Chapter 163 – Level B First Completion, I Was Still Too Conservative

“Who?!”

The long-haired youth instinctively asked, but no one responded. He quickly lowered his head to check for himself.

He discovered that completing the first Level C task did not refer to a single individual.

A message floated by in the global chat channel of his task wristwatch:

[Congratulations to new blood Teng Xiangqing, Wan Ming, Xu … for completing the first Level C+ task.]

“Team completion…”

The long-haired youth counted the names; there were five in total listed in the message.

He opened the new blood assessment ranking, and sure enough, there were five names listed.

However, aside from the one named Teng Xiangqing, who ranked first with 430 points, the remaining four had scores mostly in the teens and twenties.

“How can the final points differ so much when the same team completes a task?”

The mature-looking, dark-skinned youth, Xiang Shenghao, frowned as he stared at the ranking.

“Do you even need to ask? It must be that they were carried by a Big Shot…”

The punk girl, Xu Chengying, chewed her gum with an indifferent expression.

The blue-haired boy, He Jun, scoffed, watching the electric sparks dancing between his fingers, and said disdainfully, “A Big Shot? For a mere Level C+ task? The strongest enemy isn’t even Level C. If it were me, I could solo it…”

The long-haired youth couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

“You talk as if we’re all dragging you down… Don’t be so arrogant. This Teng Xiangqing is indeed a Big Shot.

He has been studying ancient martial arts diligently since childhood, received the Gene Enhancement Injection before he was eighteen, and even transplanted the Level B+ new martial art, Thunder Power. His comprehensive strength assessment is said to have reached Level B long ago, and his initial evaluation… was Level S!”

“Level B+ Thunder Power? Level S initial evaluation?!”

The blue-haired boy’s expression changed slightly upon hearing these words, and he asked, “Where did you get this information?”

“The global chat channel has already been exposed.”

The long-haired youth shook his wristwatch, with a hint of sarcasm, and said, “Teng Xiangqing is from the Teng Clan in the Southern Dynasty Area of Xiabang. A noble scion from Xiabang, coming here to Yellow Bear for some gilding1.

If you don’t believe me, check the public channel comments yourself… Yeah, you can also find it online. For direct descendants of such families, their entries are updated in real-time.”

The blue-haired boy fell silent, his expression turning a bit sour.

His arrogance and confidence stemmed from the newly transplanted C+ new martial art, Blue Electric Finger, which he had already passed the Harmonization Phase for.

Because of this, his initial evaluation by his recommender, the White Bear Guard, had reached Level A.

But this was nothing compared to the Level B+ Thunder Power, another new martial art of the electric system.

Thunder Power belongs to the category of internal new martial arts, developed by mimicking the principles of inner strength from ancient martial arts.

The transplant requires modifying parts of the bone, muscle, and meridian system in the body, far more complex and precise than Blue Electric Finger.

Moreover, the power after the modification is incredibly formidable.

Level B+ Thunder Power, upon reaching Mastery, is sufficient to support the strength of the modifier to easily advance to Level A.

No wonder Teng Xiangqing’s initial evaluation could reach Level S.

The long-haired youth was right; he indeed was a “noble scion,” a Big Shot!

The long-haired youth, trying to save face for the blue-haired boy, changed the topic after a few jabs, clearing his throat, “We can’t compare ourselves to a Big Shot aiming for the top in the assessment. Let’s just focus on our own tasks.

I’ve checked; the task level is generally one level higher than the strongest enemy in the task.

That is to say, in a Level B- task, the strongest enemy we encounter won’t exceed Level C+.

In a Level B task, the enemies won’t exceed Level B-… and so on.”

“Everyone should continue reporting their strengths so we can strategize. Let’s set a challenging task objective…”

“Ding-dong-“

Before the long-haired youth could finish, the wristwatches of the four people rang again.

“Damn it!”

He couldn’t help but lightly hit the table and cursed, “Why are they so quick?

