She didn't come back empty-handed; she was carrying a black tentacle almost as big as her arm.
"Drop!"
The laboratory equipment sounded an alarm indicating that the energy Threshold had been exceeded.
Seeing this, Xie Ming quickly operated the terminal and opened a large, empty device. Dean Bai also skillfully threw the remains of the unknown creature into it.
So strong!
Wen Jing, who was watching, took a deep breath. Even though it was just a severed limb, it was the strongest Ancient Wilderness being she had ever sensed, without exception.
It contains not only a pure accumulation of energy, but also a suppression of hierarchy.
The Shadow Wolf, the strongest enemy she had ever encountered, was no match for this tentacle.
The difference was even greater than the difference between her original state and the Shadow Wolf... Wen Jing's heart stirred; she wondered what level of Awakened Dean Bai was.
After finishing with the spoils, Dean Bai turned around, saw Wen Jing's expression, and smiled, "I'm a C-rank."
Is that only a C-level?
Perhaps due to the influence of novels and movies from her previous life, or perhaps because no one on her spaceship could defeat her after awakening, Wen Jing's concept of combat power was somewhat overblown, and she only felt that high-level Awakened were just so-so.
Hearing about Dean Bai's rank completely changed her perspective.
At this moment, Xie Ming, who was standing nearby, said, "Don't underestimate her just because she's a C-rank; even I, a B-rank, can't beat her."
Having shown off in front of the students, Dean Bai said smugly, "That's right!"
Hearing their words, Wen Jing looked at Xie Ming in shock, his perception once again shattered—you actually have a B-rank?
Xie Ming spends all his time in the research institute and is a theoretical course instructor, so she thought Dean Bai said he was the second strongest in the academy because there were too few strong people in the Red Earth Academy.
Xie Ming was greatly shocked. "Hey! What's with that expression?!"
"Hahahaha!" Dean Bai let out a merciless laugh, then looked at Wen Jing.
"Rank is rank, and combat power is combat power. Just like you right now, you're definitely not at the F-rank level. It's just that most people look at rank..." She then changed the subject. "How's the ability you gained from the Empowerment Stone this time?"
Wen Jing wanted to condense Wind Blade on the spot to show the dean, but he soon felt an invisible restriction.
She can now compress air using her internal energy, but she can't do it to the point of creating an attack like she did in the Ancient Wilderness.
After all, there is a difference between the human body and the Wilderness Body, and there is a compatibility factor. In order to release superpowers with the human body, the compatibility factor generally needs to be more than 10%. Wen Jing's last update was 8%, and this time he is almost touching the edge of releasing superpowers.
Moreover, as her Wilderness Body has grown, her human attributes have increased several times over.
Life: 340
Strength: 340
Speed: 155
Spirit: 202
So she could only give the two of them a rough description of the Wind Blade's characteristics.
"A decent ranged attack method," Dean Bai commented after listening attentively.
But having just seen the Wen Jing brought back, Xie Ming felt that Wind Blade alone couldn't achieve this. He knew the size of her Wilderness Body, so he asked:
"Have you fully awakened your special abilities yet?"
Superpowers are innate, existing from the moment of awakening. However, for each Awakened, there is a gradual transitional period of awakening and recognizing their own superpower. For example, the Wind Blade ability, before full awakening, may manifest as an exceptional sensitivity to airflow, but not enough to form a complete Wind Blade.
This process is usually completed in the first year after awakening, which is also one of the original intentions of the Awakener Academy. In the second year, students will be divided into departments again according to their different types of Wilderness Body and supernatural abilities.
Of course, the duration of awakened superpowers is essentially determined by the frequency of trips to the Ancient Wilderness.
Given Wen Jing's frequency of exploring the Ancient Wilderness, which is already equivalent to the progress of other freshmen in one or even two semesters, it's quite normal for him to awaken superpowers.
Wen Jing had been considering the issue of her superpowers. Before she awakened them, she would have mentioned Gravity Sensing, but now...
"My special ability is... invisibility," Wen Jing said.
Gravity Sensing involves too many issues of travel and algorithms; in comparison, the Basic Invisibility that has only recently evolved is far more suitable.
Upon hearing her answer, Dean Bai and Xie Ming exchanged bewildered glances, both showing expressions of shock.
"Invisibility?!"
This is a very high-level ability! It has never even appeared in Awakened below Rank C.
Xie Ming, who had clearly used instruments to test Wen Jing, now had doubts: Could it be that the Mastermind had really made a mistake?
Dean Bai was both shocked and anxious: It's not easy for the academy to produce a genius, what if he transfers to Mystic Radiance because of a false positive in the test!
Wen Jing their expressions, Wen Jing realized they might have misunderstood and quickly said, "It shouldn't be the kind of invisibility involving spatial abilities."
The principle of Mimicry was then described in general terms.
