Nightwalker

Three months remained until graduation. The students had already begun going their separate ways.

Zhang Ping had not left the school, but he no longer went to the teaching building either. His life revolved around the dormitory, track, and cafeteria. He exercised every day, calling it laying the groundwork for his future life as a farmer.

He was not the only one doing this. Quite a few students did the same. After all, once they left school, they could only take the worst jobs. With little to look forward to in the future, they might as well stay at school and enjoy themselves for as long as they could.

Moreover, he discovered that these students were actually quite safe. Almost none of them had been replaced by Heavenly Fox.

In other words, Heavenly Fox targeted either highly promising students or students who joined key departments such as the Patrol Team. The rest posed little threat, so Heavenly Fox was in no hurry to act against them.

Take him, for example. A summoner incapable of obtaining a summoned beast was destined to become nothing more than a farmer. Naturally, he posed no danger, so Heavenly Fox had not immediately made a move against him.

The opposite example was Luo Shiyu. He remembered that she had awakened an immensely powerful ability two years ago. Heavenly Fox had probably set its sights on her the day she was judged to possess extraordinary talent.

Zhang Ping could feel himself improving every day. His physical condition grew stronger by the day.

If his stamina and Mental Strength were not limited, he would have eaten Contract Gems like candy. Unfortunately, after several days, he had not awakened any new talents. Only his potential had continued to rise.

The most obvious change was that, in just a few dozen days, he could now do a thousand push-ups without stopping.

And after finishing, his stamina recovered quickly. He no longer collapsed on the ground like a dead dog, too exhausted to move.

Night fell.

Zhang Ping sat cross-legged on his bed. He glanced at the night beyond the window and condensed another Contract Gem.

He tossed the gem into his mouth, chewed it slightly, and swallowed it.

This time, he suddenly felt as if everything had gone silent. It seemed as though the entire world had lost its sound. Only after a while did he emerge from the silence, and the chirping of crickets and croaking of frogs returned.

He immediately used Appraisal on himself.

[Appraisal successful]

[Summoned Beast: Zhang Ping]

[Master: Zhang Ping]

[Race: Human]

[Potential: ????]

[Lifespan: 89]

[Talents]

[Contract Gem: Can consume stamina + Mental Strength to condense a Contract Gem. Once the target willingly accepts a Contract Gem, their life, soul, and consciousness will all be governed by the summoner. At the same time, they will gain the summoner's potential and luck blessing. After the first use, each subsequent use will slightly increase one's potential, with a 1% chance of awakening a new talent. Note: This talent ability was obtained by summoner Zhang Ping at the cost of overdrawing his intelligence, potential, and luck. Though powerful, it possesses some enormous flaw. Being too ambitious does not seem to be a good thing.]

[Absolute Command: You possess absolute authority over summoned beasts. Your commands can never be disobeyed by summoned beasts.]

[Absolute Obedience: You absolutely obey the summoner's commands. You will faithfully carry out the summoner's commands.]

[Unstable Appraisal: Can appraise a target. There is an extremely small chance of obtaining the target's information. The smaller the difference in strength between both sides, the greater the chance of successfully obtaining information. After the first successful appraisal, the success rate of subsequent appraisals on the same target will increase significantly. Note: A talent ability born from the thirst for knowledge of summoned beast Zhang Ping and summoner Zhang Ping.]

[Nightwalker: Gains night vision. Presence is greatly reduced at night, movement speed greatly increases, body weight decreases, and the user becomes completely invisible while in shadows.]

Sure enough, he had gained another talent!

Zhang Ping had felt it through his body before he even needed Appraisal.

After all, it was nighttime. The improvement in his vision and the decrease in his weight were both extremely obvious.

He got out of bed and tested it. His body felt far lighter. With a light jump, he could touch the ceiling, and he made almost no sound when he landed.

With night vision, the pitch-black city beyond the window became bright.

He even saw a giant bird of prey with a twelve-meter wingspan flying across the sky, trailing billowing black smoke.

If that bird of prey dove down and attacked the city, the consequences would be unimaginable.

This world was too dangerous.

Zhang Ping slowly exhaled, then turned and entered the bathroom.

He had just noticed that his potential had increased by one star. It had originally been three stars, but now it had become four. The most obvious change his body could sense was the additional talent, but there were many hidden changes that he needed to uncover himself.

In the bathroom, he did two thousand five hundred push-ups in one go. If he used Absolute Command, he estimated that he could manage around three thousand.

Of course, that was related to his lighter body weight. It would probably be greatly reduced during the day.

His five senses had also become sharper.

Sounds that he could not hear before could now be faintly heard if he concentrated.

For example, the sound of someone in the next room grinding their teeth in their sleep.

"I wonder what Level I'm equivalent to now?"

After leaving the bathroom, Zhang Ping lay on his bed and thought to himself.

Awakened had Levels, and the system was not complicated.

Anyone who had just awakened an ability could be classified as a Level 1 Awakened.

Novice Awakened ranged from Level 1 to Level 9. Once they broke through Level 10, they became Intermediate Awakened.

