“Oh?
You actually ran into Kael Veyron?”
The moment Ethan Blake mentioned his encounter with Kael, the three students around him immediately became interested.
“Tell us.
What kind of ability does he have?”
Ethan shook his head.
“I still can’t be certain about his ability type.”
He paused.
“But his Physique is extremely strong.
His Blood Qi should be at least around 180.”
“180 Blood Qi?”
The bald student clicked his tongue in amazement.
“For an ordinary Awakener, a Blood Qi value of around 100 is already normal.”
He looked at Ethan.
“And we’re Low-Tier One Ability Users.
Even after awakening, our Blood Qi is only a little above 130.”
“180…”
He shook his head.
“That level is completely out of reach for us right now.”
The long-haired student crossed his arms and pretended not to care.
“With that kind of Physique, he’s probably an Enhancement-type Ability User.”
“Having such powerful Blood Qi after awakening an ability that strengthens the body isn’t completely unreasonable.”
Although he sounded calm, there was an unmistakable hint of jealousy in his voice.
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
“Kael is still an Awakener.”
The three students froze.
“An Awakener?”
The petite girl carrying the massive saber widened her eyes.
“Then…”
She looked between Ethan and the others.
“Are you saying that the four of us, all Tier One Ability Users, still aren’t as strong as a single Awakener?”
Silence.
The question struck everyone directly.
For several seconds, nobody said anything.
Finally, Ethan sighed.
“I have to admit, Megan, you’re still incredibly good at getting straight to the point.”
The girl was Megan Miller, the only female member of the group.
She had awakened a B-rank Enhancement ability and was currently ranked fourth in the examination.
Megan stuck out her tongue.
“I was just surprised.”
Her petite appearance created a strange contrast with the enormous saber in her hand.
But Ethan and the others were already accustomed to it.
The bald student sighed.
“Kael really is a monster.”
“He’s still only an Awakener, yet he’s already this powerful…”
His expression became complicated.
Then he looked toward the ruined streets around them.
“But what do we do now?”
“There are only about ninety minutes left before the Combat Examination ends.”
“The Ferocious Beasts in the Core Region are practically gone.”
He frowned.
“Are we really supposed to return to the Middle Region?”
The Combat Examination was a race against time.
Every candidate wanted to kill as many Ferocious Beasts as possible before the deadline.
Nobody wanted to waste the remaining ninety minutes wandering around.
Ethan considered the situation carefully.
“Going back to the Middle Region will take at least thirty minutes.”
“That’s too much time.”
He continued.
“And most of the beasts there are peak unranked Ferocious Beasts.”
“The points aren’t worth the time it would take to travel back.”
The others nodded.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“So instead of going back…”
He looked toward the deepest section of the Core Region.
“Why don’t we enter the Inner Region?”
The atmosphere immediately became tense.
The Inner Region.
That was a completely different level of danger.
The Ferocious Beasts there were at least High-Tier One.
And among them were even Tier Two Beast Kings.
For four Low-Tier One Ability Users, entering such a place was practically gambling with their lives.
The bald student hesitated.
“If we go in alone, we’d be asking to die.”
He looked at the others.
“But if all four of us stay together…”
His expression hardened.
“Maybe we can take the risk.”
The Combat Examination could determine a student’s future.
For students like them, failing the examination wouldn’t completely ruin their lives.
They were already Ability Users.
But that didn’t mean they were willing to settle for an ordinary university.
If there was a chance to enter a stronger Ability User university, they naturally wanted to fight for it.
Megan smiled.
“I don’t have a problem with it.”
The long-haired student nodded.
“It looks like our only option.”
Ethan made his decision immediately.
“Then let’s go.”
He turned around.
“We don’t have much time left.”
The four students quickly set off toward the Inner Region.
Grayridge Town — Core Region
Elsewhere, Kael Veyron was walking alone through a ruined street.
His Obsidian Spear was strapped across his back.
The road beneath his feet had once been a busy city street.
Now the concrete was cracked from years of destruction.
Weeds had pushed through the broken pavement.
The buildings and storefronts on both sides were little more than abandoned shells.
But Kael barely noticed his surroundings.
His attention was fixed entirely on the system panel in front of him.
[Name: Kael Veyron]
[Level: Awakener]
[Ability: Purple Sky Thunder — S-Rank]
[Physique: 181 Blood Qi]
[Spirit: 182 Hertz]
[Spearmanship: Advanced (+)]
[Lightning Gale Break: Beginner (+)]
[Ability Points: 2,413]
Kael’s eyes brightened.
2,413 Ability Points.
That was his harvest after entering the Core Region.
Even Kael found the number astonishing.
It was an enormous amount.
Yet there was still no plus sign beside his Level.
That confirmed his previous conclusion.
His Deep Blue System couldn’t directly push him from Awakener to Ability User.
