"Oh? You've met Astret? Quick, tell us, what's his ability?"
In the exam center, when they heard Zhou Mingyang had met Astret, the people around immediately became interested.
"I'm not sure about the type of ability, but his Physique is very strong; his Vitality is at least 180 points or more."
Zhou Mingyang shook his head and voiced his guess.
"180 Vitality? No wonder he's so fierce."
The bald boy clicked his tongue in wonder.
The Vitality of a normal Awakener is only around 100 points.
For them, as Rank 1 Low-tier Ability Users, their Vitality is only around 130 points.
180 Vitality is a goal far out of their reach.
"With such a powerful Physique, there's a high probability he's an Enhancement-type Ability User."
"Having this much Vitality after activating an ability to enhance the Physique is still acceptable."
The long-haired boy pretended to be indifferent, but his tone was a bit sour.
"No, Astret is still just an Awakener."
Zhou Mingyang shook his head again.
He didn't deny the long-haired boy's guess that Astret had an Enhancement-type ability.
After all, he thought so too.
"An Awakener?"
The petite girl carrying a broadsword exclaimed, "So the few of us Ability Users can't even compare to an Awakener?"
The girl's words immediately silenced everyone present.
After a while, Zhou Mingyang said faintly, "I have to say, Meng Di, you're as good as ever at catching the main point."
Meng Di was the only girl among these Ability Users; she had awakened a B-rank Enhancement-type ability and was currently ranked fourth.
"I was just startled."
Meng Di stuck out her tongue.
Her cute appearance formed a strong sense of dissonance with the broadsword she was carrying, but Zhou Mingyang and the others were used to it.
"Astret is truly a freak, being so fierce while still just an Awakener..."
The bald boy's expression was complex. He paused and then added:
"But what should we do next? There's about an hour and a half left until the end of the college entrance exam.
The fierce beasts in the Core Area have been wiped out. Are we going to go back to the Middle Zone?"
In the Martial Arts college entrance exam, everyone was racing against time to kill as many fierce beasts as possible to get more points.
In the remaining hour and a half, they naturally couldn't just wander around.
"It will take at least over half an hour to get from here to the Middle Zone; too much time would be wasted on the road.
Besides, the Middle Zone is mostly filled with peak unranked fierce beasts; the points gained from killing them aren't that high."
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Mingyang said, "Instead of going back to the Middle Zone, why don't we try going to the Innermost Core Area together?"
"The Innermost Core Area?"
Hearing this, everyone's hearts skipped a beat.
The lowest level of fierce beasts in the Innermost Core Area is Rank 1 High-tier, and there are even Rank 2 Beast Kings.
With such a lineup of fierce beasts, even as Rank 1 Low-tier Ability Users, they would be risking their lives by entering.
"Entering the Innermost Core Area alone is no different from seeking death, but if the four of us team up, it's worth a try."
The bald boy hesitated for a while but eventually nodded.
The Martial Arts college entrance exam—one test to determine one's lifelong fate!
Although for these Ability Users, the consequences of failing the Martial Arts college entrance exam wouldn't be that severe.
But if they could get into a better university, they wouldn't give up.
"I have no objection," the petite girl Meng Di giggled.
"It seems that's the only way for now." The long-haired boy also nodded.
"Alright, then let's set off immediately."
Zhou Mingyang was also a man of action. After deciding on the plan, he quickly led the three of them away... Somewhere in the Core Area of the Ruined Town.
Astret walked down the road with a long spear on his back.
This was originally a city street, but now the concrete ground was cracked and overgrown with weeds, looking completely desolate.
The buildings and shops on both sides were also extremely dilapidated.
However, Astret didn't pay attention to his surroundings; his focus was entirely on his system panel:
[Level]: Awakener
[Ability]: Violet Heaven Divine Lightning (S)
[Physique]: 181 Vitality (+)
[spirit]: 182 He (+)
[Skills]: Spearmanship (Advanced+), Lightning Gale Break (Basic+)
[ability points]: 2413
2413 ability points!
Astret's eyes lit up.
This was his total harvest after entering the Core Area.
Such a large amount of ability points was truly astonishing!
Yet even so, a plus sign still hadn't appeared after his level.
This confirmed his suspicion that it was indeed because he hadn't practiced an Ability Cultivation Method yet that he couldn't transform into an Ability User.
"But because of this, the fierce beasts in the Core Area have been mostly wiped out by me."
"If I want to continue gaining ability points, I must go to the Innermost Core Area."
"However, there are Rank 2 fierce beasts there; I need to strengthen my power a bit before going."
Astret clicked the plus sign after the Combat Technique 'Lightning Gale Break'.
ability points -100.
Lightning Gale Break: Basic → Intermediate.
ability points -200.
Lightning Gale Break: Intermediate → Advanced.
Astret spent 300 ability points in one go, directly raising the Combat Technique to Advanced.
In an instant, it was as if he had practiced this Combat Technique thousands of times; he was incredibly proficient in it.
"Now, I'm more confident in dealing with that Rank 2 fierce beast."
Although he had many ability points, Astret didn't use them recklessly to raise his basic attributes.
He only raised his Vitality to 180 points at the beginning and upgraded his Combat Technique just now.
One could say he was being very frugal.
On one hand, ability points were precious; once the Martial Arts college entrance exam ended, there wouldn't be another opportunity to harvest ability points like this.
On the other hand, once he entered Awakener University, these ability points would have other important uses.
Of course, the most important reason was that with his current strength, he was already capable of dealing with the Rank 2 fierce beasts in the Innermost Core Area, so there was no need for further upgrades.
After finishing the upgrades, he drank the two remaining energy bars in his backpack to replenish his stamina.
Astret glanced at the map and strode toward the Innermost Core Area... Compared to the entire map of the Martial Arts college entrance exam, the Innermost Core Area was pitifully small, almost just a dot.
But in reality, it wasn't just a dot, but an entire residential complex!
This was a residential complex called Jinse Garden. On the open ground of the complex, dozens of fierce beasts resided.
Unlike normal beast packs, these fierce beasts were of different species: Shadow Cats, Iron-Haired Pigs, and even One-Horned Rhinos.
One must know that...
Fierce beasts are brutal by nature, and different species usually view each other as prey.
For so many different species of fierce beasts to live together harmoniously in a group, there must be a Beast King suppressing everything.
And this Beast King was a grizzly bear crouching in the deepest part of the open ground!
Unlike ordinary grizzly bears, this one was massive, like a tank.
Its eyes were blood-red, as if they contained a sea of corpses and blood.
Just by resting there, this fierce beast emitted a terrifying aura.
By this time, Zhou Mingyang's group had already arrived nearby.
Standing on the roof of a building, they looked down.
When they saw the grizzly bear resting below, everyone's expressions changed.
"It's actually a Bloodthirsty Violent Bear."
Zhou Mingyang's expression was grim.
There are also differences in strength between different fierce beasts.
For example, even at the same Rank 1, a Shadow Cat could never defeat a One-Horned Rhino.
This is racial suppression.
And the Bloodthirsty Violent Bear is a famously rare species among fierce beasts, very difficult to deal with.
Not to mention its exaggeratedly terrifying strength, its thick, knotted fur alone is sturdier than E-rank alloy!
Even missiles couldn't easily blow it apart!