Five times. Only five times.
Lin Yuan looked down at his right fingertip, where a lavender lightning needle was quietly pulsing.
From the first attempt that made his fingernail glow to successfully flicking the lightning needle out, it had only taken five tries.
A Tier 4 combat technique, reached Entry in five attempts.
No one would believe it if word got out, but he believed it—because he was just that kind of person.
The lightning needle flicked from his fingertip, silent and stealthy.
Unlike the grand and noisy lightning of Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens, the lightning needle of Running Thunder Finger was tiny, condensed, and quiet.
It flew seven or eight meters, embedding itself into the trunk of a pine tree and exploding into a thumb-sized hole.
The edges of the hole were scorched black, and a wisp of blue smoke drifted out.
Lin Yuan blew on his fingertip and said, “Cool.”
Then he opened his system panel; his Ability Points balance was 1380.
The proficiency of Running Thunder Finger showed: Entry.
Upgrading from Entry to Practiced required five hundred points. He had 1380, which was enough.
He had originally planned to save them to push 【Sands of Time】 to Proficient, but now that he had a long-range method, his close-combat capabilities had directly leveled up.
【Sands of Time】 could wait until next time; he would raise Running Thunder Finger first.
“Upgrade.”
【Consumed 500 Ability Points. 《Running Thunder Finger》 proficiency increased from Entry to Practiced.】
【Ability Points remaining: 880】
【《Running Thunder Finger》 Proficiency: Practiced】
【Effect Updated: Fires at the flick of a finger. Condensation time reduced by 30%. Maximum range increased to 15 meters. Power does not decay within 5 meters.】
The Practiced level of Running Thunder Finger was more than just a little bit smoother. Now, with a single thought, the lightning would naturally converge and fire at the flick of a finger.
Time was the most precious thing in battle. Every second saved on charging was another second spent thrusting his spear.
Lin Yuan slowly pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time.
The time on the screen was 7:36 AM.
The third day of the college entrance exam, the final day.
In the clearing of the outer perimeter, examinees were waking up one after another from their sleep.
No one came to challenge Lin Yuan anymore. Everyone had seen the fate of those eight or nine wealthy scions yesterday.
At least seven rounds of bone tempering, Tier 1, Level 8, and a lightning ability—when those three terms were put together, anyone with half a brain knew what they meant.
Money was a good thing, but giving it away for nothing wasn't quite as good.
After glancing at the crowd, Lin Yuan picked up Purple Lightning and walked toward the depths of the dense forest.
...
About ten minutes later, three figures rushed over from another direction of the outer perimeter.
The leader was a tall boy, about eighteen or nineteen, wearing a black tight combat suit with the badge of Hangzhou No. 1 High School pinned to his chest.
On his back was a sword with a slender blade and a dark silver scabbard.
A-rank weapon system, spirit blade Iron-Cutter, Han Feng.
Two people followed behind him: a tall, thin boy and a short-haired girl.
Both wore the uniform of No. 1 High School, and their cultivation levels were around Tier 1, Level 5.
Han Feng stood in the middle of the clearing, his gaze sweeping over the examinees who had not yet left.
“Where is Lin Yuan?”
An examinee who was munching on a compressed biscuit choked slightly at the question. He coughed twice before pointing toward the depths of the forest.
“He just left, that way. Less than ten minutes ago.”
Han Feng didn't say thank you. He looked in that direction and strode after him.
The two behind him exchanged a glance and quickly followed.
Han Feng didn't say a word the whole way, but his right hand remained gripped on the hilt of Iron-Cutter, his knuckles turning white.
Since yesterday evening, his phone had been flooded with the same name.
Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan.
First on the credit leaderboard, over seven hundred points, one-versus-nine, and at least seven rounds of bone tempering.
He had watched that grainy video on the Hangzhou forum no less than ten times.
Every time, he was confirming the same things: how fast the person was, how strong his power was, and how accurate his strikes were.
