As soon as Lu Chen said this,
Boom!!!
The scattered murmurs in the crowd came to an abrupt halt, as if the whole world had been put on pause once again.
Whoosh—
A gust of wind blew past, making the world feel even more utterly silent than before.
“You… what did you say?!”
The principal was visibly stunned, his mouth dropping open in shock, like he couldn’t quite believe what he had just heard.
“You want to take an S-rank mission?!”
“Yes, Principal. I think this mission suits me well, and I’d like to give it a try!”
Lu Chen clasped his fists in salute.
Only then did the suppressed uproar around them erupt like a volcanic explosion.
“Lu Chen, are you crazy?! I know you’re strong, but that’s an S-rank mission! And you’ve never even made offerings to the Dragon King!”
Li Ruoyi whispered urgently from the side, her voice full of concern.
Even now, she still couldn’t believe, couldn’t understand, couldn’t even imagine how Lu Chen had managed to raise his Devotion Level to 50% in just two days.
But this mission had absolutely nothing to do with the God of Wealth.
Since it had been rated S-rank, it definitely carried a difficulty to match that rating.
In Li Ruoyi’s eyes, Lu Chen was clearly being reckless right now.
And she wasn’t the only one thinking this—every teacher, including the principal, shared the same thought.
A complete newcomer, not even ranked yet, wanting to take on an S-rank mission that only high-level spirit users would dare to accept?
Wasn’t that just throwing an egg against a rock?
Meanwhile, City Lord Yu Feng, who had been standing quietly off to the side for a while, narrowed his eyes slightly, the corner of his mouth curling into a playful smile.
He seemed both curious about and appreciative of Lu Chen’s bold move.
“Quiet!!”
The principal pressed down into the air, his voice deep and stern: “Lu Chen, I admit you’re outstanding, and today you’ve truly given me a shock I’ve never experienced before. Among all the students I’ve taught, no one has been more exceptional than you! But…”
The expected turn of phrase was coming.
“The deity you serve is the God of Wealth, which has nothing to do with the requirements of this mission. Don’t let arrogance get the better of you—you should remain humble as your foundation.”
With Yu Feng present, Principal Zhang was clearly in a difficult position.
If he encouraged Lu Chen, people might think he was being irresponsible as a principal—since the mission clearly wasn’t suitable for him, how could he allow such a risk?
But if he didn’t encourage him, that would go against the principle of this reform.
After going back and forth in his mind, he decided to guide Lu Chen gently, hoping he would find his proper place and complete the missions that suited him.
“Principal, I’ve thought it through. I want this mission!”
But Lu Chen was unusually firm.
What did it matter to him if the Dragon King made it rain or not?
If He wouldn’t do it, there were plenty of other deities who could!
The celestial court had more than just those few Dragon Kings in charge of rain.
There was Chi Songzi, the Rain Master, and if all else failed, the Planet Lord of Water could do it too.
As long as they could produce water, wasn’t that good enough?
——-
“Holy cow! That’s insane!”
“I’ve seen a true legend today!”
“The man with 50% Devotion Level sure talks tough! Just hearing him speak makes my heart tremble.”
“This guy is definitely going to go down in No. 3 High School’s history!”
“I’m completely dumbfounded right now. Am I dreaming?”
The surrounding students had their eyes wide open, round as copper bells.
First, Lu Chen’s 50% Devotion Level had already shattered the confidence and sense of superiority of these elite advanced-class students.
Then, before they could even fully digest that shock, another bombshell hit them in the face.
He was actually going to take an S-rank mission?!
Even C-rank missions felt tough for them, B-rank missions were intimidating, and A-rank missions were completely unthinkable—basically suicide.
But Lu Chen, of all people, was being earth-shatteringly bold—he wouldn’t take anything less than S-rank!
In that moment, the way all the elite students looked at Lu Chen changed completely.
They felt that even though he was standing right in front of them, it was as if he existed in a different dimension.
The principal’s mouth twitched: “You little rascal, are you really going to take it?”
“Principal, I’ve truly made up my mind!”
“Alright then… but do you have the money?”
The principal suddenly threw out a question Lu Chen hadn’t expected.
“Money? What money?” Lu Chen was taken aback.
