Chapter 242

Jiang Tianming had overthought things and chosen to handle it himself. Li Shu supported Jiang Tianming’s plan, while Ling You had no strong opinions on the matter. But Su Bei was different. He was a person with his own strong views and wouldn’t just go with the flow if he didn’t want to.

This wasn’t to say he was more reliable than the others. It was just that, based on Meng Huai’s understanding of Su Bei, the guy was definitely not the type to ignore danger and risk his life with others for the “greater good.”

In his opinion, Su Bei should have contacted the government the moment he saw the Life Stone, then made a swift exit from Longevity Town. How could he possibly have said nothing, waited around, and ended up being besieged by Nightmare Beasts with the others, putting himself in such a dangerous situation?

“Because I knew we’d be fine in the end anyway,” Su Bei answered honestly, though it was only half the truth. This was indeed the main reason he was willing to take the risk. As long as he protected himself, the main character group would definitely get him through it safely.

But on the other hand, he also needed a private opportunity to come into contact with the Life Stone. If he had reported it directly to the government, he would have had almost no chance to get near it.

Besides, there was another crucial point: as a character in the comic, Su Bei was quite “sensible.” He wouldn’t ruin the plot the author had designed. If the government arrived in time, what would be left for the main characters to do?

Meng Huai shot him a distrustful glance before looking away. “For the time being, you shouldn’t need to go out on any more missions. Focus on your studies at the academy. Now, head downstairs and run twenty laps as punishment. I’ll be watching from up here.”

Seriously? There’s even physical punishment? Hearing the last sentence, everyone’s faces scrunched up. While twenty laps wasn’t an astronomical number for them now, it was definitely not easy to complete, especially since they hadn’t eaten dinner yet.

But there was no helping it. Meng Huai always meant what he said, so they could only obediently head downstairs to run their laps.

“Sorry, I dragged you all into this,” Jiang Tianming apologized proactively as they ran. He felt that his insistence on staying was the reason they had faced danger and were now being punished by their teacher.

Li Shu immediately shook his head, his pink eyes revealing a fanatical expression. “I did it willingly. As long as I can stay by your side…”

Before he could finish, Jiang Tianming put on a pained expression and cut him off, unable to bear it any longer. “Try messing with me like that again and see what happens!”

“Oh, you found me out,” Li Shu’s expression returned to normal as he smiled innocently.

After those two finished, Ling You offered a brief, cool-toned reassurance. “It’s not your fault. I agreed with your idea at the time, too.”

If she hadn’t also agreed and had her own means of self-preservation, she wouldn’t have readily put herself in danger.

Seeing that everyone else had stated their position, Su Bei naturally wouldn’t be outdone. “I also think you dragged me into this. How about this: you go up and talk to the teacher, see if you can run those twenty laps for me.”

Dark lines formed on Jiang Tianming’s forehead. “No, you’re the one person I have nothing to apologize to!”

He was certain that Su Bei’s decision to stay in Longevity Town after learning about the Life Stone had nothing to do with his words. The guy clearly knew about the stone’s existence all along; he stayed purely for his own selfish reasons.

Having failed to trick anyone, Su Bei pouted. Seeing them all jogging slowly as if they weren’t hungry, he suddenly had a wicked idea.

He pushed off with his feet, easily surpassing the others and sprinting ahead. After running half a lap under their confused gazes, he grinned from the other side of the track and said, “You guys take your time. After I finish my laps and buy dinner from the cafeteria, I’ll come back to the field and watch you run while I eat.”

It was just like the onlookers who ate watermelon outside the fence while watching students stand at attention during military training. Pointless, but incredibly satisfying.

Jiang Tianming and the others were instantly furious. “Su Bei, you dog!”

The news that the Life Stone had been found quickly spread throughout the Ability World. However, not a whisper was heard about its ability to extend life, a detail that was clearly being deliberately hidden by the government.

