Mental Skills!

Chen Ming merely sighed in passing.

The result would be much the same regardless.

He estimated that Qin Zhixue had also reached Level 3 today.

Her leveling speed was likely on par with his own.

Besides, who said he wouldn't possess such "flashy" abilities in the future?

There was still a whole pile of SSS-rank skills waiting for him down the road.

The three of them returned to the city district together.

"Are you by yourself?"

On the way, Qin Zhixue asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah, before entering dungeons, I prefer to solo for a bit." Chen Ming nodded.

Hearing this, the young girl silently trailing behind the two cast a curious glance at Chen Ming.

A C-rank Shield Guard soloing in the wild?

Was this guy serious?

Qin Zhixue fell silent for a moment before speaking up:

"Actually, you don't have to push yourself. If I bring you along to level up, you can reach Level 5 and enter dungeons much faster."

She hesitated for a moment, her expression turning more earnest.

"For you, this month is very important; it's the key to whether you can change your fate."

"Oh? How so?"

Chen Ming turned his head to look at Qin Zhixue, somewhat surprised.

He had assumed she was just being polite to him as her nominal "team leader," but it seemed she was serious.

Change his fate?

In the eyes of others, Chen Ming was just a C-rank Shield Guard, as ordinary as one could possibly be.

What could possibly allow a C-rank class to change their fate?

"Mental potential... can actually awaken skills as well."

Qin Zhixue's light remark made Chen Ming's expression freeze, and he immediately stopped in his tracks.

"Mental potential can also awaken skills?"

He blinked, truly unaware of this information.

It was clear that Qin Zhixue knew some secrets regarding mental potential.

She began to explain: "Just like how you awaken skills after reaching a certain level in your class, there is a probability of awakening skills once your mental potential value reaches a certain threshold."

"It's just that the vast majority of people fail to awaken mental-type skills, even if they reach the corresponding potential value."

Chen Ming caught the key piece of information and asked: "What is this certain threshold of potential value?"

"20%," Qin Zhixue replied.

Chen Ming was stunned.

His current mental potential value was... 19%!

In other words, he was already close.

However, judging by Qin Zhixue's tone, even reaching 20% didn't guarantee success.

In fact, the probability of failing to awaken was very high.

"Your mental potential is very high, extremely high. You might actually be able to awaken a mental-type skill, but just like class-based skill awakening, it requires rare resources."

"And while mental-type rare resources are even more precious, there is currently one way to obtain them."

Chen Ming was pondering Qin Zhixue's words when he immediately became interested upon hearing this.

"What way?"

"The Grand Exam."

Qin Zhixue was blunt, skipping the pleasantries.

"The leaderboard rewards for the Grand Exam offer a chance to obtain mental-type rare resources, including the rankings for the first seven days, dungeon rankings, and the final rankings."

This was the reason Qin Zhixue said this month was so critical for Chen Ming.

She was reminding Chen Ming that if he wanted to obtain mental-type rare resources, he had to compete for the rankings!

Only by awakening a mental-type skill could he escape the mediocrity of a C-rank class.

Furthermore, what Qin Zhixue didn't say was that any mental-type skill, provided one could awaken it, was never weak.

Chen Ming nodded.

"Thank you, this information is truly useful to me."

Looking at it this way, his goal of reaching level 3 today was indeed spot on.

Level 3—a top-three spot was definitely in the bag.

The top three on the leaderboard received the highest tier of rewards for level rankings.

Perhaps he would be able to obtain rare mental-type resources as early as today.

Dusk was approaching.

At the edge of the city district.

The orange-red sunset hung in the sky, casting a glow over the massive silhouette of the Exotic Beast Forest in the distance.

In the suburbs, Class-Changers were returning one after another.

They gathered at the entrances of various guilds, trading equipment, selling beast cores, and exchanging stories of their day.

"Damn, it's finally over. I'm exhausted."

"Hell, those exotic beasts are just too damn hard to kill. I teamed up with a C-Rank mage, and we only managed to kill 25 of them all day. We didn't even level up to level 2."

"Sigh, it's too tough. I heard there were even some casualties."

The crowd sighed, feeling quite discouraged after experiencing the strength of the exotic beasts in the wild.

"Those who managed to reach level 2 on the first day must all be geniuses from Cloud Sea City with A-Rank potential or higher."

"Not necessarily. Those with money at home get fully equipped with top-tier gear, giving them stats and combat power that put them a level ahead."

"I wonder what the rankings look like for the first day. Out of the top 100, aside from the S-Ranks and A-Ranks, there should be a few dozen spots left. The competition among B-Rank Class-Changers is fierce."

The mention of the first-day rankings immediately sparked a heated discussion.

The Grand Exam rewards were something no one could refuse—gold coins, equipment, resources, everything one could want.

"Song Chuan, you should be able to secure a spot in the top three today, right?"

At the entrance of a guild, Song Chuan and Jiang Yi were surrounded by a crowd.

"Big Brother Song Chuan is an S-Rank class, and with Jiang Yi as an A-Rank mage, who could possibly stand against them?"

"In my opinion, among the duos in Cloud Sea City, Song Chuan's team is the strongest."

Song Chuan wore a smile, clearly enjoying the feeling of being flattered by everyone.

He waved his hand, saying modestly, "You flatter me. I wouldn't dare claim the title of the strongest duo."

"Everyone, don't forget that there is still an SS-Rank Class-Changer above us."

The crowd naturally knew who Song Chuan was talking about.

Qin Zhixue, the only SS-Rank Class-Changer in the entire Cloud Sea City this year.

"Speaking of which, Big Brother Song Chuan, why aren't you teamed up with Qin Zhixue?"

"An SS-Rank and an S-Rank teaming up—I can't even imagine how strong that would be. Forget Cloud Sea City, they would be dazzling enough to outshine the entire Jiangnan Province."

Song Chuan's expression stiffened at these words.

Talk about hitting a sore spot...

He gave an awkward laugh. "Haha, for those S-Rank and above, everyone levels up separately before reaching level 5 for better efficiency."

"I see. So, you must have already made an agreement with Qin Zhixue to form a team after level 5, right?"

"Um, I'm an A-Rank assassin. Big Brother, do you think you could put in a word for me with Qin Zhixue so I can join?"

"Me too, me too!"

"Do you think I have a chance?"

Many people swarmed forward all at once.

For a moment, the scene was incredibly lively.

Since Cloud Sea City had finally produced an SS-Rank Class-Changer, everyone wanted to seize the opportunity.

Even if it meant just tagging along in the party, it would significantly boost their Grand Exam ranking!

"That matter... is still up for discussion."

Facing the crowd's enthusiasm, Song Chuan could only give a vague answer.

Behind him, Jiang Yi's expression was clearly off.

Looking closely, her face had turned somewhat pale.

The mere thought of what happened this morning made Jiang Yi feel exceptionally miserable.

She had specifically gone to find that Chen Ming to demand the 'team leader' position so she could join Qin Zhixue.

As a result, she was kicked on the spot, and then she watched with her own eyes as Qin Zhixue invited Chen Ming to join her team.

That Chen Ming was only a C-Rank—what on earth did he have going for him?

"Look, Qin Zhixue is back!"

Someone let out a cry of surprise, pointing toward the border.

Many were drawn to look toward the city gate.

They saw Qin Zhixue, dressed in a clean white long robe over armor with a cold temperament, walking into the city gate.

A young girl followed closely behind her, step by step.

Beside Qin Zhixue, there was also a man draped in a radiant Feather Garment.