In a room within the living quarters for Lianyang Academy's probationary students, Qin Shaofeng was currently reading a small booklet.
The booklet contained some basic information about Lianyang Academy, most of it consisting of rules.
After reading the booklet, Qin Shaofeng finally understood that even though he had taken first place in the assessment and passed the tenth stage, he still could not become an official member of Lianyang Academy. He was still a probationary student.
As long as one passed the seventh stage of the assessment, one could indeed become an official disciple of Lianyang Academy.
But before that, one still had to complete a student advancement mission from Lianyang Academy.
Only by completing an advancement mission could a student raise his rank within Lianyang Academy.
The higher a student's rank, the more rights and benefits he possessed.
Within Lianyang Academy, a student's rank was a symbol of status. Probationary students were practically no different from menial servants.
But as a student's rank rose, his status would undergo earth-shaking changes.
Some Star Students even held a higher status in Lianyang Kingdom than certain city lords, and high-ranking Star Students could even command some of Lianyang Kingdom's troops.
Of course, precisely because of this, student advancement missions became increasingly difficult the further one progressed.
Yet after learning all this, Qin Shaofeng only grew more eager.
According to the booklet's introduction, if Qin Shaofeng wanted to become an Official Student, he had to go to Lianyang Academy's Mission Hall and accept a low-level advancement mission. Only after completing it could he advance to Official Student status.
The missions issued by the Mission Hall in Lianyang Academy were also divided into several grades.
They ranged from low-level to intermediate, then advanced, with Star Missions above advanced missions.
Star Missions had ten star ratings, but that did not mean they corresponded to the ten ranks of Star Students.
Even the lowest one-star mission required at least Innate First Layer cultivation before one could accept it.
This seemed consistent with Star Students, but for a three-star mission, no one below Xiantian Fifth Layer could accept it. In fact, the academy did not permit it.
Because three-star missions were already rather dangerous. Taking one without sufficient strength was simply courting death.
However, this had little to do with Qin Shaofeng. To advance to Official Student, he only needed to complete one low-level mission.
And low-level missions were truly low-level. They carried no danger at all; even someone at Houtian Fifth Level could complete them.
Once he understood this, Qin Shaofeng did not pay much attention to it. After finishing the booklet, he began sorting through today's gains.
He summoned his Attribute Interface, and the first thing he saw was his current status.
Player: Qin Shaofeng Level: Houtian Ninth Layer, 150/9000 Inner Qi: 3000/3000 (Houtian Ninth Layer possessed 600 points of Inner Qi; Yi Jin Jing provided a fivefold bonus) Talent Spiritual Root: Body of Thunder Skills: Fiery Golden Eyes, Yi Jin Jing, Little Li Flying Dagger, Lightning Release: Lightning Armor, Wudang Long Fist, Wudang Vertical Cloud Ladder, Huashan Basic Swordplay Moves, Alchemy... War Beast: Hundred Spirits Demonic Fox Equipment: None Mission: None Points: 1000 points Title: None
A full three thousand points of Inner Qi—if converted into Innate Inner Qi, such profound reserves were comparable to those of an ordinary Houtian Third Layer cultivator.
And that was only the expenditure brought by Level 2 Yi Jin Jing. If it reached Level 3, his Inner Qi would likely surge several more times over.
At that point, one Little Li Flying Dagger strike would practically feel like killing enemies across realms in one blow.
Just imagining it made Qin Shaofeng's blood boil with excitement.
After looking over his attributes, Qin Shaofeng's gaze fell upon the points section.
"1,000 points... how should I spend them?"
Looking at those 1,000 points, Qin Shaofeng muttered to himself. But after thinking it over carefully, he ultimately decided not to touch them for now.
He had only just learned Lightning Release: Lightning Armor. On top of that, he already possessed Huashan Basic Swordplay Moves, Wudang Long Fist, and the great offensive killer that was Little Li Flying Dagger.
As for movement techniques, Wudang Vertical Cloud Ladder was already good enough for now. After all, Qin Shaofeng had not even reached the Xiantian Realm yet. These skills suited him perfectly, so there was no need to learn higher-level skills.
It would be better to save his points in case of unforeseen need.
So after pondering for a while, Qin Shaofeng shifted his gaze away from the points and onto the number of draws.
"Another draw! This is the part I look forward to most!"
His brows rose, and Qin Shaofeng muttered excitedly before opening the draw interface and selecting Normal Draw.
"Damn it, it's this stuff again!"
Seeing lighters, tissues, and Apple phones appear once more in the hundred little squares, Qin Shaofeng could not help cursing under his breath.
"You keep giving me these impractical things. System, you really know how to mess around, don't you?"
Though he complained aloud, Qin Shaofeng ultimately carried out the draw helplessly.
The familiar slot-machine music rang out again, and Qin Shaofeng began praying to all the gods and Buddhas in the heavens.
"Please don't give me some reward that'll disappoint me. It has to be something good!"
It seemed the gods and Buddhas of Earth were quite reliable. Qin Shaofeng's prayer worked again this time.
System Prompt: Congratulations, player Qin Shaofeng. You have obtained one Small Storage Ring from the draw!
A Storage Ring?
Upon hearing the system prompt, Qin Shaofeng froze slightly before bursting into wild joy.
A Storage Ring!
Anyone who had read novels knew this was a good thing!
With a fierce grin in his heart, Qin Shaofeng impatiently began checking the Storage Ring's attributes.