But this was normal. If they concealed the information, they would only have to face surprise attacks from Nightmare Beasts. But if they didn’t, their enemies would also include other humans.

Although the Life Stone’s effect on longevity was weak and slow, as long as it could extend life, it was a priceless treasure to humans.

Because the Life Stone wasn’t well-known to begin with—only this recent Nightmare Beast rampage had revealed its great importance to them—the news of Su Bei’s group recovering it didn’t cause much of a stir.

Even within the S-Class, only two people were particularly concerned about it. One was Mo Xiaotian, who was always curious about everything. The other was quite unexpected—it was Feng Lan.

“I’ve noticed you seem quite interested in this matter,” Su Bei said, watching him calmly after answering Feng Lan’s question about “how many Advanced Nightmare Beasts pursued them.”

If Mo Xiaotian was interested in the Life Stone itself, then Feng Lan was definitely interested in what happened after they obtained it. The questions he asked were all related to the stone’s final whereabouts and the Nightmare Beasts that had hunted them.

While Su Bei would find it strange for Feng Lan to be curious about anything, his curiosity about this particular matter was especially peculiar.

At Su Bei’s words, Feng Lan pressed his pale lips together. “I just have a bad feeling. I’m preparing to use [Prophecy].”

As the owner of the [Prophecy] ability, he was highly sensitive to the future. When he had a bad premonition like this, it usually meant something bad was truly about to happen.

However, because Feng Lan had used [Prophecy] not long ago, it was still on cooldown, which was why he came to ask Su Bei for details first.

As for what kind of bad thing it could be, both of them knew. They had obtained the Nightmare Beasts’ treasure; there was no way the Nightmare Beasts would just let it go.

A tough battle was likely coming.

The next day at noon, before Feng Lan’s prophecy arrived, Su Bei received a notification from the “Manga Consciousness”: “‘King of Abilities’ has been updated. Please check.”

He opened his phone and clicked on the comic page. The story began with them already on the road in the car. Driver Wang was on the phone with supervisors from the government and the academy, while the others observed the situation outside.

In the next scene, the comic borrowed Su Bei’s mental energy, using its extended perspective to show a massive army of Nightmare Beasts frantically approaching. They were all low and intermediate-tier.

Then, everyone showed off their skills, each using their own methods to eliminate the Nightmare Beasts. From Su Bei’s own perspective, he and Ling You undoubtedly had the best performances.

Needless to say, Ling You’s [Plague] ability was practically made for multi-target combat. The more enemies there were, the greater its effect. In the comic, her normally invisible ability was depicted in green. From an overhead view, the green aura rapidly spread through the entire Nightmare Beast horde in moments. The beasts quickly became diseased and were all wiped out soon after.

With such a powerful ability, it was no wonder the academy usually didn’t let her go out on missions; she was just too easily targeted by Nightmare Beasts. If Ling You were his enemy, Su Bei would definitely do everything in his power to kill her first.

As for Su Bei’s performance, it was even more astounding. With a simple snap of his fingers, all the Nightmare Beasts suddenly died. In terms of visual effect, it was even more shocking than Ling You’s ability.

“My god, each one is stronger than the last!”

“Ling You is so cool! The effect of [Plague] isn’t obvious normally, but in a situation like this, she’s unstoppable!”

“How did they all die in an instant!”

“Su Bei, you are my god!”

“Seriously, what is Su Bei’s ability? Isn’t it a bit too powerful?!”

The part of the plot where Su Bei lured the Advanced Nightmare Beast wasn’t worth watching, so he quickly skipped forward. He had already scrolled past the entire section when he suddenly remembered an unanswered question and quickly scrolled back.

“Pfft!” When he saw the scene where, as they all had their eyes closed, Ling You wiped her glistening lips and the female Nightmare Beast fell in front of them the next second, Su Bei couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

He understood now why Ling You was so dead set against talking about it. If it were him, he wouldn’t want to talk either. And credit to the female Nightmare Beast for finding such a hiding spot; it really was hard to find.

