Faced with the arriving firefighters, Xu Jingming explained that he possessed an ability to control lightning and had already brought the "fire" under control. The group of firefighters vigorously inspected the house, confirmed the absence of any hidden safety threats, and prepared to leave. Before departing, they not only fixed the front door but the captain also handed Xu Jingming his business card. He noted that Xu Jingming's electrical ability was excellent for controlling fires and explosions in locations with electronic equipment. After graduating from university, Xu Jingming could contact him for a job at the Jiangcheng Fire Department.
It should be noted that the fire department is a government agency, and with Awakened individuals possessing water and fire abilities, they didn't have to worry about the risk to life when extinguishing fires. In the eyes of ordinary people, this was considered a pretty good job.
However, for the current Xu Jingming, this offer held no interest. He carelessly tucked the business card into his bedside drawer in the bedroom, picked up the long spear leaning against the wall, and left the apartment.
"Xiaoming, are you alright after the fire?" a neighbor asked as Xu Jingming walked down the stairs.
"Everything's fine, Uncle Yang, the fire is already under control," Xu Jingming replied.
"Good that it all worked out. Judging by your look, are you heading to the martial arts hall?"
"Yes, going to practice a bit."
"You're so diligent! Graduation exams are tomorrow, and you're still training. Not like my good-for-nothing," the neighbor said with a touch of envy.
The "Mingyue" residential complex was where Xu Jingming had lived all his eighteen years. He knew all his neighbors well, and thanks to his gentle nature, he was well-liked by the local elderly. As he descended, many of them, walking with their grandchildren, kindly asked about him. Xu Jingming politely answered each one.
Then he left the residential complex with the spear slung over his back, took a bus, transferred to the subway, and finally arrived at a modern high-rise building. The building was about forty meters tall, with a silver-white facade that looked very impressive. It covered a large area and resembled a massive beast sprawled on the ground. On the side of the building, a sign with four large characters shone brightly: "Thunder and Lightning Martial Arts Hall." These characters glittered under the sun's rays.
For an Awakened person to rise to the level of a superpower user, they need to train their body and spirit, increasing the might of their ability. However, not every family could afford a private training space. Thus, martial arts halls emerged, providing training grounds and instruction.
Throughout all of Great Xia, there were two most famous martial arts halls: the Thunder and Lightning Hall and the Raging Bear Hall. These two halls had opened branches in every city in Great Xia, even in the relatively remote Jiangcheng of Jiangnan Province.
Of course, besides these two, there were over a hundred more private martial arts halls in Jiangcheng. However, only the Thunder and Lightning Hall was free for high school students. That's why Xu Jingming always trained here. He had come now to test how much his strength had grown after acquiring the Purple Sky Divine Thunder and boosting his core stats.
At this time, at the entrance to the Thunder and Lightning Hall, besides Xu Jingming, there were several other Awakened individuals and even superpower users carrying weapons.
"The founder of the Thunder and Lightning Hall, Luo Heng, is a Rank Nine superpower user and also possesses an S-Rank lightning element ability. I wonder if I'll ever be able to create my own martial arts hall in the future…" Xu Jingming thought as he stepped inside.
The Thunder and Lightning Hall consisted of six floors, each spanning tens of thousands of square meters. The second and third floors were specially designated for free use by high school students. Entering the building, Xu Jingming immediately headed to the third floor, where he usually trained.
Since today was Wednesday, apart from the graduating students who were let off early, the rest of the freshmen and sophomores were still in school. Most graduating students were busy at home making their final preparations for the exams. Therefore, the usually bustling third floor seemed quite deserted now. There were only about ten people in the hall.
However, upon entering the hall, Xu Jingming noticed a familiar figure among these people. It was a girl about 170 cm tall, with an exquisite and cool beauty. She carried no weapon and was dressed in casual clothes, her slender long legs, clad in blue denim shorts, appearing dazzlingly white. Surrounding her were several young men, also dressed stylishly and fashionably.