“Take another careful look. There are two small lines of text at the bottom of the mission.”
Lu Chen focused his gaze again.
And when he saw it, he nearly cursed out loud.
“A 20% deposit and military merits must be paid in advance to claim the mission. The full amount will be refunded if the mission succeeds, and deducted immediately if it fails.”
“Are you kidding me?! I have to pay a deposit just to take a mission?!”
That meant, to take this mission, Lu Chen would need to come up with four million in cash upfront, plus eight hundred military merits.
The money was a minor issue—the real problem was the military merits.
He didn’t have a single one!
Lu Chen was momentarily dumbfounded too. He really hadn’t expected such a ridiculous rule to be hidden in the mission list.
And what kind of jerk designed this list, anyway—deliberately making the text that small?!
If you didn’t look closely, you’d never notice it!
“Now you see why S-rank missions aren’t so easy to take, right? Although military merits can be temporarily owed, the deposit has to be paid upfront. Four million is no small sum.”
Seeing Lu Chen’s reaction, the principal couldn’t help but find it both funny and frustrating.
See? Always rushing into things—you didn’t even read the mission description properly.
If high-rank missions were that easy to claim, wouldn’t everyone be taking them left and right?
The prerequisite for a high reward was inevitably high risk and a high barrier to entry.
For an S-rank mission, the deposit alone was enough to keep 99% of people out.
“Principal… you just said military merits can be owed, but the deposit has to be paid upfront?”
Lu Chen seemed to have latched onto the crucial detail, his eyes suddenly lighting up.
“That’s right.” The principal had no idea where this was going.
“No problem, I’ll pay!” Lu Chen immediately pulled out his phone from his pocket and said excitedly, “Principal, where do I scan?”
As soon as he said that—
Li Ruoyi: “…”
Fellow students: “…”
Principal and teachers: “…”
Yu Feng and the city officials: “…”
And Song Hao, who had been shrinking in the corner, full of self-doubt, self-isolation, and wild jealousy—
Just a moment ago, when he saw Lu Chen couldn’t come up with the money and seemed stuck in a tough spot, he’d been about to burst out laughing in mockery.
But in the very next second, that smile froze stiff on his face again.
Seeing that none of them believed him, Lu Chen gave a sheepish grin: “Well… since my Devotion Level to the God of Wealth is already 50%, don’t you think it’s pretty reasonable that I can pull out four million?”
“HOLY—CRAP—!!!”
The entire playground finally completely lost it at that moment. The atmosphere exploded to its absolute peak!
Every single person’s pupils were trembling like an earthquake!
No one had expected that a school-wide Devotion Level test, gathering all the elite students, would end up turning into a one-man show.
Four million!!
The students of Class 3 mostly knew that Lu Chen’s family background was just as humble as his Devotion Level to Wenchang God of Culture.
But in just two days, he could casually pull out a fortune of four million!
The surrounding students weren’t just shocked to tears—they were also crying from sheer envy.
Lu Chen had practically become the living embodiment of their wildest dreams.
Seeing this, the principal took a deep breath and made one final confirmation: “Lu Chen, let me state this one last time—this is an S-rank mission! Not one of those ordinary missions! With your current strength, you don’t have the capability to take on a mission of this level. If you insist on taking it, that’s fine! But if you fail, not only will your deposit not be refunded, your account will also owe eight hundred military merits. Are you absolutely sure you want to take it?”
“I’m sure!”
“Alright! Come up on stage and claim your mission!”
“Yes sir!”
Lu Chen strode confidently up to the stage, and a staff member immediately came forward to help with the paperwork.
After he paid the money,
the staff member took out a mission document stamped with the City Lord’s official seal and was about to hand it to him.
“Wait a moment!”
A firm voice rang out.
Everyone turned to look, and saw Yu Feng walking over. He took the document from the staff member’s hands: “For this mission, I will personally present it!”
“Everyone, give him a round of applause!”
Seeing this, the principal immediately started clapping, and the whole playground erupted in thunderous applause.
Yu Feng held out the mission document with both hands in front of Lu Chen and said earnestly, “Young friend Lu, today you’ve truly shown me the meaning of the saying ‘a hero comes from youth’! Here! I wish you a victorious start and a successful mission!”