The bullet comments were also filled with “hahaha.” Anyone besides Ling You would laugh at that scene.

After Meng Huai arrived, the author gave Teacher Meng a dedicated scene. His dragon was incredibly cool, and he had more than one, which multiplied the coolness factor. Standing on the giant dragon, he looked majestic even without armor. Su Bei watched with genuine envy. He wanted a cool ability like that too!

Su Bei had never seen Meng Huai go all out, but this comic update gave him a glimpse. Meng Huai stood alone, facing countless low and intermediate-tier Nightmare Beasts, along with three advanced ones. The Silver Dragon easily handled the weaker beasts, while Meng Huai himself, with the Black Dragon, took on the three Advanced Nightmare Beasts.

After just a few clashes, the three Advanced Nightmare Beasts were completely devoured by the Black Dragon. Keep in mind, it was difficult for the four of them to deal with just one Advanced Nightmare Beast, yet Meng Huai could instantly kill three of them.

The power gap was truly immense.

Su Bei already knew most of the subsequent plot. The Ability Government and Endless Ability Academy bickered over the ownership of the Life Stone. Initially, neither side wanted it, but after hearing the students’ story, the Ability Government’s attitude did a complete one-eighty.

In the end, the Life Stone was placed in the Ability Government’s underground vault, a place that was supposed to be very secure. But after the person in charge of placing it left, a pitch-black eye suddenly appeared on the wall behind.

If he wasn’t mistaken, that was likely the eye of a Nightmare Beast. The location had already been discovered by them.

At the very end of the comic, someone from Endless Ability Academy came to test Zhou Min’s ability. After a “beep,” the machine glowed green—Zhou Min had an ability.

Seeing that Zhou Min was actually detected to have an ability, the readers screamed with excitement, even though the comic didn’t reveal what it was.

“AHHHH SHE REALLY HAS AN ABILITY!!!”

“So Su Bei was right! Zhou Min really knew about the Old Ancestor’s plan because of her ability!”

“Ending on a cliffhanger like this is giving me goosebumps!”

“Zhou Min definitely knew, right?!”

“I’m so curious what Zhou Min’s ability is!”

After reading the comic, Su Bei fell into thought. First, the final scene: Zhou Min did have an ability. Although the comic didn’t specify what it was, it was most likely an ability that allowed her to know the Old Ancestor’s plan.

Given Zhou Min’s age, she would probably enroll in Endless Ability Academy next year. Su Bei didn’t think she would play a major role in the plot, but it would probably be an interesting easter egg for everyone.

Another thing that caught his attention was the pair of eyes that appeared in the Ability Government’s vault. Their pure black color made Su Bei guess it was a Nightmare Beast’s ability, which meant the Nightmare Beasts had already found the Life Stone’s location.

Should he warn the Ability Government? After some thought, Su Bei decided not to meddle. If the Ability Government couldn’t even detect an intrusion into their own treasury, how useless would they be?

Besides, since the author included this scene in the comic, it meant there would be a related chain of events to follow. If he warned them ahead of time, what if he ruined the author’s plans?

In short, he wouldn’t actively offer a warning, but if the Ability Government asked, he wouldn’t hide it either.

He opened the forum, and the readers’ discussions were mainly focused on the two points he’d been considering. In addition, there was another post that piqued Su Bei’s interest—a power assessment of their group.

Title: It feels like a war between the Ability World and Nightmare Beasts is about to start, and the Black Flash Organization also seems to be brewing something, so here’s an early power-ranking of the main character group.

[Data Fiend No.0: Jiang Tianming and the others’ strength was shown off again, and the Tri-School Competition was not long ago, so I think it’s time for a power ranking update. We’re ranking overall strength here, so supports are included. I’ll go section by section, just read along.]

[Let me put up a disclaimer first: this is a purely subjective ranking. You can disagree, but don’t start fights. If you want an objective ranking, go pester the officials for a spreadsheet.]

