Chapter 242
Jiang Tianming thought too much and chose to handle it himself, Li Shu supported his plan, and Ling You didn’t have much opinion on it. But I was different—I was very opinionated and wouldn’t just go with the flow if I didn’t want to.
This wasn’t to say I was more reliable than the others, but based on Meng Huai’s understanding of me, I wasn’t someone who ignored danger or willingly risked myself for “justice” alongside others.
In his view, I should’ve contacted the government the moment I saw the Life Stone and then bolted from Longevity Town. Why would I stay silent, waiting there, and end up surrounded by Nightmare Beasts with the others, putting myself in such danger?
“Anyway, it’d all end up fine,” I answered honestly, though only half so. The main reason I took the risk was indeed this—as long as I protected myself, the protagonist team would surely get me through safely.
But on the other hand, I needed a private chance to interact with the Life Stone. If I’d reported it to the government directly, I’d have had almost no chance to touch it.
Moreover, another crucial point was that, as a manga character, I was very “well-behaved.” I wouldn’t ruin the author’s designed plot. If the government arrived in time, what would be left for the protagonist team?
Meng Huai gave me a skeptical glance but let it go: “You won’t need to go out on missions for a while. Study properly at the Academy. Now, go downstairs and run twenty laps as punishment. I’ll be watching.”
What? Physical punishment? At those words, our faces scrunched up. Twenty laps weren’t too much for us now, but it was far from easy, especially since we hadn’t eaten dinner.
But there was no choice—Meng Huai’s word was final. We could only obediently head downstairs to the track.“Sorry, I dragged you all into this,” Jiang Tianming apologized while running. He felt it was his insistence on staying that led to both the danger and the teacher’s punishment.
Li Shu immediately shook his head, his pink eyes showing a hint of obsession: “I did it willingly, as long as I could stay by your side…”
Before he could finish, Jiang Tianming, wearing a pained expression, cut him off: “Try grossing me out on purpose again, see what happens.”
“Oops, caught me,” Li Shu said, his expression returning to normal with an innocent smile.
After they spoke, Ling You’s cool voice offered brief comfort: “It’s not your fault. I agreed with your idea too.”
If she hadn’t agreed and didn’t have her own life-saving measures, she wouldn’t have put herself in danger so easily.
Seeing everyone else chime in, I wasn’t about to be outdone: “I also think you dragged me into this. How about you go tell the teacher and see if you can run my twenty laps for me?”
Jiang Tianming’s face darkened: “No, the one person I didn’t let down is you!”
He was certain I stayed in Longevity Town after learning about the Life Stone not because of his words. I clearly knew about the Life Stone from the start and stayed for my own reasons.
Failing to trick anyone, I pouted. Seeing them all jogging slowly as if they weren’t hungry, I got a mischievous idea.
I sped up, easily overtaking the group. After half a lap, under their puzzled gazes, I grinned from the other side: “Take your time running. I’ll finish, grab dinner at the Point System Cafeteria, and come back to watch you all while I eat.”
Like spectators holding watermelons outside the fence watching military trainees stand in formation—useless but oh so satisfying.
Jiang Tianming and the others were instantly furious: “Su Bei, you dog!”
News of the Life Stone’s discovery quickly spread through the ability world, but its ability to extend lifespans was completely hushed up, obviously suppressed by the government.
This was understandable. If they hid the news, they’d only face Nightmare Beast attacks. If they didn’t, they’d also face human enemies.
Though the Life Stone’s effect on lifespan was weak and slow, anything that could extend life was a treasure to humans.
Since the Life Stone wasn’t widely known, its discovery only came to light due to this Nightmare Beast uproar, so our retrieval of it didn’t cause much of a stir.
Even in Class S, only two people showed much interest. One was Mo Xiaotian, always curious about everything. The other, surprisingly, was Feng Lan.
“I noticed you seem pretty interested in this,” I said leisurely after answering Feng Lan’s question about how many High-Level Nightmare Beasts chased us.
If Mo Xiaotian was curious about the Life Stone itself, Feng Lan was definitely interested in what happened after we got it. His questions were all about the Life Stone’s ownership and the Nightmare Beasts that pursued us.
