Elementalist was 23.

It was set a century ago by an adept who awakened an SS-rank Fire Element ability.

But now, this record has been broken!

And it has been pushed forward by three full years—utterly unbelievable!

"Come to think of it, Xu Jingming's advancement speed is astonishingly fast!

When the national university league ended in March, he had just entered fourth-rank.

Now, less than half a year has passed, and he's already broken through a major rank and reached fifth-rank!"

The audience was in awe.

Xu Jingming's advancement speed was so rapid it nearly overturned their entire worldview!

"So what if he advances fast? He can't possibly beat Cao Ren."

Amid the shock, some spectators muttered enviously.

"That's true enough, but Xu Jingming is five years younger than Cao Ren.

Losing is normal—just treat it as sparring; it will build practical experience.

At Magic Cave No. 4, numerous military legions and guilds are stationed, and naturally, there are many young elites.

Among them, Cao Ren, Grand Commander of the Black Dragon Legion, stands out as one of the top.

He once fought a seventh-rank Master to a standstill.

Though that seventh-rank Master possessed only a B-rank ability and wasn't particularly strong,

a Master is still a Master—a chasm ordinary sixth-rank peak adepts can never cross!

Cao Ren's achievement alone proves his formidable strength.

Compared to that, Xu Jingming's record of slaying a sixth-rank King-level beast is slightly inferior.

Of course,

if they were the same age, Xu Jingming could single-handedly crush Cao Ren.

To this claim, others countered:

"Can't beat him? Are you joking? Xu Jingming bet ten billion!"

"Haha, maybe Xu Jingming deliberately used ten billion to scare off Cao Ren—and ended up shooting himself in the foot?"

Are you insane? For people like them, ten billion means nothing—how could it possibly scare anyone away?

The spectator stands held nearly ten thousand people.

Some favored Xu Jingming; others did not.

Thus, a heated debate erupted over who would win, each side holding firm to their views.

Notably, most supporters of Xu Jingming were young, beautiful girls...

"Xu Jingming is already an Elementalist?"

Among the prodigy training camp students, including Wang Dong, all wore expressions of shock.

Especially Lin Hui, who gazed at Xu Jingming's hand with envy, at the peculiar staff emitting violent energy fluctuations.

The Thunderglow Staff!

A Lightning-element exclusive weapon!

He had long dreamed of owning a Fire-element exclusive weapon.

Yet before he could get one, Xu Jingming had already secured it.

"Having a powerful teacher really is great..." Lin Hui muttered enviously under his breath.

His own teacher was no slouch—a ninth-rank Grandmaster of Fire Elements.

But his teacher had over a dozen students and couldn't possibly provide resources for each one!

Thus, most of his resources had to be earned through his own efforts.

How could he compare to Xu Jingming, who was handed a high-grade Element weapon right from the start?

"Both sides, prepare!"

On the 800m x 800m alloy arena, Liu Wei, wearing black-framed glasses, stood at the center.

To Liu Wei's left stood Cao Ren, tall and slender, with long hair flowing behind him.

Around him, faint bluish winds swirled, stirring his long hair wildly.

On both wrists, he wore two thick, circular bands of deep blue, far larger than bracelets.

When the wind passed through them, its power surged dramatically.

Clearly, these were also Element weapons—Wind-element ones.

To Liu Wei's right stood Xu Jingming.

Having set aside his sharp long spear and now wielding the Thunderglow Staff, Xu Jingming's appearance seemed less intimidating.

Yet the sacred golden lightning arcs flickering and leaping across his body,

and the violent thunder raging at the crystal core atop the Thunderglow Staff, made any underestimation impossible.

The two stood 400 meters apart, poised and alert, as Liu Wei began the final countdown:

"Three... two... one... Start!"

Boom!

The moment the match began, Xu Jingming immediately entered Thunder Extreme State!

Crackling—

Violent golden Celestial Thunder erupted across his body; the surging power within made him grin with delight.

With Thunder Immortal Body reaching its sixth level, entering Thunder Extreme State doubled his strength.

Without Thunder Extreme State, he wouldn't dare fight Cao Ren.

After all, the higher the rank, the harder it is to fight across ranks.

Cao Ren was sixth-rank mid-tier—more than one full rank above him—and possessed a pseudo-S-rank ability.

Relying solely on SS-rank Celestial Thunder simply wouldn't be enough.

On the other side, Cao Ren also activated his Wind-element A+ ability: "Azure Sharp Wind!"

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh...

A torrent of bluish wind howled, lifting him into the air, hovering above the ground.

"Thunder Prison!"

To counter such agile Wind-element adepts, first you must restrict their movement.

Without hesitation, Xu Jingming cast Thunder Prison!

Crackling—

The Thunderglow Staff emitted terrifying energy; violent golden lightning erupted from nowhere.

It vaguely formed a spherical prison, aiming to trap Cao Ren mid-air.

Zip!

But Cao Ren dodged in a flash, leaving a trail of afterimages.

He escaped entirely before the Thunder Prison could fully seal shut!

"That speed..." Xu Jingming frowned.

Cao Ren's burst speed was terrifying—just now, his movement exceeded 300 meters per second, at least!

"Xu Jingming, your Thunder Prison skill level isn't high.

It might trap ordinary sixth-ranks, but don't think it can catch me!"

Cao Ren laughed cheerfully from mid-air.

Indeed, this was Xu Jingming's weakness—his Thunder Prison skill level was only Intermediate, not high.

But that was because he'd spent most of his ability points on leveling up, not on skill proficiency.

"Come then—let me show you what true high-proficiency technique looks like: Gale Illusion Body!"

Swish! Swish! Swish!...

With a confident smile, torrents of bluish wind surged wildly.

Cao Ren's body blurred—within an instant, over twenty identical illusions appeared in mid-air.

At once, twenty pairs of eyes fixed on Xu Jingming, overlapping voices echoing across the arena:

"Though Gale Illusion Body is only an A-rank technique,

I've trained it to Master-level proficiency, allowing me to form twenty-three illusions simultaneously.

Xu Jingming, can you find which one is the real me?"