[Data Fiend No.1 (OP): The undisputed number one is Su Bei, the T0 character of ‘King of Abilities’. Maybe Su Bei’s attack power isn’t as strong as Si Zhaohua’s, but he is without a doubt the strongest in the S-Class. If they were to really fight, I believe Su Bei would definitely win.]

[No.2: Yes, yes, I love seeing power rankings!]

[No.3: I feel like this thread is going to get heated. Grabbing my popcorn early.]

[No.4 replied to No.3: Careful, prophet. Don’t get yourself killed.]

[No.5: Su Bei fans are eating good!]

[No.6: Su Bei’s strength is truly undisputed.]

[No.7: Can’t be helped, Destiny-type is just too broken.]

[No.8: I feel like we’ve never even seen Su Bei go all out, but just from what he’s shown, he’s already the absolute number one.]

[Data Fiend No.9 (OP): Next is the T1 tier: Si Zhaohua and Jiang Tianming. I think their combat power is about equal, one focusing on depth, the other on breadth. Don’t say Jiang Jiang’s strength isn’t on par with Si Zhaohua’s; he’s beaten Si Zhaohua before! You can’t just think he’s not strong because he’s approachable. Give our protagonist the respect he deserves, okay?]

[No.10: Our Jiang Jiang is just that strong!]

[No.11: No Bingbing in T1? I object!]

[No.12: It’s true that a lot of people overlook how powerful Jiang Jiang is.]

[No.13: In this category, Brother Bei is the undisputed T0!]

[No.14: Si Zhaohua being T1 is at least half due to ‘Divine Judgment’.]

[…]

[Data Fiend No.33 (OP): Next are Lan Subing and Ling You. Lan Subing’s [Word Spirit] is in a league of its own. The only reason Bingbing isn’t as strong as the ones above is purely because her mental energy isn’t high enough. If she had Su Bei’s Advanced Mental Energy, with her ability, she could probably be competing with Su Bei in T0 right now.]

[Similarly, Ling You’s ability is also one of a kind. When facing a large number of enemies, only Su Bei can barely compare with her (I only realized how well-rounded Su Bei is after this chapter’s update). So, all things considered, I’ve placed her in this tier.]

[No.34: The OP is being pretty objective. Ling You is definitely very strong, it just doesn’t show in normal situations.]

[No.35: Bingbing’s mental energy is such a critical weakness. It’s so frustrating that she can only use [Word Spirit] for such a short time!]

[No.36: Blind guess, Qi Huang is next.]

[No.37: Why isn’t Qi Huang in T2?]

[No.38 replied to No.37: Qi Huang is strong, but she would definitely lose to Lan Subing, so naturally she has to be ranked lower.]

[No.39: The OP’s rankings so far are exactly what I was thinking. I wonder what’s next.]

[No.40: Where is Wu Mingbai going to fall? Don’t tell me he’s not even in T3. Does anyone remember he’s also one of the main characters?]

[No.41: I still think Bingbing should be in T1.]

[No.42: Too many subjective factors. How do you even judge Ling You’s strength? She’s strong, sure, but if there aren’t enough enemies, her power drops significantly.]

[No.43 replied to No.42: That’s why the OP put up a disclaimer first, isn’t it?]

[…]

[Data Fiend No.85 (OP): Next up are Wu Mingbai, Qi Huang, and Mo Xiaotian. Although Wu Mingbai’s [Earth Element] has undergone a small evolution, it hasn’t been shown much in the comic. His ability to create earthquakes is pretty impressive, but he’s still falling a bit behind the other two main characters. Old rogue, buff Wu Mingbai!]

[Qi Huang is a bit like a budget Si Zhaohua, both are strong offensive types. But I feel she has the potential to develop into a powerhouse like Teacher Meng, she’s just not that strong yet. These elemental types seem to be late bloomers.]

