"Haah… that felt amazing!"
"Awesome! That was seriously awesome!"
"As expected of Senior Xu, he's incredible!"
"Good grief, that got my blood pumping. Now I want to grab a spear and try it myself!"
"..."
As the Arm Blade Tiger King fell,
the students in the spectator stands reacted like gourmets finishing a lavish feast, each offering their satisfied commentary.
At that moment, Xu Jingming's ranking suddenly jumped, leaping directly to 6th place.
'Rank 6: Xu Jingming — 796 points (Jiangcheng Second High School)'
"Holy crap, what just happened? How did Senior Xu jump to Rank 6?"
"His score was only 634 just now. How did it suddenly increase by nearly 160 points?"
"Even if there were four or five Tier-1 beasts, it shouldn't give that many points all at once, right?"
"..."
For a moment, confusion spread through the crowd. The point increase was simply too large.
"Holy crap! I just noticed—Senior Xu isn't in the Mid Zone anymore. He's entered the Core Zone!"
A startled shout rang out from somewhere, causing everyone to instinctively check the map displayed on the virtual screen.
Sure enough, Xu Jingming's location was now clearly marked inside the red Core Zone!
"No wonder those Arm Blade Tigers looked a bit off. They weren't Peak Non-Tier beasts—they were Tier-1 beasts!"
"So that means… Senior Xu just killed all Tier-1 beasts?"
"That's insane! Killing Tier-1 beasts like chopping vegetables!"
"..."
Originally, the students believed Xu Jingming was still in the Mid Zone, assuming those beasts were only Peak Non-Tier or early Tier-1 creatures.
But now they realized—
Xu Jingming had already entered the dangerous Core Zone.
And what he fought earlier were Tier-1 Lower-Level and Tier-1 Mid-Level beasts.
It wasn't really their fault for missing it earlier—the battle had been far too intense.
At the same time, they finally understood why Xu Jingming hadn't taken action for so long before.
He had been rushing toward the Core Zone.
"Even Zhou Mingyang, the 'Swift Wind Sword' ranked first, would have to kite back and forth against a beast pack like that."
"Who fights like Senior Xu—just charging straight in and wiping them all out in one go?"
Instinctively, everyone began comparing Xu Jingming with the current Rank 1 — Zhou Mingyang.
But to their surprise—
Even that star candidate didn't seem capable of such overwhelming dominance.
Outside the Military District — Teacher Viewing Area
"One person fighting ten Arm Blade Tigers, and one of them was a Tier-1 Mid-Level beast?!"
"That combat power… it might even surpass Zhou Mingyang!"
"Which teacher trained this Xu Jingming from Second High School? How did he become this monstrous?"
"..."
In the spectator stands outside the military district,
Xu Jingming had drawn the attention of all the teachers the moment he faced the beast pack alone.
At first, none of them thought much of it.
They assumed Xu Jingming would simply retreat.
After all, since the exam began, no candidate had ever dared challenge a Core Zone beast pack head-on.
However—
What followed was an almost crushing display of power that left teacher after teacher utterly stunned.
Especially Class 5 homeroom teacher Chen Fan, whose face flushed bright red with excitement.
When a student performs brilliantly, the homeroom teacher shares the glory.
"Xu Jingming… is actually this strong!"
Even the usually composed Principal Zhao of Second High School widened his eyes in disbelief.
"His spear thrusts are fierce like a dragon—fast as lightning!
Advanced Spearmanship! That's definitely Advanced Spearmanship!"
Director Zhang Wenshan from the Education Bureau was equally excited.
However, his attention was focused on Xu Jingming's Spearmanship.
After all—
For ordinary people, reaching Intermediate-level weapon mastery takes decades.
Reaching Advanced level typically requires most of a lifetime.
And Xu Jingming was only eighteen years old.
What kind of genius was this?
Yet when Zhang Wenshan remembered Xu Jingming's awakened ability, he couldn't help slapping his thigh in frustration and sighing deeply.
"Ah! What a pity!"
With the strength Xu Jingming had displayed so far,
he was already showing signs of surpassing Zhou Mingyang.
If he had possessed a stronger awakened ability,
he might have broken Jiangcheng's long-standing record and entered the Top 50 of Jiangnan Province.
But an E-Rank ability meant his future growth would likely be limited…
"Advanced Spearmanship… no wonder he's so powerful!"
"Xu Jingming is barely eighteen, yet his Spearmanship is already Advanced? What terrifying comprehension!"
"Even geniuses from provincial capital cities probably couldn't master Advanced weapon skills at this age!"
"..."
Hearing Director Zhang Wenshan's sigh, the other teachers finally snapped back to their senses and began voicing their amazement once more.
"Principal Zhao, congratulations. Looks like this year's Jiangcheng First Place will belong to your Second High School."
After that battle, anyone with eyes could see Xu Jingming's strength exceeded Zhou Mingyang's.
Taking first place was only a matter of time.
Although Principal Liu Hang of First High School felt reluctant inside, he still offered his congratulations generously.
"Principal Liu, you flatter us. The exam hasn't ended yet—who knows what the final result will be?"
First High School—
The best high school in Jiangcheng.
Not only did it have abundant educational resources, it also gathered the most talented students in the city.
Every year after ability awakenings,
many outstanding students from Second High School transferred to First High School due to its superior offers.
Because of this,
it was impossible for Principal Zhao of Second High School to feel no hostility toward First High School.
However, First High School had always been overwhelmingly strong, leaving little room for Second High School to shine.
Now, with Second High School finally poised to surpass them,
Principal Zhao found himself unexpectedly calm, speaking with great humility.
"No matter what happens, Xu Jingming's strength speaks for itself. If Jiangcheng can produce two candidates within the Top 100 of Jiangnan Province, that would already be a great result."
Director Zhang Wenshan, who had finally calmed down, nodded at Zhao.
"This time, your Second High School performed very well. You produced a student like Xu Jingming.
After the exam ends, I'll recommend that your school receive official commendation from the city."
"Thank you, Director Zhang!"
Principal Zhao's face lit up with joy.
For administrators like him—Ability Users who had already given up hopes of major strength advancement—their focus lay more on their official careers.
A commendation would not only bring more resources to Second High School,
it would also benefit him personally.
Advancing further into the Education Bureau in the future would become a real possibility.
"Xu Jingming… you've truly given me a huge surprise."
Principal Zhao sighed inwardly.
He had never imagined that Second High School would one day rise like this.
Later — Ranking Surge
Just as Zhang Wenshan predicted,
over the following period,
Xu Jingming's score rose like a rocket, climbing rapidly.
In less than an hour,
he surpassed Zhou Mingyang and claimed First Place.
And at that moment,
the time had reached 3:00 PM.
Which meant—
Six hours remained before the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam ended.