36: Chapter 36 Zhang Wen's Fury!

"The Ability College Entrance Examination has now concluded. Please exit the examination area in an orderly fashion. We thank all candidates for your years of tireless study and hope that today's accomplishments will serve as a stepping stone toward a brilliant future." The mechanical voice on the broadcast lost its usual coldness, carrying a hint of gentleness as it echoed over the empty examination grounds.

Zhang Wen rubbed his slightly sore wrist; the residual electrical fluctuations in his palms had not yet completely dissipated.

He gazed at the dispersing crowd in the distance, the corners of his mouth curling upward—killing the Shadow Fiend Demonic Tiger in the end had also helped him accumulate a fair amount of actual combat experience. Dealing with Vicious Beasts of the same level next time should be much easier. "Let's go," he whispered to himself, a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes. "If Mom and Dad find out I've become the provincial top scholar, they'll probably borrow all the red silk from Auntie Wang next door to hang over our doorway."

He turned around and saw Ding Siyi suddenly running ahead, then stopping to look back at him. The sunlight fell into her eyes, shining like shattered stars: "Uncle and Auntie will definitely throw you a celebration banquet! Also, don't forget our promise!"

Before she could finish, she was called away by her family waving from not far away, and her figure quickly disappeared into the crowd.

"Sigh, couldn't she stay a little longer?" Zhang Wen shook his head with a smile. Just as he was about to turn, he heard a flurry of urgent shouts.

"Hey, hey, hey! Zhang Wen! Over here, over here!"

Following the voice, Dean of Students Teacher Wang was standing outside the cordon. His usually tight face was now blooming with a smile, waving at him with excitement.

Several school leaders stood beside him. Principal Li, who was in the lead, was talking to a middle-aged man wearing a dark uniform. The golden patterns on the man's epaulets were particularly striking in the sunlight; one could tell at a glance that his status was extraordinary.

Zhang Wen's heart skipped a beat, and he walked over quickly.

"Student Zhang Wen, we've finally been waiting for you!" Director Wang grabbed his arm, his tone trembling with excitement. "Let me introduce you. This is Director Chen from our Nanyang City Ability Education Bureau!"

The man called Director Chen had a gentle smile on his face, and the fine lines at the corners of his eyes revealed genuine joy. His eyes were bright, filled with the affection of an elder for a Junior.

"Student Zhang Wen, I've finally met you in person!" He took the initiative to reach out. His palm was warm and firm. He shook Zhang Wen's hand gently before letting go, his tone full of admiration. "Congratulations! An Ability College Entrance Examination score exceeding ten thousand—our country has never seen such a thing. Let me congratulate you in advance on becoming the provincial top scholar of Jiangnan Province!"

"Thank you, Director Chen." Zhang Wen quickly shook his hand back, secretly murmuring to himself: It seems not all people in high positions are as cold as the rumors suggest.

Director Chen received an exquisite metal box from his entourage and handed it to him. "This is a reward from the Bureau for you—a Thunder Punishment Pill. Its effect is to permanently increase the strength of your Thunder Element talent, with a small chance of Awakening the prototype of the 'Eye of Thunder Punishment' (which can see through an enemy's weaknesses). Consider it a small token of our appreciation." He paused and added, "Also, a reminder: in the next few days, representatives from Qinglan University in Kyoto and Dongmo University in Magic City will come to find you. Both are top-tier institutions, so you should give them some serious consideration."

Zhang Wen took the box, his fingertips touching the cold metal, but his heart felt warm.

After some pleasantries, Director Chen looked at the sky. "I'll have my driver take you home. Such great news should be shared with your family as soon as possible."

It was hard to refuse such kindness, so Zhang Wen had to agree. The black sedan drove steadily on the road home. Looking at the streetscape passing by outside the window, he was already planning what dishes to order for his parents to celebrate that evening.

Not long after, the car stopped steadily downstairs at Zhang Wen's home. He thanked the driver, pushed open the car door, and hurried upstairs.

But when he pushed open his front door, he was greeted by silence.

"Dad? Mom?" He called out twice, but there was only an echo in the living room. "They're probably still out working." Zhang Wen sat down on the sofa, just about to go to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, when his phone suddenly rang sharply.

A string of unfamiliar numbers jumped on the screen. He frowned and answered, "Hello?"

"Zhang Wen, long time no see." The voice on the other end of the line was hoarse and cold, like a viper flicking its tongue. "Want to know where your parents are?"

Zhang Wen's heart sank, and blood rushed to his head instantly. "Who are you? What have you done to my parents?!"

"Don't get excited." The other party chuckled, his tone filled with malicious mockery. "They are very safe right now, on the condition that—you come to the abandoned factory in the west of the city alone. Remember, you must come alone. If you dare to play any tricks..."

"I'll come!" Zhang Wen gritted his teeth and interrupted him, his nails digging deep into his palms. "If anything happens to my parents, I will make you know what despair is!"

"Don't worry, they will be fine before you arrive. However, if I find out you didn't come alone, hehe, you know the consequences." Immediately, the sound of someone struggling came from the phone, and then it hung up.

The call was abruptly cut off, leaving only a busy signal in the receiver.

The air around Zhang Wen seemed to freeze instantly. The joy he had felt from his success on the exam was torn apart, and overwhelming rage and bone-chilling panic exploded in his chest like magma.

His knuckles gripping the phone turned white, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged—the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder within his body seemed to sense its master's fury and began to surge uncontrollably. Wisps of lightning flickered beneath his skin, and even his pupils reflected a terrifying golden-purple hue.

"Bang!" He grabbed his jacket and threw it over his shoulder, rushing out of the house like an arrow released from a bow. The moment his feet touched the floor of the corridor, a trail of afterimages infused with Thunder Element energy dragged behind him, almost scorching the air.

The abandoned factory was filled with the smell of rust and dust. Moonlight crept in through the broken windows, illuminating the figure standing in the center. The person turned around, a cold sneer on his lips, playing with a short blade that shimmered with a cold light. The air around the blade was slightly distorted—this was the characteristic of the A-grade talent "void-splitting blade".

And that person was Xue Yuan, who had once had a grudge with Zhang Wen at school.

When Zhang Wen found the abandoned factory following the address, the last ray of sunset on the horizon had just been swallowed by the night.

He kicked open the rusty iron door, the ear-piercing "creak" cutting through the deathly silence, his gaze instantly locking onto the figure in the center of the factory.

"Xue Yuan?" His voice was as cold as if tempered in ice, carrying the trembling of the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder that had yet to subside.

"Long time no see, Zhang Wen." Xue Yuan licked the corner of his lips, the resentment in his eyes like poison-tipped needles, stabbing over densely. "I haven't forgotten for a single day how you made me unable to lift my head in school back then. And Ding Siyi..." He suddenly emphasized his tone, his voice twisted with the sourness of jealousy. "Why did she choose you, a poor kid with nothing, instead of me?"

He suddenly chuckled, the laughter laced with malice: "So, to 'repay' you for this 'gift', I've put a lot of thought into it."

Zhang Wen looked past him at his parents tied to the pillar behind him, his eyes bloodshot, his fists clenched so tightly they rattled. "Xue Yuan, what do you want? Come at me!"

Xue Yuan sneered, raised his hand and swung an invisible Qi blade, which flew past Zhang Wen's cheek, leaving a deep crack in the iron sheet behind him. "Don't be impatient. Let's settle this score slowly."