“‘Anyone under Tier 2 is dead upon contact’? Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?”
“If you think you’re so good, you go try it.”
“I’m not going. I’d like to graduate alive.”
...
The post was shared like wildfire. It spread from the local Hangzhou forum to the National Ability User Forum, and from the forums to various social media platforms.
Someone edited the two videos together into a compilation, changing the title to: 《The Counterattack of an F-rank Lightning User: From Donghai City Trash to a League of His Own as First Place in the Hangzhou Exam》.
The video’s view count climbed from thousands to tens of thousands, and from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.
...
Hangzhou Combat Base, monitoring hall.
Dozens of monitoring screens were neatly arranged in the hall, each displaying real-time footage from different areas of the testing grounds.
Examiner Zhou sat at the main control console, a tablet in front of her playing that forty-second one-vs-three video.
She had watched it three times.
The first time was for the overall picture, the second for the details, and the third was a slow-motion, frame-by-frame analysis.
After finishing, she set the tablet on the desk, leaned back into her chair, and let out a long breath.
“Tier 1, Level 9.”
The young examiner sitting next to her opened his mouth in surprise. “His registration info says Tier 1, Level 4.”
“Registration info is registration info; actual combat is actual combat.”
Examiner Zhou tapped the tablet screen and continued, “Judging by the force of that spear strike that shattered the shield, Tier 1, Level 9 is the baseline. It’s also likely true that he has at least seven rounds of bone tempering.”
The young examiner hesitated. “Sister Zhou, can an F-rank lightning user really reach this level?”
Examiner Zhou didn’t answer, because she didn’t know either.
At that moment, the door opened.
A middle-aged man in a deep gray uniform walked in. He had a burly build and graying short hair, with the badge of the Hangzhou Ability User Association pinned to his chest.
Chief Examiner Meng, the highest-ranking official at the Hangzhou testing site.
The examiners in the hall stood up in unison. Chief Examiner Meng gestured for them to sit and walked straight toward Examiner Zhou.
“Bring up the files for that examinee named Lin Yuan.”
Examiner Zhou was already prepared and handed him the tablet.
The screen displayed detailed examinee information—Lin Yuan, eighteen years old, native of Donghai City.
Ability assessment on Awakening Day: F-rank lightning ability.
Time of awakening... When she reached that line, Chief Examiner Meng’s gaze also stopped there.
“Time of awakening: eighteen days ago.”
Chief Examiner Meng fell silent for several seconds.
“Eighteen days. From F-rank unranked to Tier 1, Level 9.”
The young examiner interjected, “The data might be wrong. Should I contact the Donghai City Ability User Association to verify?”
Chief Examiner Meng nodded.
A few minutes later, the reply from the Donghai City Ability User Association arrived.
The young examiner held the printed fax, his expression looking as if he had seen a ghost.
“It’s been verified. There are no errors.” His voice was a bit dry.
“Lin Yuan awakened eighteen days ago. F-rank lightning ability, unranked. On his Awakening Day, his engagement with the Su family was broken, and he made a ten-day challenge.
“Ten days later, he defeated the S-rank ice ability user Su Qingyue in the Donghai Arena. At that time, Su Qingyue was Tier 1, Level 3, while he was Tier 1, Level 6. And then there’s the bone tempering count.”
He paused.
“The records from the Donghai Association show that the last time he registered his bone tempering count while purchasing supplies before leaving Donghai City, it was listed as seven rounds.”
The monitoring hall fell so silent that only the hum of the electronics from the screens could be heard.
Chief Examiner Meng placed the fax on the desk and tapped his finger twice on the paper.
“Eighteen days. From F-rank unranked to Tier 1, Level 9, at least seven rounds of bone tempering, and has defeated an S-rank in a head-on fight.”
He looked up at Examiner Zhou. “Has he been recruited by any academy?”
“Magic City.”
Examiner Zhou continued, “Shen Man recruited him personally with S-rank freshman benefits.”
Chief Examiner Meng leaned back in his chair. His face remained expressionless, but the tapping of his finger stopped.
“That girl Shen Man... she still has a keen eye.”
...
Deep in the forest, Lin Yuan had no idea that the Hangzhou examiners had completely uncovered his history.
He was busy killing monsters.
Ever since he had taken down Han Feng’s trio that morning, his ears had been completely at peace.
No more delusional teenagers were jumping out of the bushes to challenge him, and no more arrogant rich kids were blocking his path.
Everyone had reached a consensus—that F-rank lightning user carrying the purple spear was not to be trifled with.
Stay far away, don’t block his path, and let him kill his monsters.
A few examinees even spotted him from a distance and proactively took a detour, whispering as they went: “It’s the guy who did the one-vs-nine. Hurry, let’s go.”
Lin Yuan enjoyed the peace and quiet.
With no one to disturb him, his point-farming efficiency was maxed out.
System notifications were frantically scrolling through the edge of his consciousness.
【Killed Tier 2, Level 3 monster Shadow Leopard, Ability Points +90, Exam Credits +12】
...
【Killed Tier 2, Level 4 monster Rock-armored Great Lizard, Ability Points +110, Exam Credits +14】
The proficiency of Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens rose from Proficient (53%) to Proficient (61%). 【Sands of Time】 rose from Practiced (8%) to Practiced (12%).
He used Running Thunder Finger the most, and its proficiency climbed all the way from Practiced (0%) to Practiced (18%).
As the sky grew dark, Lin Yuan leaned against an old pine tree, using Purple Lightning to support himself as he panted heavily.
It wasn’t because he was tired; with the endurance of nine rounds of bone tempering, he wouldn’t get tired even after a full day of hunting monsters.
It was because his source energy was nearly empty. He pulled a water flask from his storage bag and took several large gulps.
Then he opened the system panel.
【Host: Lin Yuan】
【Weak Spark (Lightning): E-rank, Tier 1, Level 9】
【Space-Time Ruler (Space-Time): S-rank, Tier 1, Level 5】
【Bone Tempering: 9 Rounds (Progress: 99%)】
【Combat Technique: 《Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens》 Proficiency: Proficient (61%)】
【Combat Technique: 《Sands of Time》 Proficiency: Practiced (12%)】
【Combat Technique: 《Running Thunder Finger》 Proficiency: Practiced (18%)】
【Ability Points: 2480】
【Exam Credits: 1756】
Lin Yuan stared at those two numbers for a long time.
Over 1,700 credits and over 2,400 ability points.
In a single day, from morning to evening, with no one to disturb him and going full throttle, his efficiency was so high it even surprised him.
At that moment, his phone vibrated.
He pulled it out. There was only one bar of signal, but a message managed to squeeze through.
Bai Li, two messages.
First: “Senior, I watched that video again. That purple finger technique of yours is amazing.”
Second: “Good luck. Stay safe.”
The corner of Lin Yuan’s mouth curled up. He replied: “Got it. You do your best too.” Then he tucked the phone back into his pocket.
The horizon was beginning to turn a pale yellow.
Today was the final day of the combat exam. He needed to reach the combat base—the same place they had started from—before 7:00 PM.
Finish the exam, return to Hangzhou, collect the Tier 4 lightning combat technique from Han Feng, and then head to Magic City—that was Lin Yuan’s plan.
Lin Yuan checked the time; it was already 6:03 PM.
“Well, time to head back, or I won’t make it.”
With that, Lin Yuan headed toward the combat base.
Rate on N.U.