While I found it odd that Feng Lan was curious about anything, his interest in this matter was especially strange.
Feng Lan pursed his pale lips: “I have a bad feeling. I’m going to use Prophecy.”
As the bearer of the Prophecy ability, he was highly sensitive to the future. A bad feeling usually meant something bad was indeed coming.
Since Feng Lan had recently used his Prophecy and its cooldown wasn’t over, he came to me to ask for details first.
As for what the bad thing might be, we both had a good guess. The Nightmare Beasts’ treasure was taken—how could they let it go?
A tough battle was likely coming.
The next noon, before Feng Lan’s prophecy arrived, I got a prompt from Manga Consciousness: “King of Abilities has updated. Please check.”
Opening the manga on my phone, the story started with us already on the road in a vehicle. Driver Wang was calling the government and Academy officials, while the others observed the surroundings from inside.
In the next scene, the manga used my Mental Energy to show, from a Mental Energy-covered perspective, a horde of Nightmare Beasts—low- and mid-level ones—frantically approaching.
Then, everyone showed off their skills, using their methods to eliminate the Nightmare Beasts. In my view, the standout performers were undoubtedly me and Ling You.
Ling You’s Plague ability was naturally suited for group battles—the more enemies, the greater its effect. In the manga, her normally invisible ability turned green, and from a bird’s-eye view, it spread across the entire Nightmare Beast horde in moments, causing rapid mutations that wiped them out.
Such a powerful ability—it was no wonder the Academy rarely let her go on missions. It was too easy for Nightmare Beasts to fear her. If Ling You were my enemy, I’d do everything to kill her first.
As for my performance, it went without saying—a simple snap of my fingers, and all the Nightmare Beasts suddenly died. Visually, it was even more shocking than Ling You’s ability.
“My god, one’s stronger than the next!”
“Ling You’s so cool. Plague doesn’t stand out usually, but in moments like this, it’s a total slaughter.”
“How did they all die? In an instant!”
“Su Bei, you’re my god!”
“What’s Su Bei’s ability? It’s way too strong!”
The plot of me luring High-Level Nightmare Beasts wasn’t worth watching, so I quickly skipped ahead. After flipping through the whole section, I remembered an unanswered question and hurriedly went back.
“Pfft!” Seeing the scene where, as everyone closed their eyes, Ling You wiped her glossy lips, and the next second, a Girl Nightmare Beast fell before us, I couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. No wonder Ling You refused to explain—it was embarrassing. The Girl Nightmare Beast sure picked a hard-to-find hiding spot.
The comments were full of “hahaha.” Except for Ling You herself, who wouldn’t laugh at this?
When Meng Huai arrived, the author gave him a segment. His dragons were undeniably cool—more than one, doubling the coolness. Standing on a giant dragon, even without armor, he looked majestic. I was so jealous—I wanted such a cool ability too!
I’d never seen Meng Huai go all out, but this update gave a glimpse. Meng Huai stood alone against countless low- and mid-level Nightmare Beasts and three High-Level ones. His Meng Huai’s Silver Dragon easily handled the lesser beasts, while he and his Meng Huai’s Black Dragon took on the three High-Level ones.
After a few clashes, the three High-Level Nightmare Beasts were devoured by the Black Dragon. While the four of us struggled against one High-Level Nightmare Beast, Meng Huai could wipe out three with ease.
The strength gap was staggering.
I knew most of the later plot. The Ability Government and Endless Ability Academy argued over the Life Stone’s ownership. Initially, neither wanted it, but after our group explained the story, the government’s stance did a complete 360.
Ultimately, the Life Stone was stored in the government’s underground vault, supposedly a secure place. But after the person storing it left, a pitch-black eye suddenly appeared on the wall behind. If nothing else, it was likely a Nightmare Beast’s eye—the place had been discovered.
At the manga’s end, Endless Ability Academy tested Zhou Min for abilities. The machine beeped and flashed green—Zhou Min had an ability.
Seeing she actually had an ability, though the manga didn’t reveal what it was, readers were thrilled.
“Ahhh, she really has an ability!!!”
“So Su Bei was right? Zhou Min used her ability to learn Zuzong’s plan?”
