Meanwhile, Xu Jingming had no idea how much discussion his departure had stirred.
At this moment, he was already inside a room of about twenty square meters.
This was a single-person training room provided by the Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall.
In the past, rooms like this required advance reservation.
But now that fewer people were using them, Xu Jingming could enter and use one directly.
"First, I'll test my peak strength without using ability enhancement."
Xu Jingming took the long spear from his back and gripped it firmly in his hand.
Because ferocious beasts possessed thick hides and dense flesh, ordinary weapons couldn't penetrate their defenses.
Therefore, the weapons used by ability users were all manufactured by professional weapons companies.
The spear in his hand belonged to the Obsidian Series, produced by Hengyuan Group.
The spear shaft measured about 1.9 meters, the spearhead exceeded 20 centimeters, and the total length reached 2.1 meters.
The entire Obsidian spear was forged from F-grade alloy, giving it a low-profile matte black finish.
Xu Jingming lightly shook the spear.
Clang!
A deep metallic vibration rang out.
When it stayed still, everything felt normal.
But the moment he moved it, he noticed something unusual.
"The spear… feels lighter."
"No… that's not right."
"It's because my physique has become stronger."
Xu Jingming quickly realized the truth.
"But at this point, it's already too late to change weapons."
Like ability ranks, alloys were also divided into nine grades:
SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, D, E, and F.
The rarer the alloy, the stronger and sharper it was, and the more effective it became against ferocious beasts.
Of course, the price also increased accordingly.
When purchasing a weapon from Hengyuan Group's Obsidian Series, customers could freely choose both alloy grade and weapon weight.
However, only F-grade weapons and combat suits were allowed in the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination.
So choosing F-grade alloy was unavoidable.
As for the weight, he had selected 50 kilograms.
In the end, this spear alone had cost him nearly 200,000 Great Xia Credits.
As the saying went, scholarship is poor, martial cultivation is expensive.
Over the past few years, Xu Jingming had spent vast amounts of money strengthening his physique, improving his ability, and purchasing combat suits, weapons, and combat techniques.
Part of the funds came from his aunt's family, whose support he found difficult to refuse.
The rest came from his parents' savings and pension.
After spending everything, he now had less than 50,000 Great Xia Credits remaining.
Naturally, buying a heavier weapon was impossible.
"But it's fine."
"It will only slightly affect my strength."
Xu Jingming narrowed his eyes and began warming up.
This spear was the weapon he had trained with since the age of twelve.
Nearly six years had passed.
The spear techniques — thrust, stab, smash, sweep, point, and pierce — were deeply etched into his memory.
Inside the training room, the spear danced in his hands like a black phantom, radiating power and vitality.
Within moments, his muscles loosened and stretched, his blood surged, and his body entered combat readiness.
Then—
He tightened his grip and thrust fiercely toward the circular target mounted on the front wall.
CLANG!!
A piercing metallic crash echoed.
Under the tremendous kinetic force, the circular target made of memory metal caved inward into an exaggerated arc.
After the spear was withdrawn, it slowly returned to its original shape.
At the same time, a number appeared on the nearby smart display:
[321 Power Units]
"321 Power Units!"
"My raw physical strength has nearly doubled!"
Xu Jingming's eyes lit up.
Power Units were the standard measurement used to determine attack strength.
1 Power Unit was roughly equivalent to the energy released by a small standardized explosive device used for testing.
Most ability users relying purely on physical strength could only produce about 100 Power Units per strike.
Before this, Xu Jingming's pure physical attack strength had been about 140 Power Units.
And even when using his previous lightning ability, the increase hadn't been significant.
"But now… things are different."
With a thought, Purple Heaven Divine Lightning appeared.
Crackle—snap—
At this moment, Xu Jingming seemed like a Thunder God incarnate.
Purple lightning coiled around his body, bursting into arcs of electricity.
He raised his hand.
A bolt of violet lightning shot forward with violent force and slammed into the target.
This time, the memory metal target collapsed deeply and took seven to eight seconds before recovering.
Meanwhile, a massive number appeared on the display:
[3012 Power Units]
"Three thousand Power Units!"
"That's nearly ten times my physical strength!"
Xu Jingming gasped.
One had to know that the average First-Rank Ability User only possessed around 1000 Power Units of attack strength.