The results of his confirmation only made him more and more irritable.
He was Tier 1, Level 5, with an A-rank weapon system.
From the day he awakened, he had been the primary focus of Hangzhou No. 1 High School's cultivation.
Resource priority, one-on-one mentors, media interviews, and newspaper headlines.
“Hangzhou's strongest examinee in three years.” “A-rank spirit blade Iron-Cutter, invincible among peers.” He had heard these phrases countless times.
Eventually, he started to believe he really was invincible among his peers.
Then an F-rank lightning user had appeared out of nowhere and, using a Tier 2 B-rank spear, had left him behind by over two hundred points in just two days.
F-rank. That wasn't even a fraction of his spirit blade's grade. On what grounds?
Over seven rounds of bone tempering!
His own bone tempering was at six rounds. With the resources Hangzhou No. 1 High School had thrown at him and his own talent, reaching six rounds at eighteen had already led the media to hail him as a “bone tempering genius.”
What did at least seven rounds even mean? His hand tightened on his blade again.
“So what if he has seven rounds or more,” he said in a low voice. “Bone tempering is just the physical body; the ability is the foundation. An F-rank lightning ability has its quality set in stone. Even with nine rounds, he won't be able to bring out its full potential.”
The tall, thin boy and the short-haired girl did not respond.
...
Deep in the forest, Lin Yuan was staring down a Tier 2, Level 2 Green-maned Wolf King.
The beast stood nearly one and a half meters tall at the shoulder. It crouched low, a deep, threatening growl rumbling in its throat.
Its eerie green pupils were locked onto the human in front of it who was carrying a purple spear.
Lin Yuan took Purple Lightning off his shoulder, pointing the tip diagonally toward the ground as he spoke slowly, “Be a good boy and let me give you a poke. It’ll be quick, and it won’t hurt.”
Though the Green-maned Wolf King couldn't understand human speech, it felt the nonchalance in his tone.
This attitude infuriated the monster more than any provocation. It kicked off with its hind legs, its entire body turning into a greenish-gray blur as it lunged.
【Sands of Time】 activated. The air within a four-meter radius became viscous.
The Green-maned Wolf King's speed plummeted by thirty percent, going from “too fast to see” to “fast enough to track.”
Lin Yuan stepped aside to dodge the wolf king's pounce, flicking Purple Lightning upward. The spear tip struck the gap in the bone armor of its front leg joint.
Lightning exploded, and the joint shattered.
The Green-maned Wolf King let out a miserable howl, its front leg giving way as it tumbled to the ground.
It still tried to struggle and stand with its hind legs, but the tip of Purple Lightning had already pierced its throat.
【Killed Tier 2, Level 2 monster Green-maned Wolf King. Ability Points +72. Exam Credits +10.】
【《Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens》 proficiency +8】
Lin Yuan pulled out the spear tip and flicked away the blood. Just as he was about to squat down to collect his loot...
“Achoo!”
A sneeze. He rubbed his nose.
“Achoo! Achoo!”
Two more followed in quick succession.
“Damn,” he muttered, rubbing his nose with a bewildered look.
“Who the hell is missing this handsome guy? It's early morning; can't a guy just kill monsters in peace?”
Far away in Magic City, Shen Man also sneezed.
She was having breakfast in the hotel restaurant, a xiaolongbao held mid-air by her chopsticks.
She rubbed her nose, thinking that brat Lin Yuan must be talking about her behind her back again.
Passing him a copy of Running Thunder Finger last night clearly wasn't enough; he was probably already scheming on how to fleece something else from her.
Shen Man took a bite of the xiaolongbao. “Fat chance.”
...
In the forest, Lin Yuan rubbed his nose and continued forward, muttering nonsense like, “It must be because I caught a cold sleeping on the ground last night.”
Deep in the forest behind him, three figures were moving quickly through the underbrush, heading in the direction he had left.
Rate on N.U.