“This cliffhanger is giving me goosebumps.”
“Zhou Min definitely knew, right?”
“I’m so curious about Zhou Min’s ability!”
After reading, I fell into thought. First, the final plot confirmed Zhou Min had an ability. Though her specific ability wasn’t shown, it was likely something that let her know Zuzong’s plan.
Given her age, she’d probably enroll in Endless Ability Academy next year. I didn’t think she’d be involved in major plots, but it was an interesting Easter egg for everyone.
Another point caught my attention: earlier, the black eye that appeared where the government stored the Life Stone. Its pure black color suggested a Nightmare Beast’s ability, meaning they’d located the Life Stone.
Should I warn the Ability Government? After thinking, I decided against meddling. If the government couldn’t detect an intrusion in their own vault, how incompetent were they?
Besides, since the author included this in the manga, it meant follow-up plot points were coming. If I warned them early, disrupting the author’s plans, what then?
I wouldn’t warn them proactively, but if the government was secure, I wouldn’t hide it either.
Opening the forum, readers were discussing my two points of interest, plus another post that intrigued me about our strength rankings.
《It Feels Like the Ability World and Nightmare Beasts Are About to Clash, and ‘Black Flash’ Has a Storm Brewing, So Let’s Rank the Protagonist Team’s Strength》
【DataManiacNo.0: This update showed off Jiang Tianming’s group’s strength again, and with the recent Tri-School Competition, I think it’s time to update the strength rankings. We’re looking at overall strength here, including support roles. I’ll go section by section, so take your time reading.
First, a disclaimer: this is purely subjective. Feel free to disagree, but don’t fight. For objective rankings, go bug the officials for a list.】
【DataManiacNo.1 (OP): First place, undeniably, is Su Bei, the T0 character in King of Abilities. His attack power might not match Si Zhaohua’s, but he’s undoubtedly the strongest in Class S. If they fought, I believe Su Bei would win.】
【No.2: Yes, yes, love strength rankings!】
【No.3: This thread’s gonna get heated. Grabbing a stool to watch.】
【No.4 replying to No.3: Prophet, watch out for the knife.】
【No.5: Bei stans are eating good!】
【No.6: Su Bei’s strength is indeed undeniable.】
【No.7: Can’t help it, Destiny-type abilities are too broken.】
【No.8: We haven’t seen Su Bei go all out, but what he’s shown is already absolutely number one.】
【DataManiacNo.9 (OP): The T1 tier is Si Zhaohua and Jiang Tianming. I think their combat power is about equal—one’s deep, the other’s broad. Don’t say Jiang Jiang’s weaker than Si Zhaohua; he’s beaten him before! Just because he’s approachable doesn’t mean he’s not strong. Give our protagonist some respect!】
【No.10: Our Jiang Jiang’s just that strong!】
【No.11: No Bing Bing in T1? I object!】
【No.12: A lot of people overlook Jiang Jiang’s strength.】
【No.13: This segment proves Bei Bro is the undisputed T0!】
【No.14: Si Zhaohua’s T1 status is half thanks to Holy Judgment.】
【…】
【DataManiacNo.33 (OP): Next are Lan Subing and Ling You. Lan Subing’s Word Spirit is in a league of its own. Bing Bing’s not as strong as the top few purely because her Mental Energy is lacking. If she had Su Bei’s high-level Mental Energy, with her ability, she could compete with him for T0.
