Lianyang Academy

Seeing the final note, Qin Shaofeng was momentarily speechless.

He had thought that with the Lightning Body, he could learn any lightning-attribute skill!

But he hadn't expected that he would still need to use points to buy them.

Fine, he could buy them!

But the problem was, the System Shop hadn't officially opened yet!

Thinking this, Qin Shaofeng's gaze drifted to the attribute interface, specifically to the icon for the System Shop.

And as he looked, Qin Shaofeng was surprised to find that the System Shop, which had been pitch black before, was now grayed out.

Immediately after, Qin Shaofeng saw that beneath the grayed-out System Shop icon, a small line of text had appeared.

System Shop Unlock Condition: Player Level must reach 15!

Level 15?

Isn't that Houtian Fifth Level?

Qin Shaofeng froze for a moment, then his heart filled with joy.

He was currently at Houtian First Level, and his experience bar was nearly half full. It seemed like Houtian Fifth Level wasn't too far off!

Level up!

Level up!

I want to level up!

The thought of the System Shop opening soon made Qin Shaofeng's excitement uncontrollable. He decided to find a place to level up.

Qin Shaofeng had been looking forward to the System Shop for a long time.

Now that the unlock condition had appeared, he was naturally impatient.

Just as Qin Shaofeng was contemplating going out to hunt monsters and level up, someone sent by Old Master Qin arrived to find him.

Afterward, Qin Shaofeng received some incredible news from Old Master Qin.

It turned out that the transfer of the Lanjiang City Lord was actually orchestrated by the Zhang Family. The reason for this was that the Lianyang Academy would be recruiting in a month.

Lianyang Academy, named after the Lianyang Kingdom, was the premier academy of the Lianyang Kingdom and a gathering place for geniuses.

Within Lianyang Academy, the student body consisted entirely of the most talented individuals from across the Lianyang Kingdom.

Naturally, the teaching staff at Lianyang Academy was also extremely powerful.

Not to mention Xiantian Martial Masters, even Spirit Vein Grandmasters served as teachers there.

Qin Shaofeng had even heard that the Dean of Lianyang Academy was a legendary realm expert.

Such an academy was a place of aspiration for all geniuses.

There was even a saying in the Lianyang Kingdom: all graduates of Lianyang Academy were indispensable pillars of the Lianyang Kingdom's future.

This made Qin Shaofeng think of the famous universities on Earth in his previous life.

This was essentially the otherworldly version of a prestigious university!

Although Lianyang Academy required a certain level of talent to enter, there was a concept of recommendation slots beforehand.

Without a recommendation slot, entering Lianyang Academy would not only cost a large sum of money but also involve numerous complicated procedures.

Even if all of that were done, if the recommendation slots were completely filled, anyone who wasn't an exceptionally rare genius would still be unable to enter Lianyang Academy.

Within the Lianyang Kingdom, each city possessed one or more recommendation slots, allocated based on the city's size and strength.

Lanjiang City, being a small city, was not particularly powerful in the Lianyang Kingdom, but it still possessed one recommendation slot.

With only one slot, it naturally fell into the hands of the Lanjiang City Lord.

Therefore, to obtain this slot and get his eldest son into Lianyang Academy, Zhang Chongshan had used some of the Zhang Family's connections in North Yang City to have the former Lanjiang City Lord transferred away, and then orchestrated a City Lord Competition.

All of this was for that single recommendation slot.

Of course, Zhang Chongshan also harbored ambitions of dominating Lanjiang City, but the primary driver was that recommendation slot.

The Zhang Family had expended a great deal of manpower and resources, paying a significant price, and with the help of a major power in North Yang City, they were on the verge of success.

Unfortunately, man proposes, but fate disposes.

The final reward had fallen into Qin Shaofeng's lap.

"Lianyang Academy?"

Emerging from Old Master Qin's room, a glint flashed in Qin Shaofeng's eyes, and his interest was piqued.

"Well, Lanjiang City is ultimately too small for me. I should go and check out Lianyang Academy!"

Muttering to himself, Qin Shaofeng's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Just as Old Master Qin finished explaining these matters, Qin Shaofeng heard a system notification.

The System had issued a quest!

Upgrade: Level 3, reach Houtian Fifth Level within ten days. Upon completion, gain 50 points and 500 experience.

Simply upgrading to Houtian Fifth Level, this task doesn't seem like a Level 3 mission.

However, the reason this upgrade mission is rated as Level 3 is because it has three time-limited stages.

The most lenient restriction is ten days, with a reward of 50 points and 500 experience.

Then there's the second stage: reach Houtian Fifth Level within five days, with the reward points and experience doubled.

Finally, the third stage: if you reach the Houtian Fifth Level realm within three days, you'll receive 200 points and 2000 experience, plus an additional chance to draw a prize.

Three days to go from Houtian First Level to Houtian Fifth Level is quite a challenge for Qin Shaofeng.

This is because the System Qin Shaofeng possesses is completely different from the game leveling and monster-slaying on Earth in his previous life.

For Qin Shaofeng, killing a Demonic Beast of the same level or no more than five levels below him only yields 1 experience point.

It's nothing like the games on Earth, where even if the experience gained is small, it wouldn't be a meager 1 point.

