This S-Rank Mission! I'm Taking It!

The principal trembled all over from the roar and hurriedly raised his hands. "Please calm your anger, City Lord! Let me ask!"

He hurriedly beckoned. "Teacher Xu! Come here!"

Lu Chen watched his homeroom teacher, Teacher Xu, stagger over on unsteady feet, looking somewhat dazed.

"Principal..."

The next second.

Principal Zhang suddenly seized Teacher Xu's collar with both hands, nearly lifting him off the ground. Veins bulged on his forehead.

"Teacher Xu!! What the hell is going on?! Didn't you say he was dead last?!!"

"I..."

"Enough." Yu Feng frowned and looked at Lu Chen. "Student, you tell us. What exactly is going on with this 50% Divine Service Rating of yours?"

"Reporting to City Lord, I think... perhaps Lord God of Wealth and I have a predestined bond."

Lu Chen truly did not want to drag things out over this question, so he simply reused the excuse the Zhao family had given before. After speaking, he clasped his fists again. "City Lord, this little achievement of mine is not worth mentioning. I think we shouldn't waste everyone's precious time. Let's continue with the important matter."

This little... achievement?

For a moment, Yu Feng could not tell whether this kid was being humble or just showing off~

But looking across Jiangdu City, there were only a handful of people who could show off a little in front of him like this.

"A predestined bond? So that's it!"

Only then did the people around them seem to awaken from a dream.

Yet the expected cries of surprise and chatter never came.

Instead, everyone tacitly maintained a strange silence.

It was not that they wanted to stay silent.

It was that they had discovered that when shock reached its utmost extreme, one truly could not speak!

Yu Feng saw that Lu Chen did not wish to discuss this topic further.

With a thought, he nodded slightly and instructed Principal Zhang beside him, "Principal Zhang, proceed for now. We'll discuss this matter later."

"Yes, Leader! Come on, everyone, assemble!!"

All the students lined up again in a new formation.

"Lu Chen, what the hell is going on with you? Wasn't it 5%?!"

Li Ruoyi's incredulous whisper came from beside him.

"Just luck."

"Luck again?"

"Life is full of lucky breaks. Listen carefully. The main event is coming next."

Lu Chen let out a long breath. He had finally gotten past this hurdle.

His gaze sharpened slightly as he stared at Yu Feng and the others returning to the stage.

"Leader, then the next stop..."

"No rush. Wait a little longer. I want to see what mission this interesting little fellow will choose."

Yu Feng, who had originally been about to head to the next stop, now paused with great interest.

A Divine Service Rating of fifty, even if the deity worshipped was an obscure one, was still astonishing beyond measure.

It was no exaggeration to say that with Lu Chen alone in this class, they would be enough to crush the countless troops of every other province and city!

Yu Feng had developed an exceptionally strong interest in this youth and was suddenly unwilling to leave.

On the stage.

Principal Zhang barely recovered from his shock. The first thing he did was lead the applause. "Let us give Student Lu Chen our warmest applause! In my forty years of teaching, I have never seen such a high Divine Service Rating! Whether it was fate or fortune, this accomplishment deserves our most sincere blessings!"

Whoosh!

Thunderous applause swept across the entire venue.

Not only the teachers and students, but even the city officials and distant staff members applauded sincerely.

Out of courtesy, Lu Chen nodded modestly toward all sides.

Once the applause gradually subsided, the principal pressed his hand downward. "The testing ends here. Those who remained have proven yourselves to be the best of this year's class, absolute elites!

"Next, I'll formally explain what you need to do from here on, as well as the major changes brought by this reform."

Onstage, the enormous LED screen lit up and began displaying a PPT presentation.

"First, one thing must be made clear. Although you have remained, whether you can enter the Special Class has not yet been decided. There are only twenty spots in the Special Class, which means at least three-quarters of you will still be eliminated."

Lu Chen listened intently.