He needed an Ability Cultivation Method first.
Without one, no amount of Ability Points could help him break through that barrier.
Kael wasn’t disappointed.
He already had a plan.
Once he entered an Ability User university, he would obtain a proper cultivation method.
Then he could begin advancing toward the next stage.
But there was another problem.
Kael looked toward the deeper part of the map.
Most of the Ferocious Beasts in the Core Region had already been eliminated.
If he wanted more Ability Points, he had only one place left to go.
The Inner Region.
The problem was that Tier Two Ferocious Beasts lived there.
Kael wasn’t reckless.
Before confronting a Tier Two Beast King, he wanted to improve his combat technique once more.
His eyes settled on Lightning Gale Break.
He tapped the plus sign.
[Ability Points -100.]
[Lightning Gale Break: Beginner → Intermediate.]
Then he tapped it again.
[Ability Points -200.]
[Lightning Gale Break: Intermediate → Advanced.]
Three hundred Ability Points disappeared in an instant.
Kael closed his eyes.
A massive amount of combat knowledge flooded into his mind.
It felt as though he had practiced Lightning Gale Break tens of thousands of times.
Every movement.
Every angle.
Every change in force.
Every transition between spear technique and Purple Sky Thunder.
Everything became instinctive.
When Kael opened his eyes again, a sharp light flashed through them.
“Advanced Lightning Gale Break…”
He tightened his grip.
“With this, I should have even more confidence against a Tier Two beast.”
Kael had thousands of Ability Points remaining.
Yet he didn’t recklessly spend them.
His philosophy was simple.
Ability Points were precious.
The Combat Examination gave him an opportunity to harvest them on a scale he might never experience again.
Once the examination ended, killing Ferocious Beasts would no longer be this convenient.
Furthermore, after entering an Ability User university, Ability Points could potentially have even greater uses.
There was no reason to waste them now.
Besides, his current strength was already sufficient.
He had raised his Blood Qi to 181 earlier.
His Spirit had reached 182.
His Spearmanship was Advanced.
And now…
His Lightning Gale Break had also reached Advanced.
That was enough.
Kael opened his backpack and took out the remaining two compressed energy bars.
He tore them open and swallowed them quickly.
After replenishing his energy, he checked the map.
His eyes settled on the deepest section of Grayridge Town.
The Inner Region.
Kael adjusted the Obsidian Spear on his back.
Then he started walking.
Compared with the enormous map of the entire Combat Examination area, the Inner Region was incredibly small.
On the map, it looked almost like a tiny dot.
But in reality, it was an entire residential community.
The community was called Silverpine Heights.
At this moment, dozens of Ferocious Beasts were gathered across the open grounds of the residential complex.
Unlike ordinary packs, these beasts belonged to completely different species.
There were Shadow Cats.
Ironhide Boars.
One-Horned Rhinos.
And several other powerful species.
Normally, such beasts would never live peacefully together.
Ferocious Beasts were naturally violent.
Different species treated one another as prey.
If these beasts encountered one another under normal circumstances, they would almost certainly fight.
Yet dozens of them were gathered here without attacking each other.
There could only be one explanation.
A powerful Beast King was suppressing them all.
And that Beast King was sitting at the deepest part of the open ground.
A massive gray bear.
The creature was enormous.
Its body was built like a tank.
Thick muscles covered its limbs.
Its fur was dense and dark gray.
But the most frightening thing was its eyes.
They were a terrifying blood-red.
There seemed to be a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood hidden behind them.
Even while sitting motionless, the bear radiated an oppressive aura that made the surrounding beasts instinctively remain quiet.
This was a Bloodthirsty Violent Bear.
And at this moment, Ethan Blake and the other three students had already reached the area.
They stood on the rooftop of a nearby building, looking down at the residential complex.
The moment they saw the enormous gray bear, all four expressions changed.
Ethan’s face became grim.
His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.
“It’s a Bloodthirsty Violent Bear.”
The other three became silent.
They had heard of this species.
There were enormous differences between Ferocious Beasts of the same tier.
A Shadow Cat and a One-Horned Rhino might both be Low-Tier One, but their combat capabilities were completely different.
That was racial suppression.
And Bloodthirsty Violent Bears were among the most terrifying species in their tier.
Their strength was absurd.
Their defensive power was even more frightening.
The thick fur covering their bodies was tightly packed, making it tougher than E-grade alloy.
Even heavy military weapons couldn’t easily break through their defense.
The four students stared down at the beast.
Nobody spoke.
The atmosphere became heavy.
Ethan’s expression was especially serious.
He knew that this was no ordinary Tier One Ferocious Beast.
It was a monster that could easily turn their remaining ninety minutes into a battle for survival.
And somewhere beyond them, Kael Veyron was already moving toward the same battlefield.
The Inner Region was about to become the most dangerous place in Grayridge Town.