A mid-level First-Rank Ability User could reach roughly 3000 Power Units.
"As expected of an S-grade ability… this power is completely outrageous."
Xu Jingming couldn't help but click his tongue.
According to his knowledge, ability users above the Awakener stage were divided into nine ranks, from First Rank to Ninth Rank.
Each rank was further subdivided into:
Low Level
Mid Level
High Level
He himself was still only an Awakener, yet relying solely on his S-grade Purple Heaven Divine Lightning, he could already unleash power comparable to a mid-level First-Rank Ability User.
"No wonder every nation is obsessed with high-grade ability talents."
"The difference between abilities is simply too massive."
"But… 3000 Power Units still isn't my limit."
Xu Jingming took a deep breath.
Purple lightning spread across the Obsidian spear in his hand.
Electric arcs crawled along the weapon's surface.
"Thunderbolt Gale Strike!"
Lightning erupted.
The training room was instantly illuminated by blinding brilliance.
The spear transformed into something like a purple-black lightning dragon, roaring toward the wall.
BOOOOM!!!
Thunder exploded.
A deafening shockwave echoed through the room.
Even the floor trembled slightly.
When the lightning faded, the target embedded in the wall…
Had been melted at its center, forming a metal crater that could not regenerate.
Terrifying cracks spread outward from the impact point like a spiderweb, covering the entire wall.
Inside the fissures, electrical cables were exposed, still sparking.
These cables connected to the memory metal system responsible for recording attack strength.
Now, it was clearly unusable.
Xu Jingming turned toward the smart display.
As expected, no numbers appeared.
"I entered a basic training room."
"The memory metal here can only withstand attacks up to High-Level First-Rank Ability Users."
"Now that the storage metal has been destroyed…"
"It means my attack intensity has exceeded the limit."
"In other words…"
"My attack power can already rival a High-Level First-Rank Ability User."
"As expected of a combat technique… the power is terrifying."
Thunderbolt Gale Strike was currently the only combat technique Xu Jingming had mastered.
Of course, he had carefully chosen it because it perfectly matched both his Lightning Attribute and spear combat style.
In fact, most ability users selected combat techniques that synchronized closely with their abilities.
"My peak attack strength rivals a High-Level First-Rank Ability User…"
"It looks like tomorrow's Martial Arts College Entrance Exam is going to be very interesting."
A look of anticipation appeared on Xu Jingming's face.
He placed the Obsidian spear back behind him and walked out of the training room.
The Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall maintained dedicated repair staff.
Even if equipment was damaged, repairs would be completed quickly.
And there was no compensation required.
After all, those capable of destroying equipment were exactly the kind of talents the hall most welcomed.
Meanwhile, outside in the hallway—
Tang Qi and her group of friends were walking together.
"I still think our Violent Bear Martial Arts Hall is better."
"The training rooms here are smaller, and their strength testing equipment isn't even the newest."
"Don't talk nonsense. Do you think our 100,000 Credits annual membership is wasted for nothing?"
"Still… after wandering around for a while, this place really is kind of boring."
"Bored? Why don't we go to the combat arena and spar a few rounds?"
The group had originally come here to relax before the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination.
But after exploring for a while, they quickly lost interest.
So when someone suggested going to the combat room, everyone's eyes lit up with excitement.
BOOM!!
Suddenly, a sharp explosive sound rang out.
Even the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly.
"That energy fluctuation…!"
"It's reached Ability User level!"
The boy wearing earrings cried out in shock.
His ability was a C-grade Psychic-type ability, making him extremely sensitive to energy fluctuations.
"I remember this floor is reserved specifically for high school students."
"In Jiangcheng, those few freaks who've already become Ability Users all train at the Violent Bear Martial Arts Hall."
"So why would they come here?"
The cute girl Xiao Ya frowned slightly in confusion.
Although Jiangcheng was considered a relatively underdeveloped region within Jiangnan Province, there were still one or two monstrous talents among high school students who had already broken through the Awakener stage.
"Could it be one of those monsters?"
"Or has a new Ability User student appeared?"
"Let's go check it out."
The sudden disturbance immediately sparked curiosity.
Tang Qi and her group quickly turned and headed toward the training room where the explosion had occurred.