"So how do you enter the Special Class, and what benefits do you gain after entering? Look at the big screen first!"

Everyone looked over.

Six standard mission ranks appeared on the screen.

From highest to lowest, they were: SSS, SS, S, A, B, C.

"If you want to enter the Special Class as quickly as possible, the method is simple. You need only complete one S-rank mission!

"You have studied at the school for so many years, so you should know very well what an S-rank mission means.

"With your current strength, it is naturally impossible for you to complete a mission of that rank.

"So let us take a step back.

"Completing two A-rank missions is equivalent to one S-rank mission.

"One A-rank mission is equivalent to two B-rank missions.

"One B-rank mission is equivalent to two C-rank missions.

"By that calculation, some of you may think that completing eight C-rank missions would also allow you to advance into the Special Class.

"Wrong!"

The principal shook his head. "To enter the Special Class, you must complete at least one A-rank mission and one B-rank mission. In other words, you can complete at most two C-rank missions!

"Do you understand?"

"We understand!!"

This math problem was not difficult. Everyone understood it as soon as they heard it.

The principal nodded. "Now that I've explained how to enter the Special Class, let me tell you about the benefits of entering it. There are mainly two!"

"First: rewards are doubled. Starting today, the school's newly established Mission Hall will be linked to the City Lord's Manor's Mission Hall!

"As long as it is a mission available at the City Lord's Manor, you may accept it at the school's hall.

"But! Listen carefully!

"For the same mission, the reward you receive will be directly doubled.

"Whether it is monetary compensation or military merit, all of it will be doubled!"

The moment those words came out, the field erupted.

Even Lu Chen's heart jolted!

Holy shit, this is an insane move!

Double rewards?!

That meant the difficulty of him advancing to a new noble family was cut in half!

If he remembered correctly.

The minimum military merit requirement for a new noble family should be fifty thousand points!

But now, he only needed to complete half the missions an ordinary Spirit Practitioner would to meet that requirement!

Explosive!!!!!!!!

"It was worth waiting for! Totally worth waiting!!"

Lu Chen was ecstatic inside, his blood surging!

No wonder Yu Feng had spoken with such passion and earth-shaking force earlier.

This one condition alone was enough to drive the students mad!

This truly was the best of times!

"As for the second benefit, I'll keep you in suspense for now. Once any of you enter the Special Class, you'll naturally find out! I can only reveal that the second reward is so generous that it will be even more beyond your imagination than the first!

"So strive and fight, young men and women!

"For your future, your prospects, and your fate!

"Seize this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity!

"I believe that no one here is willing to spend their entire lives looking up at the splendor of others, am I right?!"

Principal Zhang's voice suddenly rose, like thunder exploding beside the audience's ears.

Every word struck heavily against the students' hearts!

Thunderous applause rang out once more and soared into the sky.

The principal smiled faintly and pressed down into the air.

"As the first trial, the school has prepared 200 C-rank missions, 100 B-rank missions, 40 A-rank missions, and 1 S-rank mission.

"You now have a few minutes to get a general understanding of these missions."

With a wave of his hand, all the missions transformed into dazzling screens of light and floated in the air.

Lu Chen focused and browsed.

C-rank Instance: [Kitchen God's Convenience Store Restocking]

Mission Background: The "Kitchen God offering spot" in a 24-hour convenience store has lost its incense, causing the snack shelves to automatically empty themselves.

Mission Requirements: Help the convenience store owner restock shelves three times, sorting items according to the shelf labels. Light "Kitchen God incense" at the offering spot, and the Kitchen God will drive away the "little greedy ghosts stealing snacks."

Mission Completion Reward: One "Unlimited Refill Coupon," 1,000 yuan, and 5 military merit points. (Already doubled)

"Far too simple. Boring." Lu Chen continued browsing.

