Because Your Brother Isn't a Shield Guard

"Qin Zhixue and Chen Ming have teamed up!"

"Both of them are level 6 now; they must be preparing to challenge a dungeon together."

"I'm so envious. Others are already able to run dungeons, while we're still struggling below level 5."

"Currently, the only squads in Cloud Sea City capable of challenging dungeons are likely the Morning Light Squad and the Abyss Squad."

At the border.

People watched the Morning Light Squad gathered together and couldn't help but sigh.

The dungeon rankings for the Grand Exam were no longer limited to Cloud Sea City, but covered the entire Jiangnan Province.

Therefore, information about squads from various cities began to appear on the internet, generating quite a bit of buzz.

Especially today, the fourth day of the Grand Exam.

Some S-rank class-changers with fast leveling speeds had reached level 5 today and could lead teams to challenge dungeons.

Within Cloud Sea City.

The ones sparking the most discussion were naturally the Morning Light Squad, where Chen Ming and Qin Zhixue were, as well as the Abyss Squad, consisting of Wang Yan and Wu Qingyang.

"Did you hear? Just a moment ago, Song Chuan, that S-rank class-changer, also announced he was joining the Abyss Squad!"

"Hiss... that means the Abyss Squad now has three S-rank class-changers!"

"Could they be planning to compete with the Morning Light Squad?"

"Compete with that monster Chen Ming? They must be crazy."

After the previous incident involving the disclosure of Chen Ming's information and his testing, many people had already categorized Chen Ming as beyond the scope of a normal human.

"You never know. No matter how strong Chen Ming is, he must have flaws. Don't underestimate a combination of three S-ranks."

"Are you serious, buddy? Do you have any idea what a score of 6500 actually means?"

"By the way, besides Chen Ming and Qin Zhixue, it seems the Morning Light Squad only added two more members."

"That's right. One is that A-rank Contractor who follows Qin Zhixue, and the other is Chen Ming's friend, a B-rank Assassin."

At this mention, many people showed expressions of envy.

An A-rank Contractor was one thing; given the unique nature of the profession, it made sense they could latch onto a powerful figure.

But for an ordinary B-rank Assassin to also be able to latch onto one...

It made them feel very unbalanced.

"Damn it, is this the benefit of having a badass best friend?"

"My brother is also C-rank, why isn't he that strong?"

"Because your brother isn't a Shield Guard."

"Is being a Shield Guard all it takes?"

"No, he also has to be named Chen Ming."

"..."

On the other side.

After accepting the Fusion Dungeon Rune Stone from Qin Zhixue, Chen Ming used it.

[Fusion Dungeon Rune Stone--]
[After use, the location of the dungeon will be marked on the class-changer's personal map!]
[Note: The Fusion Dungeon has a high difficulty level; please challenge with caution!]

Chen Ming had personally experienced the rewards of wild dungeons.

Although not all wild dungeons were of the 'Treasure Hunt' type that yielded rare resources, it was certain that even a standard wild challenge dungeon offered rewards far superior to the 'official' large-scale dungeons in Cloud Sea City.

Whether it was experience, equipment, or resources, they weren't even on the same level.

So, if Chen Ming were asked to challenge those fixed, large-scale dungeons now, he would actually... look down on them.

Since Qin Zhixue was able to produce a Fusion Dungeon Rune Stone, Chen Ming was naturally happy to accept.

As for the high difficulty, Chen Ming ignored it entirely.

For a first-tier dungeon, how hard could it really be?

Although Chen Ming didn't know the exact level of his combat power when pushed to his limits, he was certain that fighting above his level was as easy as drinking water.

Forget level 10; even if a level 20 exotic beast showed up, Chen Ming would dare to draw his blade and charge right in.

[Dungeon Rune Stone used successfully!]

Chen Ming tapped the notification to check the details.

The map displayed the location of the Fusion Dungeon.

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching for the author; perhaps the name has simply been changed!

"Huh? This direction..."

Chen Ming raised an eyebrow.

The location of this Fusion Dungeon was somewhat close to that special valley he had encountered previously in the Exotic Beast Forest.

Although the specific coordinates weren't inside the valley itself, they were in the same general area.

"Does that region have some kind of special property that makes it prone to spawning wild dungeons?"

Dungeons themselves were areas created under the influence of special energy, similar to natural gestation.

Multiple dungeons appearing in one territory proved that the area was undoubtedly saturated with energy.

Chen Ming shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it any further.

"In that case, let's head out."

He looked at his three teammates and spoke.

He was preparing to lead the team into the Exotic Beast Forest to head toward the dungeon area.

"Wait a moment."

Just then, someone from not far away called out to stop him.

Chen Ming looked over and saw a group of people.

Walking at the front were two elderly men in proper military attire: the principals of Third High School and Fifth High School.

Following behind them were three others: Wang Yan, Wu Qingyang, and Song Chuan.

The group walked toward the city gate, immediately drawing the attention of many onlookers.

After seeing who they were, Chen Ming instinctively scanned his surroundings.

Sure enough, Principal Zhou and the Inspector he had once seen from afar in the valley were also among them.

However, the two of them were not walking with Principal Wang, Principal Wu, and the three students.

"Chen Ming, hold on for a moment. We have some things we need to discuss with you."

The Principal Wu from Third High School stepped forward.

"What is it?"

Chen Ming said calmly.

Principal Wu got straight to the point: "Regarding this special assessment in Jiangnan Province, I assume you are already aware of it."

"The competition is fierce this time, and our Cloud Sea City can only select one team to participate in the Jiangnan Province selection."

"And so?"

Chen Ming frowned slightly, glancing at Wang Yan and the others behind them.

He had already vaguely guessed the purpose of the visit from the principals of Third High School and Fifth High School.

"So, we hope that you and Qin Zhixue will join the Abyss Squad to represent Cloud Sea City in the selection together."

Principal Wu smiled, as if he were stating something perfectly normal.

Because in his eyes, it truly was normal.

"Why would I join the Abyss Squad and bring Qin Zhixue along with me?"

Chen Ming felt it was inexplicable.

"Because you are the five most promising students in this year's Cloud Sea City."

Principal Wu said as if it were a matter of course.

"You, Qin Zhixue, Wang Yan, Wu Qingyang, and Song Chuan—the five of you would make the perfect team. You would surely shine brightly in Jiangnan Province."

Principal Wang spoke up as well: "You're heading to a dungeon now, aren't you? Perfect. You can use this opportunity to get in some practice."

"Practice your coordination."

Principal Wang continued, speaking as if it were already decided.

Meanwhile, behind them, the two people standing behind Qin Zhixue and the two behind Chen Ming all wore bizarre expressions.

Lin Wei: ?

Sun Yang: ?

And what about me?

Am I just air?

"Uh... 'synergy'?"

Chen Ming fell silent for a moment.

He said bluntly, "I'm not interested."

Synergy for what?

Synergy for how those three can best serve as background props during a fight?

Or, to put it bluntly...

Are those three even worthy?