Similarly, Ling You’s ability is unique. Against numerous enemies, only Su Bei can vaguely match her (I only realized how versatile Su Bei is after this update). So, overall, I put her in this tier.】
【No.34: OP’s pretty objective. Ling You’s indeed strong, just not obvious usually.】
【No.35: Bing Bing’s Mental Energy is such a bottleneck. Only using a bit of Word Spirit each time is so frustrating!】
【No.36: Blind guess Qi Huang’s next.】
【No.37: Why isn’t Qi Huang in T2?】
【No.38 replying to No.37:
Qi Huang’s strong, but she’d lose to Lan Subing, so she’s ranked lower.】
【No.39: So far, OP’s rankings match my thoughts. Curious about the rest.】
【No.40: Where’s Wu Mingbai? Not even in T3? Has everyone forgotten he’s a protagonist too?】
【No.41: I still think Bing Bing should be T1.】
【No.42: How do you even judge Ling You’s strength? She’s strong, but if there aren’t enough enemies, her power drops significantly.】
【No.43 replying to No.42: Didn’t OP already cover that with the disclaimer?】
【…】
【DataManiacNo.85 (OP): Next are Wu Mingbai, Qi Huang, and Mo Xiaotian. Wu Mingbai’s Earth Element got a minor evolution, but it’s barely shown in the manga. Causing earthquakes is cool, but he’s falling behind the other two protagonists. Author, buff Wu Mingbai! Qi Huang’s like a budget Si Zhaohua, both Attack Track. I feel she could become a big shot like Meng Huai, just not yet. Elemental types seem to peak later?
Mo Xiaotian has control, attack, and defense, so he should rank higher. But his ability development is awful. Air is such a strong ability—how’s it so underutilized?】
【No.86: Thank god Mingbai’s not in T4.】
【No.87: Budget Si Zhaohua is so accurate…】
【No.88 replying to No.87:
Our little phoenix isn’t anyone’s budget version! She’s herself! Si Zhaohua relies on his family background for that skill. Without it, he’s not much stronger than Qi Huang.】
【No.89: Hope Wu Mingbai catches up soon. Don’t want him left behind.】
【No.90 replying to No.88: Disagree if you want, but why drag Si Zhaohua?】
【No.91: It’s getting heated as expected.】
【No.92: I totally agree with the Mo Xiaotian take. Air is so powerful—why hasn’t he made enemies suffocate? But don’t say Mo Xiaotian’s dumb. At least in ability use, I don’t buy it. If he were, how’d he develop ‘bomb cubes’? It’s weird. Feels like the author forgot to give him a growth arc.】
【No.93 replying to No.92: Yeah! Does the author think Xiaotian has no fans? Why’s his ability development so bad?】
【No.94: Author, buff the T3 characters!】
【No.95: My faves who haven’t appeared are silently crying.】
【No.96: My fave isn’t last, right?】
【No.97 replying to No.96: Who’s your fave?】
【No.98 replying to No.97: Feng Lan】
【No.99 replying to No.98: That’s not impossible…】
【No.100: What about Wu Jin? Not even T3? Our Succubus is super strong!】
【No.101: Yeah, Wu Jin can control even Huangfu Mingzhe. He deserves T3!】
【No.102: Bet he’s next.】
【…】
【DataManiacNo.151 (OP): The next tier is just Wu Jin. His strength isn’t clearly shown, but his passive and active skills are strong. However, it relies heavily on the opponent’s mental energy, and his own attack power is weak, so he’s here.】
【DataManiacNo.152 (OP): The T4 team is Mu Tieren, Ai Baozhu, and Li Shu. Each excels in their field.
For Mu Tieren, I’m including some speculation. After the last incident, the author barely gave him screen time. But we know he got a Heart Nightmare Beast’s heart, gaining biomechanical fusion, making him stronger than before. So, I put him at least T4.
Ai Baozhu and Li Shu need no explanation. One’s too defense-focused with weak attack power, limiting overall strength. The other’s decent but struggles against strong foes due to low mental energy, limiting Illusion use. They can be strong sometimes, but I ranked them here.】
【No.153: Li Shu’s not that weak!】
【No.154: So relieved Mu Tieren isn’t T5.】
【No.155: Li Shu’s strong! The author just hasn’t given him space to shine. In an illusion-type mission, he’d dominate!】
【No.156 replying to No.155: Still pretty limited, no?】
【…】
【DataManiacNo.233 (OP): The rest, Zhao Xiaoyu and Feng Lan, are grouped together. Their speed, attack, and defense aren’t impressive, but their utility is high, making them King of Abilities’ trump cards.】
【No.234: Our Feng Lan’s really at the bottom.】
【No.235: Honestly, in pure combat skills, they’re both decent. Zhao Xiaoyu’s known for taking fighting seriously, ranking high in Class S. Feng Lan, due to his ability, probably trained hard too. But with their abilities, they fall short in class.】
【…】