C-rank Instance: [Feeding the Spirit Birds of the Ancient Tree in the Park]

Mission Background: Mythical "spirit birds" live among the branches of a century-old tree in the city park. Because visitors littered everywhere, the spirit birds have become unwilling to eat.

Mission Requirements: Clean up three trash sites and find the "spirit grain" beside the ancient tree to feed them.

Mission Completion Reward: 10,000 yuan and 20 military merit points. (Already doubled)

A-rank Mission: [Purification of the Resentful Spirit in the Old Hospital's Inpatient Building]

Mission Background: The inpatient building of an old hospital in the city center was abandoned due to its age. Three years ago, a nurse died with grievances over a medical accident. Her resentment transformed into a "resentful spirit" that occupied the third-floor ward area. Recently, explorers have frequently been disturbed into comas by the resentful spirit, and one victim has already died.

Mission Requirements: Exorcise the spirit.

Mission Reward: 100,000 yuan and 1,000 military merit points. (Already doubled)

"This one was passable, barely. But it didn't mean much either—the kind that was tasteless to eat yet a pity to throw away."

Lu Chen continued browsing. "Right, what exactly does that S-rank mission look like?"

He searched for a while without finding it, and Lu Chen was just about to give up.

A purple light screen slowly descended before him, as though their hearts understood each other.

S-rank Mission: [Rain Prayer for Dragon Lake County's Great Drought]

Mission Background: Dragon Lake County, located thirty kilometers outside Jiangdu City, has suffered a great drought unseen in a hundred years. The disaster has lasted an entire year. Riverbeds have cracked dry to their bottoms, farmland has turned into deserts, and even the spring water at the Mountain God Temple has run dry. The local people have desperately prayed for the Dragon King to send rain, yet they have never received a response. The local authorities have sought out every kind of rain-prayer Spirit Practitioner, but none have made the slightest difference. They are specially seeking capable people nationwide.

Mission Requirements: Help the local area resolve its suffering from lack of rain as soon as possible.

Mission Reward: 20 million yuan and 4,000 military merit points. (Already doubled)

"It hadn't rained for an entire year. This... this Dragon King sure put on some airs, huh? What, did the locals offend it?"

Lu Chen's thoughts raced, and he suddenly found this mission quite interesting.

First, the reward was high enough to deserve its S-rank status.

Twenty million yuan and four thousand military merit points!

Second, compared to other S-rank instances, this one carried almost no danger to life. At worst, the mission would fail and he would return covered in dust and embarrassment.

A classic high-return, high-reward, low-risk mission!

Wasn't this practically a "golden" mission?!

Lu Chen thought for only an instant.

Then he made his decision.

Do it!

Either don't do it at all!

But if he was going to do it, he would do something big!

If he passed up such a good mission and someone else snatched it away, it would be too late for regrets.

Just then, the principal's voice came through.

"Alright, time is almost up. I suggest that you focus on the C-rank and B-rank missions! As for the A-rank missions, there's no need to look at them. Your current strength is still far from sufficient. The S-rank mission is purely there as an example—just have a look. It isn't a mission you can accept!"

As soon as Principal Zhang finished speaking.

A hand rose from below.

—Lu Chen?

Yu Feng's gaze instantly focused on him.

Why had he raised his hand?

"Student Lu, do you have a question?"

"Principal, can we only accept one mission at a time?"

"That is the case during the trial period. After entering the Special Class, you may accept up to ten missions simultaneously."

"Understood! Then can I accept a mission now?"

"Of course. Which one have you chosen? B or C? You can set an example for the other students."

Principal Zhang beamed, suddenly finding Lu Chen more and more pleasing to the eye.

He had originally worried that these students, encountering something new for the first time, would not dare to step forward.

He had not expected Lu Chen to speak up and do him a favor.

At that moment, the surrounding students all turned to look.

Under the gaze of the entire faculty and student body, Lu Chen remained calm and unhurried, raising a hand to point straight at the purple light screen.

"I'll take this S-rank mission!"