Thunder Martial Hall, Cousin Tang Qi

Facing the firefighters who had come to his door, Xu Jingming explained that he possessed the Lightning Ability and had already brought the fire under control.

The group hurriedly inspected the house from top to bottom. After confirming that no safety hazards remained, they did not stay any longer.

Before leaving, they not only repaired the front door, but the captain also slipped Xu Jingming a business card.

He said that Xu Jingming's Lightning Ability was highly suited for controlling fires and explosions in places with electronic equipment.

After graduating from college, he could go directly to the Jiangcheng Fire Department and ask him to arrange a job.

After all,

the Fire Department was a government institution. With awakened individuals who controlled water and fire abilities, there was no need to worry about life-threatening danger during firefighting operations.

In the eyes of ordinary people, it was considered an excellent job.

Of course,

it held no appeal whatsoever for Xu Jingming now.

He casually tucked the card into the bedside cabinet in his bedroom, picked up the spear leaning lightly against the wall, and left the apartment.

"Xiao Ming, was everything all right with that fire just now?"

"It's fine, Uncle Yang. It's already under control."

"That's good. Looking at you, are you heading to the martial hall?"

"Yeah, I'm going to the martial hall to get some practice in."

"You're really hardworking. The college entrance exam is tomorrow, and you're still training. Nothing like that useless brat of mine."

"..."

Bright Moon District was where Xu Jingming had lived for eighteen years, and all the neighbors around him were familiar faces.

Xu Jingming had a mild temperament and was well liked by the older men and women in the neighborhood.

When they saw him coming downstairs, several elderly residents taking walks or looking after their grandchildren immediately asked after him with concern.

Xu Jingming answered each of them politely.

Then, with his spear strapped to his back, he left the district, took a bus, and transferred to the subway once.

At last, he arrived in front of a modern high-rise building.

The building stood more than forty meters tall, its exterior decorated in silver-white, making it look exceptionally sleek.

It covered a vast area as well, like a gigantic beast crouched there.

On one side of the building were four bold, sweeping characters: "Thunder Martial Hall."

Under the sunlight, those four characters gleamed brilliantly.

For awakened individuals to advance into Metahumans, they had to train their bodies and minds, increasing the power of their abilities.

However, not every family could afford its own private Training Room.

Thus, martial halls that provided training venues and instructional services emerged.

Throughout Great Xia Country, the two most famous martial halls were Thunder Martial Hall and Violent Bear Martial Hall.

Both had established branches in every city across Great Xia Country.

Even Jiangcheng, located in a relatively remote part of Jiangnan Province, had branches of both.

Of course,

apart from Thunder Martial Hall and Violent Bear Martial Hall, Jiangcheng also had hundreds of private martial halls of varying sizes.

But only Thunder Martial Hall was open to high school students free of charge.

That was why Xu Jingming had always trained at Thunder Martial Hall.

He had come today to see exactly how much his strength had improved after obtaining the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning and increasing his basic attributes.

At this moment, besides Xu Jingming, there were also several awakened individuals and even Metahumans outside Thunder Martial Hall, all carrying weapons.

"Luo Heng, the Ninth-Order Metahuman who founded Thunder Martial Hall, also possesses an S-rank Lightning Type ability. I wonder if, one day in the future, I'll be able to establish a martial hall of my own as well..."

After musing for a moment, Xu Jingming entered the martial hall.

Thunder Martial Hall had six floors, each covering tens of thousands of square meters.

The second and third floors were reserved specifically for high school students to use free of charge.

After entering the martial hall, Xu Jingming headed straight for the third floor, where he usually trained.

Since it was Wednesday, aside from seniors who had already been dismissed from school early, first- and second-year students were still in class.

Most seniors were spending this time at home making their final preparations before the college entrance exam.

As a result, the normally bustling third floor seemed rather deserted.

There were only a dozen or so people in the hall.

Yet after entering, Xu Jingming spotted a familiar figure among them.

She was a girl around 1.7 meters tall, with delicate, cool features.

She carried no weapon and wore casual clothes. Her long, straight legs looked almost dazzlingly fair against her blue denim shorts.

