Lianyang Academy

After seeing that final note, Qin Shaofeng was briefly at a loss for words.

He'd thought that with this Thunder Body, he'd be able to learn any lightning-attributed skill!

But he hadn't expected that, in the end, he'd still have to spend Points to buy them.

Fine, he'd buy them!

The problem was, the System Shop still hadn't officially opened!

Thinking of this, Qin Shaofeng couldn't help looking toward the System Shop icon on his status screen.

But when he looked, he was astonished to find that the System Shop, which had been pitch-black, had now turned gray.

Then Qin Shaofeng noticed a small line of text beneath the gray System Shop icon.

System Shop unlock condition: Player must reach Level 15!

Level 15?

Wasn't that Houtian Fifth Level?

Qin Shaofeng froze, then was suddenly overjoyed.

He was currently at Houtian First Layer, and he was already nearly halfway through the experience bar. It didn't seem like Houtian Fifth Level was all that far away!

Level up!

Level up!

I want to level up!

At the thought of the System Shop opening soon, Qin Shaofeng couldn't contain his excitement and decided to find somewhere to level up.

He'd been looking forward to the System Shop for a long time.

Now that the unlocking conditions had appeared, he was naturally impatient to get started.

Just as Qin Shaofeng was thinking about going out to fight monsters and level up, Old Master Qin sent someone to fetch him.

Afterward, Qin Shaofeng received another astonishing piece of news from Old Master Qin.

It turned out that the Zhang Family had been behind the transfer of Lanjiang City's City Lord. The reason was that Lianyang Academy would begin accepting students in a month.

Lianyang Academy, named after the Lianyang Kingdom, was the kingdom's foremost academy and a gathering place for its most talented youths.

The academy was composed entirely of the most gifted talents from across the Lianyang Kingdom.

Naturally, Lianyang Academy also had an exceptionally strong teaching staff.

It had not only Xiantian Martial Masters but even Spirit Vein Grandmasters serving as instructors.

Qin Shaofeng had even heard that the dean of Lianyang Academy was a powerful expert of the Legendary Realm.

An academy like that was the dream destination of every genius.

There was even a saying in the Lianyang Kingdom: every graduate of Lianyang Academy was an indispensable pillar of the kingdom's future.

This couldn't help reminding Qin Shaofeng of the famous universities back on Earth.

So this was the other world's version of a prestigious university!

Although a certain level of talent was needed to enter Lianyang Academy, there was also such a thing as a recommendation slot.

Without a recommendation slot, getting into Lianyang Academy required not only a large sum of money but also going through a host of complicated procedures.

And even if all of that was taken care of, once all the recommendation slots were filled, anyone who wasn't an exceptionally rare genius would still be turned away.

Every city in the Lianyang Kingdom had one or several recommendation slots, allocated according to the city's size and strength.

A small city like Lanjiang City wasn't very powerful in the Lianyang Kingdom, but it still had one recommendation slot.

With only one slot, it naturally went to Lanjiang City's City Lord.

So, in order to claim that slot and get his eldest son into Lianyang Academy, Zhang Chongshan had called in some of the Zhang Family's connections in North Yang City. He'd arranged for the former City Lord of Lanjiang City to be transferred away, then set up the City Lord Competition.

Every bit of it had been for that single recommendation slot.

Of course, Zhang Chongshan also had ambitions to dominate Lanjiang City, but the recommendation slot had been the main reason.

The Zhang Family had spent a great deal of manpower and resources and paid a tremendous price. With the help of a major power in North Yang City, they'd been on the verge of success.

Unfortunately, man proposed, but Heaven disposed.

The final prize had fallen into Qin Shaofeng's hands.

"Lianyang Academy?"

As he walked out of Old Master Qin's room, a glint flashed in Qin Shaofeng's eyes, and he felt a little more interested.

"Never mind, Lanjiang City is a little too small for me. I might as well go take a look at Lianyang Academy!"

Murmuring to himself, Qin Shaofeng's eyes flashed with excitement.

Just then, as Old Master Qin had finished explaining everything, Qin Shaofeng had heard a system notification.

A system quest had appeared!

Level Up: Three-Star quest. Reach Houtian Fifth Level within ten days. Completion reward: 50 Points and 500 experience.

At first glance, a quest to reach Houtian Fifth Level didn't seem difficult enough to warrant a three-star rating.

In truth, it had been rated three stars because it had three separate time limits.

The most lenient limit was ten days, with a reward of 50 Points and 500 experience.

The second stage required him to reach Houtian Fifth Level within five days, doubling the Points and experience reward.

The final stage required him to reach Houtian Fifth Level within three days. The reward would increase to 200 Points and 2,000 experience, and he'd also receive an extra draw.

Reaching Houtian Fifth Level in three days, starting from Houtian First Layer, would be quite a challenge for Qin Shaofeng.

The system he had wasn't at all like those games back on Earth, where you could just kill monsters to level up.

For Qin Shaofeng, killing a monster at his own level or no more than five levels below him yielded only 1 experience point.

It wasn't like those games on Earth, where you might get little experience, but never a pitiful 1 point.

And if he killed a monster more than five levels below him, he wouldn't get anything at all.

So, to reach Houtian Fifth Level within three days, Qin Shaofeng had no choice but to hunt monsters above his level.

