Starting with a Loan System

"How come every other transmigrator gets a system? I've been here for years, and I still don't have a damn thing!"

Jiang Qin sat in the shade of a tree at Shrek Academy, chewing on a blade of grass as he complained out of sheer boredom.

In his previous life, Jiang Qin had been an ordinary, hardworking mortgage slave. One day, while working overtime, he suddenly died after staying up night after night. When he woke up, he was at Shrek Academy's registration desk.

To his surprise, he had only just woken up and hadn't yet figured out what was happening when he instinctively released his Martial Soul, the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and refined several recovery pills in an instant.

In that instant, the old man who had been leaning back in a reclining chair, his eyes half-open and seemingly indifferent to everything, shot to his feet. His eyes lit up, and without another word, he dragged Jiang Qin into Shrek Academy.

This was, naturally, Flender, the dean of Shrek Academy.

And so Jiang Qin enrolled at Shrek Academy in a daze and began his life as a Soul Master.

Only after quite some time did he come to understand his situation. His Martial Soul was the Eight Trigrams Furnace, which could produce all kinds of enhancement pills, making him practically a hot commodity on the Douluo Continent.

That was how he had caught the eye of that stingy old man Flender, and Jiang Qin stayed.

"Little Jiang! Quick, help treat him!"

An extremely gruff voice interrupted Jiang Qin's recollection. He gently spat out the grass root in his mouth, stood up, and walked over.

"Little Qin, hurry! Mubai was injured in a soul duel today. Do you have any Spirit Gathering Pills left?"

A burly, muscular male teacher asked anxiously.

Jiang Qin took one look and saw that it was Zhao Wuji.

Jiang Qin was just about to speak when a trace of impatience flashed through the eyes of Dai Mubai, who was standing nearby with a hand pressed to his wound. Still, he tried to sound polite. "Jiang Qin, if you've got one, hand it over. Look at me, brother, I'm really hurting here."

His words were polite, but his hand was already stretched out in front of Jiang Qin.

Jiang Qin's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. Without saying anything, he took out a Spirit Gathering Pill wreathed in green light and handed it over.

Dai Mubai snatched it without ceremony. "Thanks, Little Qin."

He said thanks, but his actions showed no respect at all; he was utterly casual about it.

With that, he turned and left without waiting for Jiang Qin to reply.

Zhao Wuji watched Dai Mubai walk away and frowned. In a gentle voice, he said, "That boy Mubai is getting more and more out of line!"

Jiang Qin smiled warmly, concealing the shadow deep in the corners of his eyes. In a wholly unconcerned tone, he said, "It's all right, teacher. Classmates should help each other."

Zhao Wuji nodded approvingly. He greatly admired this handsome young man with his gentle, kind temperament.

"Oh, right." Zhao Wuji slapped his forehead. "Shrek Academy is recruiting students this afternoon. Go take a look in a little while and help with registration and such."

Jiang Qin nodded and turned to leave. He had only taken a few steps when the sound of an argument came from the entrance, and at the same time, an icy female voice exploded in his mind!

[Ding! Plot node detected. Congratulations, host, you have awakened the Douluo Loan System!]

Jiang Qin stopped in his tracks, a smile instantly spreading across his face:

"System, buddy, you're finally here!"

Jiang Qin was practically in tears. The system he had been waiting for had finally arrived!

But after calming down, he asked in confusion, "System, what does 'loan' mean?"

He couldn't help wondering; he truly had no idea what it meant.

[Sign a marriage contract with a female lead to receive rewards. Cultivation techniques, weapons, heavenly treasures, Soul Power cultivation, and even Soul Bones can all be obtained.]

A stack of yellow parchment radiating a sunlike brilliance then appeared in the system space.

At the top, the words "Marriage Contract" were written in large, gilded characters.

Jiang Qin stared at the stack of parchment, stunned, and couldn't help drawing a sharp breath.

"Wait." Jiang Qin's eyes lit up. Did that mean the other party only had to sign? If that was all, he would have plenty of opportunities.

The system seemed to sense Jiang Qin's thoughts, and its cold voice rang out again: [The other party must sign the marriage contract of her own free will. Furthermore, signing alone is not enough; other conditions must also be fulfilled.]

Jiang Qin scratched his head and asked, puzzled, "What conditions?"

Did signing a marriage contract also require an oath? Did they have to drink with their arms linked? His head was full of questions.

The system's voice interrupted his thoughts. "In addition to signing, the other party must also leave a lip print."

"A lip print?" Jiang Qin shook his head.

That didn't seem impossible either.

At worst, he could just have the other party give it a kiss when the time came. It didn't seem all that difficult.

Then the system's notification sounded again. Jiang Qin came to a halt and found a secluded spot.

[Congratulations, host, you have received a beginner gift pack. Please claim it in a timely manner.]

Several gift pack options appeared before Jiang Qin.

Unable to hide his excitement, Jiang Qin rubbed his hands together and hurriedly opened the first option.

[One: Congratulations, host, you have obtained a Second Martial Soul, Holy Spirit Puni.]

"Puni?" Jiang Qin's pupils shook, and he could barely contain his delight.

After all, this was the supreme being who had voluntarily placed seven seals on himself to prevent the universe's powers from falling out of balance.

Even on the Douluo Continent, it counted as a god-tier Martial Soul.

Immunity, holiness, eternity, reincarnation, elements, void.

Any one of them could be called a perfect existence, and they were all gathered in one person.

The corners of Jiang Qin's mouth lifted, and delight showed in his eyes.

What about the rest? What were they?

Full of anticipation, Jiang Qin opened the remaining options with trembling hands.

[Two: Soul Ring upgrade. All have evolved into thousand-year Soul Rings.]

In an instant, Jiang Qin's three Soul Rings changed from yellow to purple.

The three purple, mist-wreathed Soul Rings moved silently at Jiang Qin's command, floating before him.

Jiang Qin was not highly regarded at Shrek Academy, so the Soul Rings he had obtained were quite ordinary. Fortunately, as an alchemist, he didn't lack soul coins or ordinary cultivation resources.

The final reward shook Jiang Qin's pupils even more!

[Martial Soul Eight Trigrams Furnace has broken through its limits. The daily pill limit has increased from five to 100. In addition, more top-grade pills can now be refined.]

Jiang Qin's breathing grew heavier as he stared fixedly at the lines of text. In a sense, this reward was even more generous than the first two, and even more important to him!

Originally, he could only refine simple pills for basic recovery and healing. It wasn't that he didn't want to refine higher-grade pills; he simply lacked the ability, as though the Eight Trigrams Furnace had been weakened on the Douluo Continent.

Now things were different. Jiang Qin's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he looked at the list of top-grade pills he could refine that had entered his mind. He couldn't help laughing aloud.

Bone Regeneration Pill, Fate-Defying Reincarnation Pill, Barrier-Breaking Pill, Bodhi Pill...

"The beginner gift pack alone was this generous. Presumably, the rewards after completing missions will be even more surprising."

Jiang Qin put away the system, his smile already overflowing.