Chapter 72: 7 Days! Distress Signal!

Encountering other psychics in the Wild Zone isn’t uncommon.

Previously, when he was still in Ping’an County, Xu Jingming had encountered more than one group of psychics.

Among Jiang Chu’s group, apart from Jiang Chu herself, whose aura was at Second Rank Mid-Level,

the other five men and women, resembling bodyguards, all had auras at Third Rank Mid- or Upper-Level.

According to the Great Xia Adventure Charter, psychics in the Wild Zone are forbidden from attacking other psychics.

If caught attacking another psychic, they face severe punishment and are looked down upon by all other psychics.

Thus, most psychics abide by this rule.

But it’s wise to remain cautious—facing Jiang Chu’s powerful Third Rank psychic team,

Xu Jingming naturally dared not continue attacking the Gale Wolf, his gaze sharply fixed on them.

Yet this powerful Third Rank psychic team acted as if they hadn’t noticed Xu Jingming, chatting and laughing among themselves.

“This Gale Wolf’s Gale power is strong—it’s likely Third Rank Mid-Level.”

“A beast of this level is perfect for Miss Jiang’s kill footage.”

“Standard procedure: block its escape routes first.”

“......”

In the Wild Zone, whoever spots a beast first owns it.

Any psychic who steals another’s beast is seen as provoking a challenge.

But this group clearly didn’t regard Xu Jingming, a Second Rank Upper-Level psychic, as worthy of notice.

They continued laughing, preparing to attack the Gale Wolf ahead.

Xu Jingming frowned immediately, before he could speak—

Jiang Chu, standing quietly to the side, spoke first:

“Captain Wang, this beast was spotted by someone else. Let’s find another one.”

Her voice was clear and melodious, like a nightingale.

“Miss Jiang, this is a Third Rank Mid-Level beast.

Leaving it to this Second Rank Upper-Level kid seems inappropriate.

We’d barely leave before he’d be devoured by the Gale Wolf.”

The middle-aged man at the front, wielding sword and shield, joked half-seriously.

“Captain Wang, don’t you remember I said last time I don’t like stealing others’ prey for filming?”

Jiang Chu’s delicate brows furrowed.

Hearing such blunt words, the middle-aged man’s face stiffened.

A flicker of hidden malice flashed in his eyes, then vanished as he quickly smiled and called to his team:

“If Miss Jiang isn’t satisfied, we’ll just find another beast.”

Soon, Jiang Chu’s group vanished from Xu Jingming’s sight, disappearing into the forest.

A potential conflict was averted.

“Jiang Chu has a decent personality—she actually considers others.”

Xu Jingming rubbed his chin.

Of course,

it’s also possible she’s a net celebrity deliberately crafting her image for onlookers.

“Still, her control over her team seems weak.”

From Jiang Chu’s words, it was obvious her team had stolen prey from other psychics more than once.

Moreover, Xu Jingming had been close enough to the middle-aged man to see the flicker of malice on his face when Jiang Chu reprimanded him.

“But none of this concerns me much.” Xu Jingming’s gaze sharpened.

He rarely paid attention to the internet; if not for his high school buddy Zhang Hao, he wouldn’t even know who Jiang Chu was.

Besides, Jiang Chu had passed the entrance exam for the Metropolis Psychic University

and become a video blogger with ten million followers—her intelligence was certainly high.

She likely knew the problems within her team already...

“Roar—”

At that moment, seeing the powerful psychic team leave,

the Gale Wolf, which had been hiding behind trees and ready to flee, leapt out again.

It roared, jaws wide open,

eyes burning with hunger for fresh human flesh, charging straight at Xu Jingming!

Simultaneously, two pale green wind blades shot from its body.

“Oh? You’re even more eager than I am.”

A flash of lightning.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Jingming vanished from his spot and reappeared thirty meters ahead, directly before the Gale Wolf.

His A-Rank combat technique “Lightning Flash” had reached Advanced Proficiency.

Combined with his Second Rank Upper-Level power, his maximum dash distance reached 54 meters!

“Roar—”

Startled by the sudden human appearance, the Gale Wolf froze.

Before it could trigger another wind blade, Xu Jingming’s low voice rang out again:

“Lightning Gale Break!!”

The Dark Cloud Gale Spear, brimming with Purple Thunder Divine Lightning, was already in his grip.

Enhanced by the spear’s innate wind affinity, lightning flared—its shaft shot forward like a bolt of lightning!

*Puchiiii~*

The next instant, the Gale Wolf’s hardened skull shattered like a fragile watermelon.

Then—*Boom!*—thunder exploded, and its entire head burst open!

“Ding. Killed one Third Rank Mid-Level Gale Wolf. Psychic Points +34.”

The system’s pleasant chime sounded.

“Thirty-plus points for killing a Third Rank beast? Not bad.”

Xu Jingming shook his spear, flinging off the blood clinging to its tip.

Then, a faint glow from his space ring revealed a small dagger in his left hand.

This dagger was forged from B-Rank alloy—extremely sharp.

Because of its light weight, even B-Rank alloy daggers were cheap—Xu Jingming had paid only 790,000 Great Xia Coins.

Such a sharp dagger was naturally used for harvesting beast materials.

The Gale Wolf’s most valuable asset was its smooth, silky pelt—an ideal material for coats.

A complete pelt could sell for as much as 500,000 Great Xia Coins.

That’s why Xu Jingming chose to destroy the beast’s head outright.

The dagger glided along the skin, taking over ten minutes to fully peel off the pelt intact.

“First kill achieved. Next, find a second beast.”

He tossed the pelt into his space ring and, spear in hand, swiftly departed.

