Pre-match pep talk
“System, sign in!”
“Ding! Sign-in successful. Reward: one hundred ability stones!”
Ability stones again!
Looking at the crystals that had already piled up into a small mountain in his space, Lin Xiao felt helpless.
“Hmm? Can I take these ability stones out and sell them for gold coins, then convert those into Cultivation Points?”
It seemed these ability stones were quite expensive.
Lin Xiao suddenly felt like he had discovered a great Dao!
“Ding! Detected Host’s intention to exploit a bug.”
“This System only supports Host in achieving results through personal effort!”
“Ding! Host, please do not entertain futile thoughts. There are no shortcuts on the Dao to becoming a strong individual; there is only… defeating monsters to earn Cultivation Points!”
Lin Xiao felt a bit awkward after being chastised by the System. He had only mentioned it in passing; he wasn't actually going to do it!
“I just said it casually, brother tongzi, don’t take it seriously. I am an upstanding youth and would never do such underhanded things!”
However, deep down, he was vehemently criticizing the System, calling it a blatant capitalist!
The Systems in the novels he read in his previous life were practically begging to give the protagonist this and that. Why did it change when it came to him?!
Could it be that he was truly the chosen laborer?
“Ding! Detected Host’s disappointment with the System. The System will now enter autonomous upgrade mode.”
“This upgrade cycle will last seventy-two hours. Please wait patiently!”
“Beep… Upgrading…”
Huh?
What’s going on?
Lin Xiao was a bit bewildered by the message in his mind.
What happened? The System is upgrading?
Was it provoked by him?
Is this System so fragile?
I didn’t even say anything!
“System? System?”
Well, it seemed the System really was provoked by him and had pulled this stunt.
“Seventy-two hours, that’s three days. I wonder what new functions there will be after the upgrade.”
To be honest, Lin Xiao was quite looking forward to it. The more powerful the System, the more beneficial it would be for him, with no downsides.
As for now, he would Cultivate!
He suddenly missed the Prodigy Training Camp.
Central Plaza of the Prodigy Training Camp.
Instructor Kuang suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose, feeling a bit strange.
Caught a cold?
Don’t be ridiculous.
I am a Sixth Tier!
He suddenly rose into the air, his voice like thunder:
“Everyone quiet!”
The people in the plaza immediately fell silent, all eyes fixed on him.
“In two days, a Heavenly Pride Hegemony Contest will be held. The participants, like you, are all Geniuses from various regions!”
“They are all first-year students of the Prodigy Training Camp.”
“My only requirement for you in this competition is to display the might of our Western Prodigy Training Camp!”
“If anyone disgraces me in the competition, hmph hmph!”
It was a blatant threat, but all the students shrank their heads. They had already experienced Instructor Kuang’s methods, and the memory was profound!
Everyone secretly made a decision: even if they had to be carried off the arena, they would never retreat a single step!
“Of course, for those who rank high, we have prepared extremely generous rewards.”
“Anyone who can rank in the top one hundred will be rewarded with eight hundred points.”
“Those in the top fifty will be rewarded with one thousand two hundred points.”
“The top ten will be rewarded with two thousand points!”
“Wow!!”
Immediately, someone in the plaza shrieked. Eight hundred points just for the top one hundred?
Some of them had been at the Prodigy Training Camp for almost a month and hadn’t even earned that many points!
“Instructor Kuang, what about first place?” someone asked excitedly.
After asking, he immediately regretted it, noticing everyone around him staring. He lowered his head in shame, simply because in the monthly grand competition a few days ago, he had ranked second to last!
He was genuinely just surprised by the reward, feeling an inexplicable excitement!
“First place?”
“First place will be rewarded with three thousand points, and an S-tier Martial Skill!”
“Holy crap!”
In an instant, a deafening roar erupted.
S-tier Martial Skill!
This was a Martial Skill that only Fourth Tier Martial Artists were qualified to Cultivate!
Although most people in the plaza came from backgrounds that could procure an S-tier Martial Skill for them, no one would ever complain about having too many good things!
“My goodness, I’m still using a B-tier Martial Skill, and first place gets an S-tier Martial Skill directly?!!!”
“Damn it! I only regret not working hard enough. Is it too late to Cultivate now?”
“It’s not too late. You should quickly practice your glutes; maybe there’s still a chance!”
“Practice glutes? Brother, is there some special meaning to that?”
“We’ll see if we can ‘PY’ with the referee then!”
“Get lost!”
Seeing the atmosphere stirred up, Instructor Kuang nodded. He looked at several contestants in the plaza.
“This batch still has a few promising youngsters.”
Bing Qinru, Gongsun Qin, and others he observed were all quite strong.
“And that kid.”
Instructor Kuang had already received news that Lin Xiao would be brought directly to the venue by a superior. He was still a bit puzzled as to when that kid had gotten involved with his superior.
Meanwhile, everyone in the plaza began to rub their fists, determined to achieve a good ranking in this Heavenly Pride Hegemony Contest!
Bing Qinru looked around, a flicker of disappointment in her eyes, which quickly vanished.
During this time, her strength had improved greatly, reaching the Second Tier Mid-stage Peak, and she was about to break into the Late Stage.
This speed was quite monstrous!
“You’ll be there for this competition too, right!”
Bing Qinru thought to herself, wondering how to greet him if they met during the competition.
A few days ago, when she thought about this, she suddenly realized that she hadn’t even exchanged a single word with him, which made her feel a little wronged.
Because of this, she even locked herself in her room and simulated their first interaction countless times.
“I should be qualified to be your friend now, right?”
Bing Qinru tilted her small head. She was a bit worried, afraid that her strength was too weak and she wasn't worthy of being his friend.
(Another chapter will be posted later)