Qin Shaofeng was confident that with the Yi Jin Jing greatly increasing his Inner Qi Points and Little Li Flying Dagger as his God-grade skill, he could kill any monster that wasn't too far above his level.

Qin Shaofeng wasn't reckless; he'd already come up with a plan to level up.

"I can level up, unlock the System Shop, and get a decent reward, too. This quest is great! I'll set off tomorrow!"

At the Zhang Family residence, inside a luxurious room, Zhang Chongshan wore a deeply gloomy expression. His face was ashen.

"How is it? Is there any chance he'll recover?"

Looking at Zhang Lingtian, who was still unconscious, Zhang Chongshan asked the old man beside him in a dark voice.

The old man was none other than Physician Wu, who had examined Qin Shaofeng some time ago.

Physician Wu was already over sixty, yet he was unquestionably the foremost physician in Lanjiang City. The people of Lanjiang City respectfully called him Old Physician Wu.

Old Physician Wu shook his head helplessly and sighed. "There's no hope. The eldest young master's dantian was destroyed by an extremely strange Inner Qi. I've never heard of Inner Qi like this. Given how destructive it is, the eldest young master's dantian is completely ruined."

At this, Old Physician Wu hesitated, then added, "The damage is even more severe than what happened to Qin Shaofeng some time ago."

How could this be!

At Old Physician Wu's words, Zhang Chongshan's already gloomy expression turned even uglier.

He'd paid such a high price for the sake of getting his eldest son, Zhang Lingtian, into Lianyang Academy, so that one day he could make a name for himself.

But now?

Not only was the recommendation slot gone, Zhang Lingtian himself was completely crippled.

Zhang Chongshan was in the foulest mood, and he was furious to the extreme.

He'd never imagined that Qin Shaofeng would dare to cripple his eldest son's dantian in front of so many people.

Just then, Old Physician Wu's final words suddenly reminded him of something.

"Old Wu, how did Qin Shaofeng's dantian recover? If we used the same method, could Tian'er's dantian be restored?"

Zhang Chongshan looked at Old Physician Wu with a glimmer of hope.

Unfortunately, the answer was sure to disappoint him.

Old Physician Wu thought for a moment, then gently shook his head and sighed again. "That's almost impossible. Qin Shaofeng's dantian recovered because, first, the Inner Qi that damaged it had no destructive power, and no Inner Qi remained in his dantian. Second, Old Master Qin brought out an extremely precious Heaven-grade pill. That was what restored Qin Shaofeng's dantian."

A Heaven-grade pill?

When Zhang Chongshan heard those four words, his mind went blank.

In this world, pills, cultivation techniques, weapons, and the like were divided into ranks, from low to high: Mortal, Human, Earth, Heaven, and so on.

But in this little city of Lanjiang, even Human-grade pills were extremely rare, let alone Heaven-grade pills.

To Lanjiang City, Heaven-grade pills were nothing but legend!

Zhang Chongshan finally understood the secret behind Qin Shaofeng's restored dantian.

So it had been a Heaven-grade pill!

That explained everything.

But that only made Zhang Chongshan's feelings more complicated. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice when Old Physician Wu left.

A Heaven-grade pill?

How did Old Master Qin have a pill that was only a legend in Lanjiang City?

In truth, it was merely an excuse Old Master Qin had made for others.

As for how everyone else chose to interpret it, Old Master Qin didn't care.

That was what he'd said. Believe it or not, he didn't need to explain himself any further.

But there was no denying that Qin Shaofeng's sudden recovery had made people believe it in the end.

His dantian had been destroyed, yet he'd recovered so quickly. Other than a legendary Heaven-grade pill, what else could have done it?

Zhang Chongshan was thoroughly convinced of this.

"Damn it! I can't believe that old bastard had something like that. This time, I really miscalculated!"

Zhang Chongshan shook his head in frustration, his eyes blazing with anger and resentment.

"Father...!"

Just then, a weak voice suddenly sounded.

Zhang Chongshan's expression changed abruptly, softening a little.

There was no denying that Zhang Chongshan was vicious and cruel to outsiders, but he was a decent father to his own son.

"Tian'er, you're awake?" Zhang Chongshan smiled faintly, then hurriedly said to Zhang Lingtian, who had opened his eyes but was still extremely weak, "Don't worry, Tian'er. I'll find a way to restore your dantian. Don't worry too much; just rest and recover."

Rest easy?

Hearing his father's comforting words, Zhang Lingtian felt nothing but bitterness.

He knew his own body best. Zhang Lingtian understood that he really had become a cripple.

At the thought of it, the first thing that rose in Zhang Lingtian's heart was hatred!

A hatred that reached the heavens!

And resentment!

Suddenly, a terrifying glint flashed in Zhang Lingtian's eyes. It seemed he'd made up his mind.

Looking at his father, Zhang Lingtian spoke with a voice filled with hatred. "Father, I want revenge! I'll kill Qin Shaofeng with my own hands, no matter what. So I've decided—I'm going to see the Old Ancestor!"

The Old Ancestor!

As if he'd heard some forbidden words, Zhang Chongshan's expression changed at once.

But after thinking it over and hesitating for a long while, Zhang Chongshan said nothing more. In the end, he simply nodded.