Seven days later, 5:00 PM.

Summer sunlight poured freely across a cloudless sky.

In the mountain forest, eight or nine Mighty Ape monkeys moved through the undergrowth.

This was a Mighty Ape monkey pack.

They moved on all fours, scanning their surroundings with hungry eyes.

Clearly, they were hunting for prey.

Suddenly, the lead Mighty Ape monkey halted, sniffing the air warily.

Sensing something wrong, it opened its mouth to roar a warning—

But in that instant, a blue-purple lightning spear shot from the forest with a *whoosh!*

*Boom!*

The spear moved at blinding speed, striking the leader in an instant.

Then blue-purple lightning erupted violently!

As electric arcs danced, a slow-rising thunder mushroom cloud formed.

The lead Mighty Ape monkey, a Third Rank Upper-Level beast, was instantly charred black and collapsed, gravely wounded.

“Roar-roar—”

“Ssshhhh—”

“......”

The remaining Mighty Apes panicked, roaring threats in all directions.

Then, a towering human figure emerged from the forest, gripping a dark-gold spear,

his body wreathed in lightning, resembling a Thunder God.

“That lightning spear didn’t one-shot it—Mighty Apes are indeed famed for their defense.”

Xu Jingming shook his head; he would need to finish off that giant strength ape leader himself later.

“But for now, let’s take care of all you little pests first! Thunder Prison!!”

Crackling—

Amidst a piercing thunderclap, a thunder prison twenty meters in diameter enveloped Xu Jingming and all the ferocious beasts.

One of the giant strength apes tried to break out, but the instant it touched the thunder prison, its skin turned instantly charred black.

Overwhelmed by agony, it hastily retreated.

“None of you will escape!”

Xu Jingming’s eyes flashed; lightning crackled as he gripped his spear and charged into the herd of giant strength apes.

“Thunder Flash!”

“Lightning Wind Break!”

“Chain Thunder Spear!”

“......”

Xu Jingming’s spear technique had now reached Master level, achieving a realm of divine mastery.

Combined with multiple A-rank combat techniques, his power was terrifying.

Thus, the group of third-rank giant strength ape ferocious beasts, which would terrify most psychic teams,

were all slaughtered one by one by Xu Jingming with his Dark Cloud Wind Spear in less than five or six minutes.

“Huh—”

Xu Jingming stood tall on the grass, spear in hand, slowly exhaling a breath of stale Qi.

Around him lay the corpses of giant strength apes; their blood had dyed the once-lush green forest floor a deep crimson.

“Deep Blue.”

Xu Jingming opened his system interface:

【Name】: Xu Jingming

【Level】: Second Rank Upper

【Psychic Ability】: Purple Thunder Divine Lightning (S)

【Physique】: 1317 Qi (+)

【Spirit】: 981 Hz (+)

【Skills】: Spear Technique (Master), Fist Technique (Intermediate+), Thunder Spear (Advanced+), Chain Thunder Spear (Intermediate+), Thunder Flash (Advanced+), Thunder Prison (Intermediate+), Lightning Wind Break (Advanced+)

【Body Cultivation】: Thunder Indestructible Body (Third Stage)

【Psychic Points】: 3267

“Psychic points increased by over two hundred again—good.”

Xu Jingming nodded in satisfaction.

The efficiency of gaining psychic points in the mountain forest region was indeed far faster than in the city ruins.

In just seven days, he had accumulated over three thousand psychic points.

“But I’ve already got over three thousand points, and there’s still no plus sign after the level.”

Xu Jingming frowned slightly.

It had cost him over twelve hundred psychic points to advance from First Rank Upper to Second Rank Lower.

The subsequent promotions to Second Rank Middle and Upper had cost fifteen hundred and eighteen hundred points respectively.

He had assumed three thousand points would be enough to reach Third Rank.

But it still wasn’t enough.

“To advance from Second to Third Rank, I might need four thousand psychic points.”

Xu Jingming silently estimated.

Even if he had enough points to level up, he wouldn’t choose to raise his rank.

He would keep these psychic points to learn combat techniques once he returned to school.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for an S-rank combat technique accessible to Second Rank psychics...”

For psychics, level doesn’t always mean everything.

Only when level and combat techniques are combined can maximum combat power be unleashed!

Why do outstanding students from the Magic City Psychic University often kill ferocious beasts or other psychics of higher ranks?

Because they master stronger techniques and possess superior combat skills!

Having only level without suitable combat techniques is like giving a baby a sharp knife—it cannot maximize one’s true power.

This is why Xu Jingming never wasted all his psychic points solely on leveling up.

Instead, he balanced them with combat techniques and spear mastery.

After all, a solid foundation allows one to walk the path of strength far longer.

“Vrrrm~~”

“Vrrrm~~”

At that moment, the smartwatch on Xu Jingming’s wrist suddenly vibrated.

He instinctively tapped open the map on the smartwatch.

Besides his own green dot, a white dot was now emitting a continuous signal.

“Is this... a distress signal?”

Xu Jingming’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

The smartwatches issued by the supply base, besides their built-in maps, had one critical function: broadcasting distress signals.

At such moments, the hidden location would be exposed to all psychic smartwatches within a two-kilometer radius.

Psychics could choose whether or not to respond.

Of course, most adventurer teams receiving such signals would go to investigate before deciding.

“The distress signal isn’t far from me—I should go check the situation first...”

After a moment’s thought, Xu Jingming set off toward it.

If it was merely a weak third-rank ferocious beast, lending a hand wouldn’t hurt.

But if it was a powerful fourth-rank beast, he could do nothing.