Furthermore, if the Demonic Beast killed is more than five levels below Qin Shaofeng, he gains nothing at all.

Therefore, for Qin Shaofeng, to reach Houtian Fifth Level within three days, he can only kill monsters above his level.

Qin Shaofeng is confident that with the Yi Jin Jing greatly increasing his Inner Qi, and using the God-grade skill Little Li Flying Dagger, he can defeat any Demonic Beast as long as it's not too many levels above him.

Qin Shaofeng is not reckless; he already has an upgrade plan in mind.

"I can level up, unlock the System Shop, and the rewards are good. This mission is great! I'll set off tomorrow then!"

In a luxurious room in the Zhang family's residence, Zhang Chongshan's face was ashen, looking extremely grim.

"How is it? Is there any hope of recovery?"

Looking at Zhang Lingtian, who was still unconscious, Zhang Chongshan asked an elder beside him with a dark expression.

This elder was Physician Wu, who had examined Qin Shaofeng some time ago.

Although Physician Wu was very old, well past sixty, he was undoubtedly 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, "It's no use. Young Master Zhang's Dantian was destroyed by an extremely peculiar Inner Qi. I've never encountered such a strange Inner Qi before. With its destructive power, Young Master Zhang's Dantian is completely ruined."

Saying this, Old Physician Wu hesitated before adding, "The extent of this destruction is far more severe than what Qin Shaofeng suffered some time ago!"

How could this be!

Hearing Old Physician Wu's words, Zhang Chongshan's already grim expression turned even uglier.

He had paid so much precisely to get his eldest son, Zhang Lingtian, into Lianyang Academy so that he could achieve great things one day.

But now?

Not only was the recommendation spot gone, but Zhang Lingtian himself was completely ruined.

For a moment, Zhang Chongshan's mood plummeted to the extreme, and his anger surged.

He 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 last sentence suddenly reminded him.

"Old Physician, how did Qin Shaofeng's Dantian recover? If that method were used, could it help restore Tian'er's Dantian?"

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

Unfortunately, the response he received was bound to be disappointing.

Old Physician Wu thought for a moment, then gently shook his head and sighed again, "It's almost impossible. The reason Qin Shaofeng's Dantian recovered was twofold: first, the Inner Qi that destroyed his Dantian had no destructive power, and no Inner Qi remained in his Dantian. Second, Old Master Qin produced an extremely precious Heaven-grade pill, which allowed Qin Shaofeng's Dantian to recover."

Heaven-grade pill?

Upon hearing these four words, Zhang Chongshan's mind went blank.

In this world, pills, cultivation techniques, and weapons are graded from low to high as Mortal-grade, Human-grade, Earth-grade, Heaven-grade, and so on.

But in this small Lanjiang City, let alone Heaven-grade pills, even Human-grade pills are extremely rare.

Heaven-grade pills are just a legend in Lanjiang City!

Zhang Chongshan finally understood the secret behind Qin Shaofeng's Dantian recovery.

So it was a Heaven-grade pill!

That made sense.

But precisely because of this, Zhang Chongshan's mood was incredibly complex. For a while, he didn't even notice when Old Physician Wu left.

Heaven-grade pill?

How could Old Master Qin have such a legendary pill in Lanjiang City?

This was actually just an excuse Old Master Qin gave to the outside world.

As for how others would interpret it, Old Master Qin didn't care.

His words were final; whether others believed them or not, he didn't need to explain further.

But undeniably, Qin Shaofeng's sudden display made people eventually believe this explanation.

The Dantian was crippled, and to recover this quickly, besides the legendary Heaven-grade pill, there was likely no other way to achieve this, right?

Zhang Chongshan was also deeply convinced of this.

"Damn it, I didn't expect that old geezer to have such a good item. This time, it was a complete miscalculation!"

Shaking his head in annoyance, Zhang Chongshan's eyes were filled with rage and unwillingness.

"Father--!"

Just then, a faint voice suddenly rang out.

Zhang Chongshan's expression changed drastically, becoming slightly softer.

Undeniably, while Zhang Chongshan could be viciously scheming towards outsiders, he was a qualified father to his son.

"Tian'er, you're awake?" Zhang Chongshan smiled slightly, then quickly said to Zhang Lingtian, who had already opened his eyes but was still extremely weak, "Tian'er, don't worry. Your father will definitely restore your Dantian. Don't worry too much, just rest and recuperate!"

Rest?

Hearing his father's comforting words, Zhang Lingtian felt a wave of bitterness.

He knew his own body best. Zhang Lingtian understood that he had truly become crippled.

The first thought that came to Zhang Lingtian's mind upon considering this outcome was hatred!

Boundless hatred!

And unwillingness!

Suddenly, a terrifying glint erupted in Zhang Lingtian's eyes. He seemed to have made a decision.

Looking at his father, with an extremely hateful tone, Zhang Lingtian said hatefully, "Father, I want revenge! I will personally kill Qin Shaofeng, so I've decided, I'm going to find the Ancestor!"

The Ancestor!

As if hearing something taboo, Zhang Chongshan's expression changed instantly.

But after thinking for a long time, Zhang Chongshan hesitated and didn't say anything more. Finally, he just nodded gently.