"Qi-jie, did you come to the Thunder and Lightning Hall too?" Xu Jingming greeted the tall girl with a smile.
Tang Qi was the daughter of his aunt (his father's younger sister) and was also in the graduating class, although she was a few months older than him. Since Xu Jingming's parents died when he was young, his aunt, who lived in Jiangcheng, often visited him. Sometimes Tang Qi would come along with her. However, the relationship between them could be described as neither good nor bad.
The reason was simple. Xu Jingming's predecessor was introverted, not very talkative, and due to the difference in their family backgrounds, he had little in common with his cousin. Two years ago, when Tang Qi awakened a B-level ability and he only an E-level one, they had even fewer shared topics of conversation.
Tang Qi didn't expect to run into Xu Jingming at the Thunder and Lightning Hall. She was slightly surprised but quickly recovered and nodded slightly: "Yes, I came with friends."
"I see…" Xu Jingming immediately understood the situation. His aunt's family was quite wealthy, and Tang Qi usually went to the Raging Bear Hall, where the annual membership fee was 100,000 yuan. She rarely visited the Thunder and Lightning Hall.
"Alright, Qi-jie, I won't bother you. I'm heading to the training room," Xu Jingming didn't linger in conversation, said goodbye, and walked away.
"Qiqi, who was that? He looks quite handsome," asked one of the girls in Tang Qi's group, equally tall but wearing a dress. Her large, clear eyes shone with slight curiosity.
"Xu Jingming, my cousin," Tang Qi replied. "He's also in the graduating class, like us. He'll be taking the martial arts exam tomorrow."
Watching Xu Jingming walk away, Tang Qi frowned slightly. Her cousin seemed a little different than before... She couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed. Before, even if they ran into each other by chance, he wouldn't have initiated a conversation. But this time, he unexpectedly greeted her himself.
"Why are you asking so many questions, Xiaoya? Did you fall in love, looking for a boyfriend?" a young man in white casual clothes teased the girl with a smile.
However, Xiaoya, the target of the teasing, was not embarrassed in the slightest and replied directly: "What's the big deal? With looks like that, as long as his ability isn't too weak, it wouldn't be bad to be seen with him in public as a boyfriend. It's prestigious!"
"I'm afraid my cousin will disappoint you. He only awakened an E-level ability," Tang Qi shook her head, already anticipating Xiaoya's reaction.
Indeed, upon hearing that Xu Jingming only had an E-level ability, the interest in Xiaoya's eyes instantly faded. "Only E-level? What a pity," she said, disappointed.
Every person has their own social circle, and people in the same circle usually have similar family backgrounds and personalities. In their group, not only were the families wealthy, but everyone had awakened B or C-level abilities. As for Xu Jingming, his clothes indicated that his family was not very well-off. Moreover, with only an E-level awakened ability, even Xiaoya, who valued appearance, lost interest in him.
"Well, at least he has the guts to participate in the martial arts exam with an E-level ability," remarked the young man with an earring, a touch of irony in his voice.
"What's the use of that courage? The risk is too great! I would prefer he didn't participate in the martial arts exam," Tang Qi sighed.
The Awakened with abilities below D-level were the most frequent fatalities in the martial arts exam. If Xu Jingming had at least a D-level ability, she wouldn't object. But E-level was too weak; participating in such an exam was almost suicidal.
With an E-level ability, he should just calmly take the regular subjects exam. After graduation, he could get an office job in a company, avoid fighting ferocious beasts, and not risk his life—wouldn't that be better? And her mother would stop worrying all the time.
"Alright, enough about that. We came to check out the Thunder and Lightning Hall, didn't we?" someone in the group suggested.
"That's right, for three years of high school, I almost always went to the Raging Bear Hall. This is my first visit to the Thunder and Lightning Hall," one of the girls supported the idea.
"You need to relax a bit before the exams; it's good for your health," another person added.
Noticing that Tang Qi's mood had soured, the group quickly changed the subject and began to wander aimlessly through the hall.