40: Chapter 40 Thunder Strikes the Nine Heavens! A Humble Family Hosts a Feast

Meanwhile, in the capital, at Qinglan University.

As one of the country's top academies for supernatural abilities, the atmosphere inside the admissions office was both fervent and tense. In the spacious office, several admissions teachers sat around a long table, with light screens in front of them scrolling through the profiles of supernatural candidates from various regions, each representing a potential rising star.

"Look at this one, everyone," a middle-aged teacher wearing glasses pointed at the light screen, his tone unable to hide his amazement. "Zhao Ya, the provincial top scholar from Sichuan Province. Her Fire Element spiritual energy concentration is simply the best among her peers. Looking at the fluctuations in her combat footage, her Realm has probably reached the Budding Peak, right?"

Director Qian, the head of the admissions office, leaned over from the main seat, scanned the profile, and nodded slowly. "Hmm, she is indeed impressive. As expected of Old Zhao's daughter, with an SS-Rank Crimson Flame Dancer Talent, she is born with an affinity to resonate with flames. Put her directly into the first-tier admissions list." He turned his head to look at the teacher who had just spoken. "I'll leave this to you; contact her as soon as possible. You must secure her."

"Rest assured, Director Qian!" The teacher stood up immediately and left with a look of determination.

Such scenes played out frequently in the office. As the data on the light screens kept refreshing, teachers would occasionally light up at a particularly dazzling talent, then rush off with the documents—desperate to lock in a Prodigy before other universities could.

At this moment, Teacher Li, who was responsible for organizing the combat footage, walked over with a data tablet, her tone mysterious. "Old Qian, stop for a moment and watch this footage; it will definitely shock you."

Director Qian was frowning at a profile of an Ice Element talent, but he looked up and said, "What kind of footage is worth you making such a fuss?" His body, however, had already leaned in.

Teacher Li tapped on the data tablet, and a combat video was projected into the air. The candidate was named Zhang Wen. At this moment, he was confronting a Shadow Fiend Demonic Tiger. His figure was as agile as a leopard, and his spiritual energy flowed with the momentum of a thunderbolt. Facing the massive Forming Realm Vicious Beast, he did not fall behind at all, ultimately inflicting heavy damage on it with a precise, powerful Thunder Element ultimate move.

"This..." The expression on Director Qian's face froze instantly, his eyes widened sharply, and he exclaimed involuntarily, "Who is this young man? He can actually contend against a Forming Realm Shadow Fiend Demonic Tiger all on his own? This aura fluctuation—could he have already stepped into the Forming Realm? But at his age, how old is he?"

The exclamation startled the surrounding teachers, and everyone gathered around.

"There is something even more astonishing." Teacher Li's tone was full of disbelief. The screen then cut to the scene of Zhang Wen battling a Hundred-Foot Centipede. The young man moved flexibly through the pervasive poisonous fog and the flailing insect legs, while the Thunder Element spiritual energy around his body transformed into layers of electric nets, suppressing the ten-meter-long giant centipede firmly.

In the end, he killed it completely with the momentum of a thunderbolt, his movements clean and efficient. Although he passed out in the end due to overexertion of spiritual energy, this was a genuine victory against a Forming Realm Vicious Beast all on his own.

"Hiss—" Gasps of shock rose one after another.

"He killed a Forming Realm Hundred-Foot Centipede all by himself? This combat power is comparable to those second-year students, right?"

"The purity of this Thunder Element talent is too high; it's like he is naturally one with lightning!"

"Quick, check the records! Which province is he from? What's his name?"

The office instantly erupted. The teachers who had just been marveling at the Budding Peak were now all captivated by the young man in the video.

Teacher Li took the opportunity to pull up Zhang Wen's detailed information: A candidate from Nanyang City, Jiangnan Province, with a supernatural college entrance exam score of 10215 points.

However, upon learning that he had already killed two Forming Realm Vicious Beasts on his own, everyone did not find this score surprising.

But when their eyes fell on the "Talent Rating" column, it clearly displayed a "?", which immediately left people feeling puzzled.

"mysterious view, immediately detect his spiritual energy fluctuations and analyze his specific talent type." Director Qian commanded the artificial intelligence of Qinglan University in a deep voice, his tone carrying a trace of imperceptible urgency.

In the next second, the detection results from mysterious view were displayed on the screen.

"Wha—t?!" Director Qian's pupils shrank, and he clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. The moment he stood up abruptly, the metal chair beneath him was pushed half a meter backward, creating a harsh scraping sound on the smooth floor.

He stared fixedly at the text on the screen and exclaimed in shock, "SSS-Rank? Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder?!"

Seeing this result, everyone also revealed looks of shock. One must know that in the entire Dragon country this year, including Zhang Wen, there were only three individuals with an SSS-Rank Talent.

Supernatural talents range from D to SSS-Rank; SSS-Rank is already a legendary existence, and "Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder" is the most domineering type among Thunder Element talents, rarely seen in a century, and even superior to the talents of the other two individuals.

Moreover, those two individuals came from a Hidden Family and had long been taken back by their Family for secret training; now, on the surface, Zhang Wen was likely the only SSS-Rank left.

"Did I see that right? SSS-Rank Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder? This... this is going to produce a Prodigy!" An old teacher adjusted his glasses, his voice trembling.

Director Qian stared fixedly at Zhang Wen's figure in the footage, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table, and a determined light flickered in his eyes. "This seedling is more important than all the first-tier candidates combined! Prepare the car! I am going there personally right now!"

Dongmo University in the Magic City, which is on the same level as Qinglan University, was currently playing out an almost identical scene—they had also sent people out, hoping to recruit Zhang Wen first.

Other universities naturally were not willing to fall behind and also sent people to rush over. Although they all knew the chances were slim, who didn't harbor a "what if" thought in their hearts?

Meanwhile, the protagonist, Zhang Wen, was fast asleep in bed.

"Little Wen, get up! We agreed yesterday that today I would invite all the aunts and relatives over to celebrate!" his mother, Wang Guihua, shouted from outside the door.

"Oh, if the child wants to sleep, let him sleep a bit more. He's been so tired these past few days; don't let him get sick from exhaustion," his father, Zhang Jianguo, hurriedly chimed in.

"And you! I'm talking about him, not you? Go change your clothes quickly!"

Zhang Wen lay in bed, preparing to get up with extreme reluctance—to be honest, he really didn't want to attend this banquet.

The main reason was that Zhang Wen's Family background had always been at the bottom among all their relatives, and he inevitably faced open and covert contempt, rarely receiving a kind look.

But no matter how unwelcome he was, the basic face among relatives still had to be maintained; they couldn't really let the relationship become too strained.

Therefore, the relatives that needed to be invited still had to be invited, even if he knew that there would inevitably be some "snobbish" scrutiny and gossip, he just had to bite the bullet and deal with it.

However, the current Zhang Wen had a bit more solid confidence in his heart, no longer the same person as before who could only silently endure.

Zhang Wen's parents had been busy inside and outside the house for quite a while, wiping tables, arranging chairs, preparing tea and serving fruit, and getting all their signature dishes ready. They finally finished tidying up just as the relatives began to arrive one after another.