[Mo Xiaotian has control, attack, and defense. Logically, he should be ranked higher. But his development of his ability is too poor. How can a powerful ability like [Air] be used so little?]

[No.86: Thankful that Mingbai isn’t in T4.]

[No.87: ‘Budget Si Zhaohua’ is so accurate…]

[No.88 replied to No.87: How is our little phoenix a substitute for anyone? She is her own person! Si Zhaohua mainly relies on his family background to get that kind of skill. Without it, he’s not much stronger than Qi Huang.]

[No.89: I hope Wu Mingbai can improve quickly. I don’t want him to be left behind by the others.]

[No.90 replied to No.88: You can defend her without dragging Zhaohua into it, you know?]

[No.91: Knew it. The fighting is starting.]

[No.92: Say what you will, but I really agree with the evaluation of Mo Xiaotian. With an ability as powerful as [Air], how has he not developed it? I’ve never even seen him make an enemy suffocate! But if you say Mo Xiaotian isn’t smart, at least when it comes to his ability, I don’t agree. If he wasn’t smart, how could he have developed something like ‘bomb cubes’? It’s so weird. It feels like the old rogue forgot to design a growth path for him.]

[No.93 replied to No.92: Exactly! Does the old rogue think our Xiaotian has no fans? Why is his ability development so poor?!]

[No.94: Old rogue, buff the T3 characters!]

[No.95: Fans of characters who haven’t even appeared yet are already crying silently.]

[No.96: Is my favorite going to be last?]

[No.97 replied to No.96: Who’s your favorite?]

[No.98 replied to No.97: Feng Lan.]

[No.99 replied to No.98: Well, that might just be the case…]

[No.100: What about Wu Jin? Isn’t it too much that he’s not even in T3? Our [Succubus] ability is super strong, okay!]

[No.101: The person above is right. Wu Jin can directly control even Huangfu Mingzhe. He could totally be in T3!]

[No.102: I feel like he’s probably next.]

[…]

[Data Fiend No.151 (OP): The next tier has only one person: Wu Jin. The old rogue hasn’t clearly shown his strength, but both his passive and active skills are very strong. It’s just that he’s too dependent on the opponent’s mental energy and his own attack power is relatively weak, so I’m putting him here.]

[Data Fiend No.152 (OP): The T4 group is Mu Tieren, Ai Baozhu, and Li Shu. The three of them each have their own strengths and are powerful in their respective fields.]

[Mu Tieren’s ranking includes some speculation on my part. After the last incident, the old rogue hasn’t given him much screen time. But we know he gained the ability to merge with machinery after getting the heart of a Nightmare Beast, so he’s only stronger than before. In that case, I think he’s at least T4.]

[There’s not much to say about Ai Baozhu and Li Shu. One is too focused on defense with weak attack power, which brings down her overall strength. The other is not good enough to face the top tiers but better than those below; he can easily fail to cast [Illusion] against strong opponents due to insufficient mental energy. Although they are both very strong in certain situations, I still placed them in this tier.]

[No.153: Li Shu isn’t that weak.]

[No.154: So moved. I thought Mu Tieren was going to be T5.]

[No.155: Li Shu is very strong! It’s just that the old rogue never gives him a chance to shine! If there were an illusion-type dungeon, he would dominate!]

[No.156 replied to No.155: But doesn’t that just mean he’s very situational?]

[…]

[Data Fiend No.233 (OP): The rest, Zhao Xiaoyu and Feng Lan, are grouped together. Their individual speed, attack, and defense are currently not up to par, but their utility is very high. They’re basically the counter-cards of ‘KoA’.]

[No.234: Our Feng Lan really was ranked last.]

[No.235: Actually, I think in terms of pure martial arts, they’re both quite strong. Xiaoyu was previously known to be one of the most serious about learning martial arts, ranking high even in the S-Class. And because of his ability, Feng Lan probably also trained hard. It’s just a pity that when you add abilities into the mix, they both fall short in the class.]

[…]