New Skill: Lightning Release!

Chapter 040: New Skill, Lightning Release!

Besides the tests for age and cultivation, the third and most crucial assessment was combat!

Some geniuses might not have sufficient cultivation, but their combat power could far surpass ordinary individuals. This often indicated they possessed special physiques or other unique abilities. Of course, such geniuses were even rarer.

Lianyang Academy didn't place too much emphasis on this. For the third assessment, they merely required that the combat strength be commensurate with the participant's current realm.

These three assessment criteria could be easily discovered with a little research. However, Qin Shaofeng's small notebook provided a more detailed explanation, including some precautions. This was why Qin Shaofeng felt the thousand taels of gold were well spent.

What truly concerned Qin Shaofeng, however, was the final ranking in the assessment. Entering the top one hundred in the recruitment assessment guaranteed rewards, especially for the top ten, which were incredibly enticing.

Aside from pills that boosted strength, the most special reward was contribution points. Qin Shaofeng didn't know what these contribution points were for, and the notebook didn't elaborate much. But considering the thousand taels of gold, the senior student who guided him had quietly told him that contribution points were the key to exchanging for any cultivation resources at the academy.

This made Qin Shaofeng think of his own system store and system points. So, these contribution points were essentially Lianyang Academy's currency! Because of this, Qin Shaofeng was very keen on obtaining them. The senior student had also informed Qin Shaofeng that some things at Lianyang Academy couldn't be bought with gold alone, but having contribution points changed everything. At Lianyang Academy, as long as one had enough contribution points, even requesting guidance from a legendary expert was possible.

Understanding this, Qin Shaofeng's eyes gleamed. He wasn't exactly sure how many people were participating in this assessment. But he estimated there would be at least a hundred thousand participants. This might sound exaggerated, but it was an assessment for all the geniuses in the entire Lianyang Kingdom, so the number wouldn't be small. To be among the top one hundred out of a hundred thousand people was no easy feat!

If he hadn't seen the white-clothed girl and Du Meng before, Qin Shaofeng might have been confident. But now, he couldn't guarantee anything. Nevertheless, Qin Shaofeng decided to do his best and strive for a good result.

Just as Qin Shaofeng had this thought, the System suddenly chimed.

"System prompt: System random quest triggered - Assessment!"

Assessment: A random special quest, no level requirement. Rewards are based on the player's final performance.

Low Tier: Enter the top one hundred in the Lianyang Academy recruitment assessment. Upon completion, the System will reward 1000 Experience points and 100 Points!

Mid Tier: Enter the top ten in the Lianyang Academy recruitment assessment. Upon completion, the System will reward 3000 Experience points and 300 Points!

High Tier: Enter the top three in the Lianyang Academy recruitment assessment. Upon completion, the System will reward 5000 Experience points and 500 Points!

Perfect: Obtain first place in the Lianyang Academy recruitment assessment. Upon completion, the System will reward the player with a direct level increase, 1000 Points, and one Normal Draw chance!

What is this? Qin Shaofeng was taken aback by the sudden quest notification. But when he saw the quest details, especially the rewards, his eyes instantly lit up.

"Haha, another draw chance!" Qin Shaofeng rejoiced inwardly, but then he frowned. "Damn, the perfect completion is first place. This draw chance really isn't easy to get!"

Despite his complaints, a determined glint flashed in Qin Shaofeng's eyes. "Although it's difficult, pressure creates motivation! First place, huh?"

His eyes narrowed slightly, and Qin Shaofeng made up his mind. First place, so what? This young master is going all out this time!

With two days left until the assessment, Qin Shaofeng planned to use this time to further enhance his strength. Since he was aiming for first place, he wouldn't slack off. Qin Shaofeng had just broken through to the Houtian Eighth Layer, and he still needed over seven thousand experience points to reach the Houtian Ninth Layer. Clearly, leveling up was not feasible.

Since increasing his strength through leveling up was out of the question, Qin Shaofeng had to find other methods. There were indeed other ways, the most obvious being finding a suitable skill to boost his power. In Qin Shaofeng's opinion, although Little Li Flying Dagger was incredibly sharp and powerful, its true strength lay in unleashing all his Inner Qi in a single strike to maximize its power.

Using a mere hundred or so Inner Qi to cast the Little Li Flying Dagger honestly felt like a severe downgrade for the skill.

Therefore, this powerful skill, the Little Li Flying Dagger, could only serve as a last resort.

What Qin Shaofeng needed to do now was find a skill that suited him.

Summoning the System's attribute interface, Qin Shaofeng directly opened the System Shop and began searching in the Skills section.

Of course, Qin Shaofeng wasn't searching aimlessly. He hadn't forgotten that he possessed the Body of Thunder, so he specifically looked in the lightning-element skill category.

Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Art: This is an ancient cultivation technique of the Thunder God. After cultivating it, one can summon the divine thunder of the Nine Heavens and possess the power of the Thunder God! Purchase Price: 300 billion Points!

Qin Shaofeng saw this immediately – an incredibly awesome cultivation technique.

Looking at its attributes, Qin Shaofeng exclaimed repeatedly in his heart.

My goodness, an ancient Thunder God's cultivation technique!

If I were to cultivate it...

But just as Qin Shaofeng had this thought, he saw the last line of text.