When Intermediate Awakened broke through Level 20, they naturally became High-Level Awakened. Beyond that were Top-Tier Awakened.

As for beyond Top-Tier Awakened, there were supposedly King-level Awakened. However, Mingzhu City had never produced a King. Even the city lord was only a Top-Tier Awakened.

Kings were merely a legend that had been passed down among Awakened.

The next day.

Zhang Ping woke up half an hour earlier than usual. When he woke, he was already on the track, his body automatically running.

He did not alter the command. Instead, he carefully felt his mental state.

Excellent. He was full of energy.

He did not feel sleepy despite waking up so early.

Zhang Ping estimated that his increased potential had reduced the amount of sleep he needed.

After finishing his run, his body automatically walked to the cafeteria. Everything proceeded as usual until "Luo Shiyu" appeared.

"Good morning, Luo Shiyu!"

"Luo Shiyu, I'll line up for you. What do you want to eat?"

"I was a little sleepy, but seeing Luo Shiyu has energized me completely."

The enormous fox with Luo Shiyu's skin pasted across its forehead slowly approached amid the crowd. Even though Zhang Ping had grown stronger, he still felt a chill run through him.

Suddenly, Heavenly Fox walked up to a female student, stretched out its claws, grabbed the girl by the throat, and lifted her up. Like someone selecting food from a buffet, it dragged her along as it continued forward.

Zhang Ping lowered his head and gripped his chopsticks tightly. Only after Heavenly Fox had passed him did he grit his teeth slightly and command himself to continue eating, striving to finish everything before the smell of blood drifted over.

When he left the cafeteria, many people inside were still envious that the female student had been chosen by "Luo Shiyu" and could eat breakfast with "Luo Shiyu."

In the eyes of the students, Heavenly Fox was eating with that girl. But in Zhang Ping's eyes, the girl was being torn apart by a vicious, terrifying fox and brutally devoured.

He had to quickly figure out the true situation in Mingzhu City!

He had to determine the gap in strength between friend and foe!

Zhang Ping clenched his fists. After returning to his dormitory and shutting the door, he began exercising.

"A thousand push-ups!"

He gave himself the command inwardly, and his body immediately began moving.

"Five hundred sit-ups!"

After a thousand push-ups, Zhang Ping was drenched in sweat. But he immediately gave himself another command.

"Three hundred frog jumps!"

"Again!"

Zhang Ping's eyes burned with fire. He clenched his teeth and roared inwardly.

He trained like mad for the entire morning.

Pearl Ability Academy taught students how to determine whether their bodies were overloaded. Therefore, as long as he had not reached his limit, he would never stop!

At noon, he rested for two hours after eating, then got up and began practicing his punches again.

Pearl Ability Academy offered martial arts classes. Before students awakened their abilities, their primary training consisted of physical fitness, boxing, and weapon use.

Besides basic boxing techniques, the martial arts class also taught a boxing technique called Pearl Three Fists.

It was a martial art jointly created by many senior Awakened specifically to deal with Mutated Beasts. It originally had nine moves, but was gradually streamlined into three.

Its name had likewise changed from Pearl Nine Fists to Pearl Three Fists, though everyone generally called it Pearl Fist for short.

The first move of Pearl Fist was called Rat Chaser.

It was a low attack designed specifically for Mutated Beasts smaller than oneself. The move was powerful and heavy, emphasizing suppressing the beast through sheer momentum—using one's size advantage to crush the enemy.

The second move of Pearl Fist was called Wolf Charge.

This move was specifically for Mutated Beasts roughly the same size as oneself. It emphasized landing a single decisive strike, targeting vital points such as the eyes, ears, and spine.

The third move of Pearl Fist was called Ox Prison.

This move placed extremely high demands on footwork. It sought no victory, only to avoid mistakes. It was specifically used against Mutated Beasts far larger than oneself, focusing mainly on circling and redirecting force.

Though there were only three moves, each had different variations for different situations.

Many physically enhanced Awakened spent their entire lives studying these three moves. It was said that the city lord was a Pearl Fist master who could even kill Mutated Beasts above Level 30 barehanded with Pearl Fist.

Although Zhang Ping was not a physically enhanced Awakened, Contract Gems would continuously increase his potential. His future physical strength might not necessarily be inferior to that of physically enhanced Awakened, so he did not intend to abandon training in either boxing or weapons.

He trained until evening, then went to the cafeteria for a hearty meal before returning to his dormitory to continue training.

Night fell.

At nine o'clock, Zhang Ping showered, changed into a set of black clothes, and left the dormitory.

There were still younger students sparring in martial arts on the track under the cover of night. Zhang Ping walked along the edge of the track and glanced from afar at the girls' dormitory, silently clenching the fist hidden in his pocket.

He was still too weak.

After leaving the school, he moved through the darkness. Because of the Nightwalker talent, none of the passersby noticed his presence.

Like a ghost, he traveled through the streets around the school, silently recording information about Heavenly Fox.