Forget the messages, let’s focus on our own plans…”

But some had already habitually lowered their heads to check the wristwatch messages.

“Pop—smack!”

The punk girl, Xu Chengying, had just blown a bubble with her gum when it burst with a loud “smack,” sticking to her face.

She stared blankly at the screen of her wristwatch, her expression frozen as if she had seen something unbelievable.

“What’s up with you? Did you see a ghost?”

The blue-haired boy couldn’t help but make a snide comment.

Xu Chengying, unusually, didn’t retort. Instead, she nodded, still in a daze.

“I did see a ghost… someone just completed the first Level B task.”

“What?!”

The other three at the table were visibly shaken.

A first completion of a Level B task?!

This was far more shocking than the earlier first completion of a Level C+ task.

Achieving this in roughly the same timeframe, but the implications were vastly different.

“And it was… a solo first completion!”

Xu Chengying murmured.

The expressions of the long-haired youth and the other two became even more astonished. They couldn’t help but ask, “Who did it?”

Even Teng Xiangqing from the Teng Clan had only completed a Level C+ task first, and that was with a team.

Who could be more formidable than him?

Soloing a Level B task would require at least Level B- or even Level B strength, right?

Xu Chengying, with her face still covered in gum, glanced at the three and said in a low, strange voice, “Lu Yuan.”

“Lu Yuan?”

The three immediately checked their wristwatches and found the newly issued global channel notification—

[Congratulations to new blood Lu Yuan for completing the first Level B task.]

“Who’s Lu Yuan?”

“That name sounds so familiar… Where have I heard it before?”

After a few murmurs and a brief silence, suddenly…

The small bar table they were sitting at exploded into pieces with a loud “boom,” under the simultaneous effect of several uncontrolled forces.

An Abandoned Parking Lot.

The cracked cement ground was littered with broken machine parts and charred marks, as if scorched by electric shocks.

In the center of this desolate space stood a bald youth, towering at nearly six feet three inches, with a burly yet proportionate and lean build. His eyes were slightly squinted, and his arms hung naturally at his sides.

Tiny blue electric arcs danced across his body, making him look like a superhero straight out of a sci-fi movie.

“Whoosh-“

When the youth finally absorbed all the electric arcs back into his body and exhaled a breath tinged with faint blue light, a thin blond youth, who had been watching from a distance, finally dared to approach.

But as he neared the bald youth, the residual ions in the air from the latter’s earlier display made the blond youth’s hair stand on end, and even his blond hair puffed up with a “poof.”

“Young Lord Teng!”

The blond youth looked at the bald youth’s smooth head, thinking to himself how handsome the guy was. He wondered why someone so good-looking would shave their head bald. Now he knew the reason. After all, even a good-looking guy would look ridiculous with electric hair every day. Shaving it off was much more stylish.

“The task objective is completed, but one person died.”

The blond youth pointed to the side, where a middle-aged man was leading a little girl, escorted by their teammates, out of the abandoned parking lot.

On the ground lay a lifeless woman, clearly indicating she was part of what used to be a family of three.

With their mother dead, the little girl was crying her heart out. The middle-aged man, however, didn’t seem sad at all. Instead, there was a hint of joy in his eyes, and he kept comforting the girl, “Jiujiu, don’t cry. Mommy is just sleeping. She’ll be back in a few days…”

The bald youth, Teng Xiangqing, glanced over, his closely trimmed eyebrows furrowing slightly, but he said nothing.

He had already noticed the death of the “hostage.”

His level B+ Thunder Power had only been recently transplanted and was still in the Harmonization Phase, so his control over it wasn’t perfect.

During the battle, despite his best efforts to be careful, some of the Thunder Power had inevitably leaked out, affecting one of the “hostages” and causing her death.