"Holy crap, 300 billion Points? System, just kill me now!"

Staring at the number glowing gold, Qin Shaofeng was completely dumbfounded.

300 billion?

Let alone 300 billion, even if you removed the "billion," Qin Shaofeng still didn't have enough!

He only had 300 Points right now!

As he continued reading, Qin Shaofeng felt more and more pained.

Primordial Five Thunder Art: ...Purchase Price: 350 billion Points!

Chaos Thunder Cultivation Great Method: ...Purchase Price: 500 billion Points!

Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Transformation: ...Purchase Price: 230 billion Points!

As he read, Qin Shaofeng became numb. At the same time, his heart felt increasingly uneasy.

"Damn it, is this a joke? Billions of Points for everything, this is ridiculous, they're clearly bullying me for not having enough Points!"

In the end, Qin Shaofeng couldn't stand it anymore and completely ignored the skills with exorbitant Point costs, choosing skills he could actually afford.

Lightning Ball Technique: Human-grade one-star skill, one of the basic lightning-element skills! Purchase Price: 100 Points!

Lightning Strike Technique: Human-grade two-star skill, one of the basic lightning-element skills! Purchase Price: 200 Points!

"Hmm, these Lightning Ball Technique and Lightning Strike Technique are more reasonable, I can afford them!"

Looking at the attribute descriptions for the Lightning Ball Technique and Lightning Strike Technique, Qin Shaofeng finally breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to himself.

"These are the skills I want! Those Nine Heavens Chaos Thunder Arts are just messing with me. Low-level skills are better!"

Whether it was self-consolation or envy of the powerful skills, Qin Shaofeng muttered a few words in a low voice, his expression finally returning to normal.

While Qin Shaofeng could afford the Lightning Ball Technique and Lightning Strike Technique, it was clear that neither skill fully satisfied him, so he could only continue looking.

Finally, after searching and browsing for a while, Qin Shaofeng's gaze suddenly fell on a particular spot.

Where Qin Shaofeng's gaze landed was actually a small option that represented a series of lightning-element skills.

Lightning Release!

The moment he saw these two words, Qin Shaofeng's heart stirred inexplicably. He seemed to recall something and then, somewhat impatiently, clicked on it.

Swish!

The attribute interface of the System Shop flickered. The subsequent interface that appeared made Qin Shaofeng's breath catch, and his expression became somewhat excited.

"Hahaha, I didn't expect it to be just as I guessed! This Lightning Release category is indeed the lightning ninjutsu from Naruto!"

That's right, what appeared before Qin Shaofeng's eyes at this moment was the lightning-element ninjutsu, Lightning Release, from the popular anime on Earth, Naruto.

Qin Shaofeng was no stranger to Naruto. After all, Naruto had accompanied him through elementary school, middle school, high school, and even college.

He had even learned many of the so-called hand seals from the anime online. Seeing the Lightning Release ninjutsu now, especially with the possibility of him acquiring it soon, how could he not be excited?

Lightning Release: Kirin: The ultimate secret technique of Lightning Release!

The very first Lightning Release ninjutsu that appeared captivated Qin Shaofeng.

"Lightning Release: Kirin! This is one of Sasuke's most awesome ninjutsu!"

Qin Shaofeng clearly remembered that in the anime, Sasuke used this Kirin to fight Itachi.

He first used Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique to send a blast of fire into the sky, rapidly heating the atmosphere, creating updrafts and generating thunderclouds. He didn't use his own chakra but vast atmospheric energy, guiding lightning in a torrential downpour to strike down his opponent with 100% accuracy. Its power and range were enough to cause mountains to collapse and the earth to split. Due to the lightning striking in only a thousandth of a second, it was an inescapable technique.

In Qin Shaofeng's eyes, this was the coolest ninjutsu in Naruto.

Although this technique was ultimately defended against by Itachi's trump card – "Susanoo."

However, in Qin Shaofeng's heart, this Lightning Release: Kirin was still an extremely powerful ninjutsu.

Just looking at it, Qin Shaofeng was already captivated.

Unfortunately, seeing the final requirement of 100,000 points to purchase it, Qin Shaofeng deflated.

"100,000 points!"

He let out a pained groan, his face filled with helplessness.

However, Qin Shaofeng was determined. Once he had 100,000 points, he would definitely learn this Lightning Release Kirin.

Just thinking about summoning a giant Kirin made of lightning with a single move, Qin Shaofeng could already see countless Demonic Beasts and powerful cultivators turning to dust before his eyes.

One must eat one's rice one bite at a time; haste makes waste.

Cough!

Alright, his points were truly lacking. In the end, Qin Shaofeng reluctantly tore his gaze away from the Lightning Release Kirin to browse other Ninjutsu.

Finally, Qin Shaofeng found a Ninjutsu that satisfied him.

Lightning Release: Lightning Armor: A Human-grade three-star Skill. Summons lightning to envelop the body, forming a Lightning Armor that increases the Player's defense and resists enemy attacks. Purchase cost: 300 points!

Qin Shaofeng didn't choose the Lightning Armor arbitrarily. While he had Little Li Flying Dagger for offense, he lacked defensive Skills. The Lightning Armor perfectly compensated for this.

With Little Li Flying Dagger for offense and Lightning Armor for defense, Qin Shaofeng's strength had indeed increased significantly.