A few other stylishly dressed young men and women stood around her.

"Sis Qi, you came to Thunder Martial Hall too?"

Xu Jingming smiled and greeted the tall girl.

Tang Qi was his youngest aunt's daughter and was also a senior, though she was a few months older than him.

Since Xu Jingming had lost both his parents at a young age, his youngest aunt, who also lived in Jiangcheng, often came to visit him.

This cousin of his would sometimes come with her.

But their relationship was neither particularly close nor particularly bad.

The reason was simple.

The original Xu Jingming had been introverted and quiet. Combined with the gap between their family backgrounds, the two had little in common.

Two years ago, Tang Qi awakened a B-rank ability, while he had awakened only an E-rank metahuman ability. After that, they had even less to talk about.

Tang Qi had not expected to run into Xu Jingming at Thunder Martial Hall. After a brief pause, she came back to herself and nodded slightly. "Mm. I came with some friends."

No wonder...

Xu Jingming immediately understood.

His aunt's family was relatively well-off, and Tang Qi usually went to Violent Bear Martial Hall, where the annual membership fee was one hundred thousand.

She rarely came to Thunder Martial Hall.

"Alright then, Sis Qi. You all carry on. I'm heading to the Training Room."

Xu Jingming did not continue the conversation. After greeting her, he left directly.

"Qiqi, who was that? He looked pretty handsome."

After Xu Jingming left, a cute girl beside Tang Qi, also tall but dressed in a skirt, asked the question.

There was a faint trace of curiosity in her clear, large eyes.

"Xu Jingming, my cousin."

"Like us, he's a senior. He'll be taking the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination tomorrow."

Tang Qi's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she watched Xu Jingming's retreating figure.

Her cousin Xu Jingming seemed somewhat different from before...

She could not say exactly what was different.

But in the past, even if they happened to run into each other, he would never take the initiative to come over and talk.

Yet this time, he had unusually greeted her first.

"Why are you asking so many questions? Xiao Ya, are you lovesick and looking for a boyfriend?"

A young man in white casual clothes beside her smiled.

However, Xiao Ya did not mind the teasing in the slightest and admitted it openly.

"What? Is that not allowed? With that face, as long as his strength isn't too bad, wouldn't it be pretty impressive to bring him around as a boyfriend in the future?"

"Then I'm afraid my cousin will disappoint you. He only awakened an E-rank metahuman ability."

Tang Qi shook her head, already anticipating Xiao Ya's reaction.

Sure enough, after hearing that Xu Jingming was only an awakened individual with an E-rank metahuman ability, most of the curiosity in Xiao Ya's eyes immediately faded. She said listlessly, "Only an E-rank metahuman ability? What a shame."

Everyone had their own circle, and most people within the same circle came from similar family backgrounds and got along well in personality.

Not only did this group come from wealthy families, they had all awakened B-rank or C-rank abilities.

As for Xu Jingming, one could tell from his clothes that his family circumstances were probably not that good.

On top of that, he had awakened only an E-rank metahuman ability. Even though Xiao Ya cared about looks, she could not muster much interest.

"An E-rank metahuman ability, and he still dares to take the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination? At least he's got guts."

A young man wearing an ear stud joked.

"What good are guts? The risk is simply too great! I'd rather he didn't take the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination." Tang Qi sighed.

Those who died most often in the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination were ability awakeners below D-rank.

If Xu Jingming had a D-rank ability, she would not have had any objections.

But an E-rank ability was simply too weak. Taking the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination was practically courting death.

With an E-rank ability, he should honestly take the regular academic exam.

After graduating, he could work as a white-collar employee at a company. He would not have to fight and kill ferocious beasts or risk his life. Wouldn't that be perfectly fine?

At the very least, it would keep her mother from worrying about him every day.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this. Didn't we come to look around Thunder Martial Hall?"

"That's true. Throughout three years of high school, I was practically always at Violent Bear Martial Hall. This is my first time at Thunder Martial Hall."

"Relaxing before the college entrance exam is good for both body and mind."

Seeing that Tang Qi was in a poor mood, the group quickly ended the topic and began wandering around casually.