Xie Ming suddenly understood; recently he
Main attack
He understood the insect project better than Dean Bai, but he still pulled Wen Jing aside to test it again.
Wen Jing was also curious about whether his perceived level of the Wilderness Body had improved, so he readily agreed.
As for whether her rapid improvement in strength might cause other problems... actually, it's not a problem.
Or rather, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
Awakened, a group that wields special powers, are ruled by the strong. To acquire resources, one must demonstrate strength commensurate with their abilities.
Pretending to be weak to exploit others is not suitable for a student like her, because resources won't be given to those who are weak.
Challenging the Trial Tower, taking First in the Grade, and the future Academy League... all of these require her to demonstrate her strength. Many people were proven wrong simply because they underestimated her F-level potential, not because Wen Jing really wanted to show weakness.
Moreover, she has Empowerment Stone and Ancient Wilderness adventures, both of which can endorse her growth.
Her strength speaks for itself; others will automatically find the reasons for her success.
"Drop..."
A short while later, Wen Jing walked out of the cabin and saw the smiling Dean Bai and the excited Xie Ming beside him.
Sure enough, no one asked her why she improved so quickly.
"As expected of the only insectoid Wilderness Body!" Xie Ming's face seemed to say, 'I've got it!' "Your potential has indeed been severely underestimated because of your size!"
Wen Jing raised an eyebrow. "Isn't the test result an F this time?"
"No, it's still F!" Xie Ming replied immediately.
Wen Jing: "...?"
Xie Ming said, "But... your current energy is almost several hundred times... no, it should be said that it's nearly a thousand times greater than it was during the last test!"
Nearly a thousand times?
Wen Jing compared the values on the panel. Initially, all her attributes were 0.01, but now they are 20 or 30 points each. To be precise, it's not just a thousand times, but three thousand times.
"It's almost a thousand times greater, and it's still F?"
Faced with her question, Xie Ming, having anticipated it, explained, "That's right, even if it's nearly a thousand times, it's still within the standard F-level."
"But in terms of growth, if your base energy level isn't that low, then by the average F-level standard, you should be at the D-level energy level."
"However, it's also possible that your size amplifies the effects of the Ancient Wilderness resources many times over. With so much energy compressed into such a small Wilderness Body, your Wilderness Body is practically a walking nuclear power plant!"
"And most importantly... there has never been a definitive conclusion regarding the enhancement of the human body by the Wilderness Body —whether it is based on the total energy of the Wilderness Body or on the energy ratio corresponding to the size of the Wilderness Body."
At this point, Xie Ming's expression turned serious.
"The debate has been ongoing because in the past, Awakened of the same level all had roughly the same size Wilderness Body, making it difficult to determine the difference. But in the future... perhaps we can see the answer in your case."
"If it's the latter, then your existence will change the current societal standards for classifying Wilderness Body!"
*
Before changing the Wilderness Body's rating, Wen Jing first altered the ecology of the upper layer of the giant trees.
An invisible assassin has appeared atop the tree.
One after another, the red and white birds died suddenly, and their bodies quickly disappeared without a trace, causing the birds to feel insecure.
After eating three red and white birds, she made her way unimpeded to the top of the giant tree, a place she had never reached before.
Above the canopy, the giant tree's green leaves seemed boundless to the small insects, like a green ocean, dotted with a few bright red fruits. Even from a human perspective, it was enormous.
The world further away was shrouded in mist; apart from the light overhead indicating it was daytime, this space seemed to be made of giant trees.
Standing atop the tree, Wen Jing suddenly had a moment of clarity.
The most valuable thing here is not the food chain on the giant tree, but the giant tree itself.
Thus, the little insect, seemingly in the victory settlement screen, set its sights on devouring the entire giant tree as its next goal.
Chapter 50
"Cracking!!"
From the core area of the giant tree's canopy, a sharp bird cry, powerful enough to terrify countless insects, resounded, accompanied by a flash of lightning that shattered green leaves and bark.
In the tree canopy area, which exudes a faint smell of burning, three red and white birds flutter and attack, trying to strike an enemy, but ultimately land in an empty space or on their companion.
In the brief moment when the three birds missed their attack, a section of air suddenly compressed, forming an invisible, sharp wind Wind Blade in a short time.
"Whoosh!"
The Wind Blade sliced through the throat of a red and white bird, then continued its momentum, striking the wing root of another bird nearby, causing blood to splatter.
Only then did a slight trace of something unusual appear in the air diagonally above.
A small, transparent outline could be vaguely seen, seemingly floating out of the void, with a blade-like wing growing from its back, and it attacked the third red and white bird that realized something was wrong and tried to escape.
Shortly afterward, the fierce battle ended, and three red and white bird carcasses lay on the tree branch.
Wen Jing exited stealth mode and plunged headfirst into the bird meat.