At Chen Ming's words, the atmosphere fell quiet.
Quite a few onlookers stirred excitedly.
It looked like a good show was about to unfold.
Rejected to their faces by Chen Ming, Principals Wang and Wu stiffened.
"Just from what I know, there are five squads made up entirely of S-rank Class Changers among Jiangnan Province's cities this time."
Principal Wu said, "You and Qin Zhixue will be at a serious disadvantage against them, dragging along an A-rank and a B-rank Class Changer."
Lin Wei: ...
Sun Yang: ...
How rude can you get?
"Oh, all-S-rank squads..."
Chen Ming nodded. "Are they strong?"
Principal Wu's mouth twitched.
In the end, he said patiently, "It's good for young people to have some pride."
"But don't underestimate the Class Changers from other cities. An all-S-rank squad isn't as simple as you think."
Chen Ming pretended to consider that, then said:
"All right, then. Going by Cloud Sea City's selection standards, could those five S-ranks score 5,000 points combined?"
That immediately left Principal Wu choking on his words.
Five thousand points...
What a joke. Even five SS-Rank Class-Changers might not score 5,000 combined. Qin Zhixue only scored 949.
How the hell would five S-ranks manage that?
Clearly, Chen Ming was telling him...
An all-S-rank squad wasn't worth a damn to him.
Wang Yan and his two teammates weren't good enough for Chen Ming!
Principals Wu and Wang exchanged a glance, their eyes darkening.
They hadn't expected Chen Ming to be so impervious to persuasion.
Since that was the case...
There was only one option left...
"How about this? Think of it as a transaction. You and Qin Zhixue temporarily join Abyss Squad and represent Cloud Sea City in this selection."
"In return, Principal Wu and I will personally provide you with a reward as compensation."
He coughed twice, then raised his voice a little. "Two pieces of epic-grade equipment, plus five portions of rare resources. How does that sound?"
The spectators were the first to lose their composure.
"Holy shit, two pieces of epic-grade equipment?"
"And five portions of rare resources on top of that!"
For Class Changers, epic-grade equipment was effectively the highest-quality equipment available.
It wasn't that higher grades didn't exist.
Rather, legendary-grade equipment could only be found through a stroke of luck. It wasn't something you could obtain just because you wanted it.
As for mythical-grade equipment, obtaining it was all but impossible.
Across the entire Alliance, only two pieces of mythical-grade equipment were currently known to exist.
So, for most Class Changers, epic grade was already the best they could get.
Moreover, equipment could be upgraded with crystals. A good set could last a Class Changer a long time with continued investment.
Even so, most people had to work for a long time to acquire a single piece of epic-grade equipment.
They had to kill exotic beasts, clear dungeons, save up gold coins, and hire a guild master craftsman to forge it.
And there was still a chance of failure.
"The principals of Third High School and Fifth High School are trying to get their grandsons to cling to someone powerful, aren't they?"
"Exactly. Their squads definitely can't compete with Chen Ming's Morning Light Squad, after all."
"If you can't beat them, join them."
By now, some of the sharper bystanders had figured out the two principals' intentions.
They had initially tried to bind Chen Ming and Qin Zhixue to Abyss Squad by appealing to their duty to represent Cloud Sea City.
When that hadn't worked, they had started negotiating terms.
"Having a principal for a grandfather sure is nice."
"I'd agree if it were me. Two pieces of epic-grade equipment! With their bonuses maxed out, that's three whole levels' worth of stats!"
Meanwhile...
Chen Ming remained completely unmoved by the two principals' offer.
Two pieces of epic-grade equipment and five portions of rare resources...
Was that supposed to be a lot?
Although he currently only had one piece of epic-grade equipment himself...
Those things weren't even close to enough to tempt him.
Let alone persuade him to carry a few people he had nothing to do with.
Hmm...
Two pieces of mythical-grade equipment might be worth considering.
Just as Chen Ming was about to refuse, Qin Zhixue suddenly spoke first.
"Chen Ming, there's something I forgot to mention."
"What?"
Chen Ming watched Qin Zhixue take out a peculiar, gemlike bead.
Storage equipment?
His expression shifted. He recognized what it was at first glance.
He could sense powerful fluctuations of mental space coming from it.
Storage equipment was generally considered a luxury.
After all, Class Changers could awaken their mental space once their mental power broke past 20%.
Storage bags had very limited utility.
Usually, only major Lineages used them for storage.
Qin Zhixue held the bead, and a faint light flashed across it.
The next second, several pieces of equipment appeared before them.
Four appeared in front of Chen Ming, while another four appeared by Sun Yang.
Eight dazzling pieces of equipment glowed softly.
"Huh?!"
Chen Ming swept them with his mental power, then froze in shock.
[Black Rhino Meteor Armor]: Tier-one epic-grade constitution equipment! [Shadow-Bearing Blade]: Tier-one epic-grade strength equipment! [Sky Feather Boots]: Tier-one epic-grade agility equipment! [Jade Bracer]: Tier-one epic-grade recovery equipment!
All four pieces were epic grade!
And Qin Zhixue had taken them out so casually.
"This..."
Looking at the four pieces of equipment in his hands, Chen Ming was momentarily stunned.
She had handed him four pieces of epic-grade equipment in one go!
Together with his epic-grade mental equipment, the Dust Heart Ring...
Just like that...
Chen Ming had a full set of epic-grade equipment!
"I recently asked an elder to forge these. Consider them a perk of my joining Morning Light Squad," Qin Zhixue explained.
Those words made her position perfectly clear.
She was officially joining Chen Ming's Morning Light Squad.
At the same time, she had indirectly answered the two principals' "offer" for him.
You want Chen Ming to kick out two teammates and carry your grandsons for two pieces of epic-grade equipment?
Then I'll give Chen Ming a full set right in front of you...
After taking a moment to process it, Chen Ming immediately understood Qin Zhixue's intention.
Beside him, Sun Yang stared at the four pieces of equipment before him, trembling so much that he began to stammer.
"Even... even I get some?"
Overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, he clutched the four pieces of equipment and looked at Chen Ming.
Then he whispered to him:
"Bro, looks like my future sister-in-law is loaded..."
At that moment...
An eerie silence settled over the scene.
Principals Wang and Wu looked positively green, unable to utter a word.
The surrounding spectators stared at the eight pieces of epic-grade equipment, their eyes bulging.
What kind of joining perk...
Was a whole goddamn set of epic-grade equipment?
"Let's go, let's go."
"Why waste time watching other people's business instead of leveling up? Seriously..."
"Boring. This is boring."
A string of sour remarks rang out.
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