Small Storage Ring: A small Space Ring with one cubic meter of space. It can store objects no larger than one cubic meter. To use it, simply will it in your mind. (Note: Storing an object consumes Inner Qi. Each use consumes 1 point of Inner Qi!)
"It really is a storage space ring!"
After seeing the Storage Ring's attributes, Qin Shaofeng burst into laughter.
Qin Shaofeng had long wanted a Storage Ring. Unfortunately, although the system shop sold Storage Rings, even the cheapest Small Storage Ring required a full hundred thousand points.
One hundred thousand points!
For the current Qin Shaofeng, that was an astronomical figure!
To obtain one through a draw was naturally something worth celebrating for Qin Shaofeng.
As for the note about consuming 1 point of Inner Qi each time he stored something, Qin Shaofeng had long automatically ignored it.
It was just 1 point of Inner Qi. To him, that was nothing at all.
System Prompt: Congratulations, player Qin Shaofeng, on obtaining your first piece of equipment. The equipment system has been activated. Would you like to open the Equipment Slot?
Hm?
Equipment Slot?
Just as Qin Shaofeng was celebrating, the system suddenly gave him this prompt.
Could it be...
His heart stirred, and Qin Shaofeng immediately agreed.
"Yes!"
System Prompt: Congratulations, player Qin Shaofeng. You have activated the equipment system and may freely equip items!
Following the system prompt, Qin Shaofeng's Attribute Interface gave a whoosh and transformed into a character image.
Just like in an ordinary game, Equipment Slots for equippable items appeared on both sides of the character image!
There were ten Equipment Slots in total: gloves, shoes, weapon, helmet, clothing, mask, necklace, belt, ring, and backpack.
However, Qin Shaofeng noticed one difference. Aside from the ring slot, every other Equipment Slot had only one space, while the ring Equipment Slot had four spaces.
Qin Shaofeng understood this arrangement somewhat. It meant he could equip four rings.
But what surprised Qin Shaofeng was that he had originally thought simply holding a weapon counted as equipping it. Who would have thought that the equipment section in his original attributes had not been activated at all?
System Prompt: Would player Qin Shaofeng like to equip the Small Storage Ring?
As he played with the Storage Ring in his hand, the system quickly gave him another prompt.
Without hesitation, Qin Shaofeng chose yes.
Whoosh!
The Storage Ring in his hand disappeared. Just as Qin Shaofeng had expected, one of the spaces in the ring section of his equipment attribute interface now contained the Storage Ring that had just been in his hand.
At the sight, Qin Shaofeng's heart stirred. A cyan ring instantly appeared on the index finger of his left hand—the very Small Storage Ring.
With another thought, the Small Storage Ring suddenly disappeared again.
"Just as I guessed!"
After testing it out, Qin Shaofeng felt a faint delight in his heart.
As he had expected, the Small Storage Ring placed in the Equipment Slot could be hidden at will, making things much more convenient.
In the end, Qin Shaofeng even placed the longsword he always carried into the weapon slot. Then he discovered that he could summon the sword whenever he wished.
This discovery made Qin Shaofeng give a sinister grin, a certain thought surfacing in his mind.
If I summon my longsword in the middle of a battle and catch my enemy off guard, wouldn't that feel pretty great?
After playing around for quite a while, Qin Shaofeng finally turned his attention back to the Storage Ring. He put all the Gold Notes he carried, along with some pills and other items, into it.
After finishing his sorting, Qin Shaofeng stretched lazily, rose to his feet, and headed for the door.
Though he was only a probationary student, he still had his own private room. It simply was not as luxurious.
Now that he had gained a general understanding of Lianyang Academy, Qin Shaofeng prepared to take action.
Nothing else mattered for now; at the very least, he needed to become an Official Student of Lianyang Academy first!
Having made up his mind, Qin Shaofeng intended to call Du Meng and take on the mission to advance to Official Student.
But before Qin Shaofeng could reach the door, a violent series of knocks suddenly erupted.
Uh, more accurately, it was pounding on the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Under the pounding loud enough to make the ground tremble, the door to Qin Shaofeng's room shook violently. Qin Shaofeng was even somewhat worried that it would be smashed apart the next moment.
Qin Shaofeng frowned, irritation rising in his heart.
Who the hell is it? In such a hurry—rushing off to reincarnate?
He cursed inwardly, but the next instant, a booming voice rang out, and Qin Shaofeng's mild anger turned into helplessness.
"Brother Feng, open up! Someone's looking for trouble!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Qin Shaofeng recognized that the one pounding on the door was Du Meng.
He should have guessed it was this Mengzi. Only he would knock on Qin Shaofeng's door so utterly without restraint!
Qin Shaofeng sighed softly to himself, but Du Meng's words quickly caught his attention.
Someone was looking for trouble?
A sharp gleam flashed through Qin Shaofeng's eyes, but he was not surprised in the slightest.
As the saying went, people feared fame as pigs feared growing fat. Since he had taken first place in the assessment, someone would surely come looking for trouble.
If not for the system mission, Qin Shaofeng would not have sought this limelight.
But now that things had come to this, saying more was useless.
Besides, Qin Shaofeng merely hated trouble; it was not as though he feared it.
Hmph. Let's see exactly who dares come looking for trouble with me.
With a cold snort in his heart, Qin Shaofeng directly opened the door and walked out.
Before you continue