Chapter 6: Before the College Entrance Exam, a Transformed Xu Jingming!

Tang Qi and her group walked swiftly down the corridor, turning a corner.

They ran into Xu Jingming, who was walking toward them, a black long spear slung across his back.

Tang Qi hadn’t expected to meet Xu Jingming again; after a brief pause, she quickly recovered and asked:

“Leaving for home?”

“Training’s over. I want to get back early and prepare some more.”

“Alright, good luck on tomorrow’s Wu Ke exam—but don’t forget to stay safe.”

Though she thought Xu Jingming, with only an E-rank ability, was overreaching by taking the Wu Ke exam.

But since he was her cousin, Tang Qi still offered him encouragement.

“Got it, Qi-jie, you too, good luck.”

Xu Jingming grinned, flashing a bright smile, then passed by and walked away.

Tang Qi and the others didn’t stop, continuing to search for the source of the earlier energy surge.

There weren’t many training rooms nearby—only eight in total.

So Tang Qi and her group found the training room Xu Jingming had used without much effort.

When they saw the walls inside, shattered like spiderwebs, all four stared wide-eyed.

Even the usually cold and composed Tang Qi slightly parted her lips.

“Damn, even memory metal got shattered—how intense was that attack?”

The young man in white casual wear looked stunned.

“Even from the residual energy, I can still feel that wild, violent power.”

“Whoever unleashed this attack—whether not a second-rank ability user, they’re definitely peak first-rank.”

The earringed youth, who had awakened a mental ability, spoke with serious expression.

“Peak first-rank? Maybe even second-rank? Does Jiangcheng have a high schooler this strong?”

Xiao Ya looked utterly incredulous.

“It’s probably not a high schooler. More likely some ability user who didn’t know the rules and accidentally entered the third floor, using the training room to test their strength.”

Tang Qi shook her head.

“That makes sense. An attack this powerful couldn’t possibly come from a high schooler.”

“Peak first-rank? Even geniuses from provincial capitals can’t reach that. Jiangcheng couldn’t possibly have someone like this.”

The others breathed a sigh of relief.

Just the few ability-user candidates in Jiangcheng were already overwhelming—what if one of them had reached second-rank?

Then all of us, who’ve consumed countless resources yet still aren’t even ability users, might as well buy a block of tofu and bash our heads in.

“Hey, only Xu Jingming just passed by here. Could this attack have been his?”

“What if Xu Jingming’s actually a super genius who’s been hiding his strength all along, waiting to shock everyone at tomorrow’s exam?”

Xiao Ya blinked, suddenly suggesting this wild idea.

“You’ve read too many web novels about pretending to be weak? You can come up with something this absurd?”

The earringed youth was speechless. "Hiding your strength requires having strength to hide. An E-rank ability user's attack power maxes out at 300 Ka."

“Both sides of this corridor lead outside. That powerful ability user must’ve left through the other side, which is why we didn’t encounter them.”

Ability rankings aren’t arbitrarily assigned—they’re determined by potential.

An E-rank ability fundamentally locks Xu Jingming’s ceiling.

“That’s true,” Xiao Ya thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Tang Qi, who had listened silently the whole time, suddenly found herself doubting her earlier certainty as she recalled the tall figure who had just left:

Is Xu Jingming really overreaching by taking the Wu Ke exam?

Jiangcheng’s Wen Ke exam is held in the teaching buildings of various high schools.

The Wu Ke exam takes place at a military zone near the city’s outskirts.

Students must first gather at the city sports center, then be transported together to the military zone.

Assembly time is 8 a.m.

So the next day, Xu Jingming woke up early, dressed in full gear.

Besides the two-meter-one F-rank weapon, Black Shine Spear, slung on his back, he wore an F-rank black battle suit and black battle boots.

The battle suit and boots were made from ferocious beast hides—extremely durable.

During combat with ferocious beasts, they resist damage and are hard to tear.

“Wu Ke exam—I’m coming!”

His gaze sharpened, Xu Jingming stepped out the door with steady strides.

Jiangcheng, Jinxiu Community.

This was a famous villa community in Jiangcheng.

Inside one villa, Tang Qi finished breakfast, dressed in her gear, and was about to leave when she was called out by a noblewoman who looked seven or eight parts like her:

“Xiao Qi, you and Xiao Ming are in the same exam hall, right?”

“Mom, didn’t I already tell you? Jiangcheng only has one Wu Ke exam hall—I’m in the same one as him.”

As she answered, Tang Qi completed her final gear check.

She had awakened a special B-rank ability: Shadow Cat.

When activated, her physical strength, flexibility, and reaction speed increased dramatically.

So she chose a dagger—light and agile to wield.

Her battle suit was form-fitting and lightweight.

“If you see Xiao Ming in the exam hall, help him if you can.

After all, your cousin only has an E-rank ability—it’s too dangerous in the Wu Ke exam.” The noblewoman urged, “And watch your own safety—even if your score’s low, don’t fight high-rank beasts.”

Though Tang Qi wanted to say the Wu Ke exam map was huge, and the chance of encountering him was nearly zero,

seeing the worry in her mother’s eyes, she nodded: “Understood.”

After speaking, once she confirmed all her gear was in order,

Tang Qi got into the car waiting at the door and headed for the city sports center.

Jiangcheng had three high schools, totaling about three thousand senior students.

Of them, fourteen hundred took the Wu Ke exam.

To transport all these candidates, the city deployed over forty buses.

These forty-plus buses were neatly parked outside the city sports center, grouped by school and class.

Arriving candidates simply boarded the bus assigned to their school and class.

“Son, I don’t care how well you do in the Wu Ke exam—just stay safe!”

Son, I don’t care how well you do in this Wu Ke exam—your safety is the most important thing!

“Daughter, protect yourself in the exam hall!”

Daughter, protect yourself during the exam!

Candidates arriving at the sports center came alone or with parents.

Those with parents received the same final advice: stay safe.

Xu Jingming, arriving at the sports center, saw this scene from afar and couldn’t help feeling envious.

In his past life, an orphan, he had longed for parental love.

But after his reincarnation, he was still alone...

He took a deep breath and calmed his emotions.

Among the many buses, he found the one for Jiangcheng No. 2 High School, Senior Class (5), and boarded directly.

“Huh? That’s Xu Jingming? Never noticed before, but in battle gear he’s actually hot.”

“Why didn’t I ever realize he had such a sharp aura?”

“Ugh, so hot!”

“...”

Due to his original personality’s introversion, Xu Jingming was the most unnoticeable in Class 5.

Even if he skipped class for a day, only his best friend Zhang Hao and the homeroom teacher would notice.

Of course, Xu Jingming’s natural attributes were excellent: 1.86 meters tall, quite handsome.

But his original self slouched, avoided eye contact, making him blend into the background.

Now that Xu Jingming had taken over, his gaze was clear and steady, his posture straight and upright.

Combined with the black battle suit and the thick, menacing Black Shine Spear slung on his back,

he looked utterly transformed—sharp, powerful.

Many girls on the bus stared at him with surprised, heated glances.

Seeing Xu Jingming board, the homeroom teacher Chen Fan, seated in the front passenger seat counting heads, paused in surprise.

But he quickly recovered and checked off Xu Jingming’s name on the roster.

As time slowly passed, Chen Fan’s roster filled up—until the last student from Class 5 arrived.

Teacher Chen Fan announced: “Class 5 is complete. Let’s go.”

Homeroom teacher Chen Fan also announced: “Everyone from Class Five is here. Let’s go.”