Chapter 91: Cousin Arrives! Has Xu Jingming Broken Through to Rank One Yet?

Originally, Song Qiuyun had planned to seek the answer to this question during the morning sparring session.

But Xu Jingming was simply too strong; she couldn’t find any clues at all.

Yet she was genuinely curious, so she took this opportunity to invite him to dinner and asked directly.

“But if this involves some secret of yours, you don’t have to tell me—I’m just curious.”

Song Qiuyun added quickly.

To make it clear she wasn’t deliberately probing into Xu Jingming’s privacy.

“Beast aura? Your perception is quite sharp.”

Xu Jingming smiled slightly and didn’t hide it:

“It’s probably because I absorb beast blood to cultivate my combat techniques.”

In fact, after entering the wilderness zone, he himself had noticed this issue.

Generally, low-tier beasts with insufficient intelligence.

Upon seeing humans, they launch direct attacks regardless of rank differences.

Yet, while in the wilderness zone, Xu Jingming had more than once sensed fear toward himself from certain beasts.

This was an emotion only low-tier beasts exhibited upon perceiving the aura of high-tier beasts.

“Absorbing beast blood? So that’s it.”

Upon hearing this, Song Qiuyun suddenly understood.

Some combat techniques indeed require absorbing beast blood.

Thus, it seems the renowned S-class body-strengthening technique “Thunder Unyielding Body” of Weaponry Academy’s director Yang Zhentian works the same way.

With her biggest mystery resolved, Song Qiuyun felt cheerful and smiled as she handed him the menu:

“Go ahead, order whatever you like—it’s on me.”

“Then I won’t be polite,” Xu Jingming chuckled.

“No need to be polite—it’s just one meal. Do you think you can bankrupt me?”

Song Qiuyun smiled brightly.

With her assets, she could buy the entire restaurant without issue.

Though he said he wouldn’t be polite, Xu Jingming only ordered dishes worth roughly thirty thousand.

But the portions were calculated for eleven people—ten for him, one for Song Qiuyun.

After placing the order, the dishes arrived quickly, and the two began eating and chatting.

“By the way, your halberd technique has reached advanced level—why didn’t you join the Weaponry Academy, but chose an elemental instructor instead?”

“My family already arranged a close-combat tutor for me, so I wanted an elemental mentor.”

“I see. So you’re aiming for both close-combat and spellcraft?”

“You could say that, but right now...”

“...”

Though she came from a Grandmaster’s family,

Song Qiuyun had none of the spoiled princess attitude—instead, she was lively and adorable.

What surprised Xu Jingming even more was that Song Qiuyun ate three portions all by herself.

Though still far behind him, in the adept community, this appetite was already enormous.

Yet as he looked at Song Qiuyun’s perfectly proportioned figure—curves in all the right places—he couldn’t help but silently marvel.

This was innate talent—every bit of flesh grew exactly where it should...

After dinner, Song Qiuyun planned to go downtown with her best friend Qi Dongxia and invited Xu Jingming along.

But Xu Jingming, having already been there once, had little interest.

After declining, he returned to the villa’s training room to practice his ability training, physical conditioning, and combat techniques.

In the afternoon, he went out for dinner with Liu Wentao, then returned to continue training.

Thus, by two o’clock the next afternoon,

Xu Jingming changed into casual clothes, left the villa, and headed to the Magu High-Speed Rail Station to pick up his cousin Tang Qi.

Magu High-Speed Rail Station.

Due to flying beast threats occasionally crossing the sky, air travel was unsafe.

Thus, most people chose high-speed rail instead.

As Magu’s most vital transportation hub, the station was constantly bustling with crowds and noise.

With so many people and such a mix of backgrounds,

Special adept security teams patrolled the station continuously.

“Train G103 from Jiangcheng is about to arrive at Magu. Please remain safe and disembark in order.”

“Train G103 from Jiangcheng is about to arrive at Magu. Please remain safe and disembark in order.”

“...”

The gentle voice over the loudspeaker announced another train’s arrival.

Amidst the clamor, passengers and students poured out of the train, some dragging suitcases, others carrying backpacks.

“Magu! We’re here!”

“Phew, I’m going to have a great time this trip.”

“Mom! Look over there—what are those badges? So pretty!”

“Those are the emblems of different universities in Magu.”

“Really? Then I’ll definitely apply to a university in Magu!”

“...”

Some first-time visitors and students gazed around excitedly.

Today was August 31st—the day new students enrolled in all universities.

At the station, each university had set up welcome booths.

Each booth displayed the school’s name and emblem.

Among them, Magu Adept University, as a top-tier institution,

drew the most attention with its lavish sword-thorn-rose emblem.

Amidst the crowd came three young people, around eighteen years old—two girls and one boy.

They chatted as they descended from the train, dragging their luggage.

The girl in the center was tall and had a cold, composed face.

Her straight legs beneath the short shorts glowed with whiteness.

She drew subtle glances from passersby.

The girl beside her was petite and cute, gazing curiously around.

The boy at the end had short hair and a handsome face.

The one in the center was Tang Qi.

The two beside her were Meng Di and Zhou Mingyang.

All three were students from Jiangcheng No. 1 High School’s Rocket Class and had all been accepted by universities in Magu.

So they agreed to take the same train together.

“No wonder it’s a top-tier school—its emblem is even more lavish than ours.”

Zhou Mingyang glanced at the welcome booths of various universities and sighed.

He and Meng Di had both been accepted by Jing’an Adept University.

Though Jing’an Adept University was also in the Magu University City,

its national ranking was significantly higher than Tang Qi’s Linjiang Adept University.

That was normal.

After all, he and Meng Di ranked second and fourth in Jiangcheng, respectively.

Tang Qi was only tenth.

Of course, compared to Xu Jingming—the meteoric prodigy who rose from Jiangcheng and became Jiangnan Province’s top scorer—

What Xu Jingming achieved as the top scholar of Jiangnan Province pales in comparison to his attendance at the Magic Capital Psychic University.

Thinking of this, he asked Tang Qi beside him:

“Will Xu Jingming really come to pick us up?”

“He will—he told me on his phone.”

Tang Qi rolled her eyes.

It wasn’t that she was impatient; on the train, Zhou Mingyang had already asked seven or eight times.

The reason was simple:

After Xu Jingming won Jiangnan Province’s top scorer title—the first ever for Jiangcheng—he became a role model and idol to nearly every middle and high school student in the city.

Even Zhou Mingyang, who had once competed against him in the same exam hall, was no exception.

“I remember Xu Jingming enrolled just a few days after the results were announced, right?

He’s already been at school for over two months—how much has he improved?”

At this, Meng Di asked curiously.

At that moment, Meng Di beside him asked curiously.

Xu Jingming possesses an S-class ability; the school’s training method for his ability must be among the most elite.

Two months should be enough to reach First Rank.

After a moment’s thought, Zhou Mingyang replied.

“More or less what I thought—probably low or mid First Rank.”

Meng Di nodded in agreement.

Tang Qi, standing nearby, said nothing.

Having grown accustomed to the miracles Xu Jingming created, she felt things would not be as simple as they imagined...