“There should be some points deducted, but it won’t affect Young Lord Teng much,” the blond youth said with a smile. “I already checked, just as you predicted. After completing a level C task, all the information for Level B tasks has indeed been unlocked. Now it’s up to you to decide which Level B task to choose. We’ll fully support and assist you.”

“You don’t need to assist me much…”

Teng Xiangqing shook his head and casually opened the task map on his wristwatch. “For Level B tasks, I can handle them alone. You guys just need to clear the ordinary guards ahead for me. Conserve your strength as much as possible and prepare to help me tackle Level A when the time comes. I’ll use this opportunity to practice controlling my Thunder Power.”

“We’ll follow your orders, Young Lord Teng.”

The blond youth grinned and flattered him.

These new blood recruits had all been contacted before the assessment began. The Teng Clan had promised that as long as they cooperated with Teng Xiangqing during the assessment, not only would they pass the new blood assessment, but they would also receive a hefty sum of money afterward.

For the amount the Teng Clan had promised, saying a few flattering words was nothing.

As they chatted, their wristwatches suddenly emitted a pleasant notification sound.

Both of them glanced down to check the message.

“Hiss”

Upon reading the message, the yellow-haired youth took a sharp breath and exclaimed, “Soloing a Level B task? Who is this? So impressive…”

After his initial amazement, he suddenly remembered that Teng Xiangqing was standing right next to him. He quickly adopted a righteous tone and questioned, “This doesn’t make sense. How could someone complete it so quickly? Besides, we’re the only ones who have completed a level C task so far. Without the unlocked information, how did this guy manage a Level B task? Young Lord Teng, I suspect this Lu Yuan is cheating!”

Teng Xiangqing glanced at him, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke in a low voice, “Who said you can’t challenge a Level B task without unlocking the information? The assessment rules don’t state that you have to start with level C tasks and work your way up. The task information is just a way to help us reduce the task’s difficulty.”

“Uh…”

The blond youth was taken aback, realizing that this made sense.

“This Lu Yuan must be extremely confident in his abilities, confident enough to take on a task without any prior information and still be sure he can crush it solo. Interesting!”

Teng Xiangqing withdrew his gaze from his wristwatch, and in his pitch-black eyes, there seemed to be a faint blue light flickering.

“It seems I was still too conservative… I thought there wouldn’t be any real competition in this assessment, but it looks like there are still a few impressive individuals.”

Teng Xiangqing took a deep breath, and electric arcs surged around him. The yellow-haired youth beside him was now struggling to keep his hair down with his hands.

“For the next task, I’ll choose Level B+. This time… none of you will lift a finger. I’ll solo it!”

“Yes… yes, Young Lord Teng.”

…

Lu Yuan walked out of an office building.

Thick smoke billowed from between the twenty-third and twenty-seventh floors behind him.

The people on the street were accustomed to such sights, with only a few stopping to look. Even then, they merely took a few photos before moving along.

“What an indifferent world.”

Lu Yuan adjusted his black-framed glasses and sighed softly. “In this place… only the thrill of battle can bring me a shred of warmth.”

He sighed again and used his wristwatch to call the fire department in Smokeless City.

Lu Yuan had just completed a Level B task.

Initially, he had planned to head to a level C+ task point.

Halfway there, he suddenly remembered that a few months ago, Gao Qing had assessed his abilities to be at level C.

Going for level C tasks now would be a pure waste of time.

So, he changed his target midway and went to the nearest Level B task instead.

Originally, he had intended to go to a neighboring Level B+ task point.

However, the B+ task required rescuing hostages, which Lu Yuan found bothersome. Instead, he chose this Level B task, which only required destroying the enemy’s base to complete.

Footnote:

1. Gilding(镀金): In this context, “gilding” refers to the practice of enhancing one’s credentials or prestige by working or studying in a particular place or position. The term originates from the process of applying a thin layer of gold to the surface of an object to make it appear more valuable. For example, someone might go to a prestigious institution or a well-respected company to “gild” their resume, making themselves appear more accomplished or experienced.