“Thank you, City Lord!” Lu Chen accepted the document with reverence.
His first officially accepted mission in his life—this moment was officially achieved!
With Lu Chen leading the way, the other students gradually picked out their own trial missions. Soon, everyone had made their choices.
But they were unanimously C-rank missions, with the highest deposit not exceeding five hundred.
But that was the norm!
It was purely because Lu Chen stood out like a crane among chickens that these elite students, already the top one-in-a-hundred, looked so ordinary in comparison.
“Now that everyone has chosen their missions, next I will present the awards for the top ten finishers of this test. The students whose names I call, please come up to the stage.”
The “Heavenly Official’s Blessing” segment officially began.
“First place: Lu Chen, Devotion Level 50%.”
Lu Chen took the stage once more.
“Second place: Feng Yue, Devotion Level 3.6%.”
This student, Feng Yue, had a smile on her face that looked uglier than crying right now.
Before Lu Chen had appeared, she’d been confident that no one could surpass her.
And now she’d ended up as the glaringly obvious runner-up.
“Third place: Song Hao, Devotion Level 3.5%.”
…
“Sixth place: Li Ruoyi, Devotion Level 3%.”
…
As the top ten students of the grade slowly made their way onto the stage,
ten young women in cheongsams carrying trays walked over gracefully.
On each tray sat a jewel-inlaid treasure box, inside which a single shimmering pill caught everyone’s attention.
“The top ten finishers of this Devotion Level competition may each receive a ‘Heavenly Official’s Blessing’ and be gifted one Primordial Spirit Pill. Swallowing this pill will allow you to break through your shackles and officially enter the first rank.”
As the principal finished speaking, Lu Chen and the others each took out their pill and swallowed it.
The dozens of students watching from below were absolutely green with envy.
As the pill entered their bodies,
a warm current immediately flowed through their limbs and bones.
Lu Chen only felt that his magical power had become somewhat stronger, subtly touching the peak perfection of the first rank. It seemed he was just one step away from lighting the second spirit lamp in his spiritual sea.
But perhaps because he was already in the first rank, the phenomenon triggered by taking the Primordial Spirit Pill was far less noticeable than that of the other nine.
The other nine had magical power aura swirling around them, and their rank-up phenomena were very obvious.
Song Hao, in particular, even had a few strands of brilliance blooming on his body, making him stand out distinctly.
In contrast, Lu Chen’s clothes were only gently rustled by spiritual energy.
“Hahaha! I’ve actually broken through to early first rank!”
As the Primordial Spirit Pill was digested, Song Hao suddenly clenched his fists, unable to contain his wild joy, and burst into loud laughter.
“It seems that among the ten of you, you have absorbed it the most thoroughly. You have some talent for martial arts.”
Seeing this, Yu Feng gave a slight nod of approval.
“Thank you for the compliment, City Lord!”
Song Hao was flattered.
“Alright, from today onward, you are officially first-rank spirit users. I hope you will continue to work hard and serve as role models!”
The principal waved his hand, signaling that they could leave the stage.
But then Song Hao suddenly glanced at Lu Chen, and a flash of fierceness and impulsiveness crossed his eyes.
“Wait a moment, Principal! This student has a question!”
Song Hao suddenly clasped his fists and asked in a clear voice.
The other students paused in their steps, but Lu Chen acted as if he hadn’t heard anything, continuing to stomp down the stairs by himself.
Seeing this, Song Hao’s tone immediately became more urgent: “Principal, I’ve heard that after spirit users enter the first rank, they can spar with each other. If one party issues a challenge, the challenged party cannot refuse. Is that true?”
As soon as he said this, the whole place fell silent.
Everyone’s expressions turned puzzled.
They didn’t understand why Song Hao was bringing this up out of nowhere.
Only Li Ruoyi’s face tightened, as if she had guessed something.
She quickly looked at Song Hao, then at Lu Chen.
She noticed that Lu Chen, who had just stepped off the bottom stair, had also paused and was now looking back over his shoulder.
The principal frowned: “Student Song, why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?”
Song Hao pressed relentlessly: “May I ask the Principal, does this rule exist or not?”
The principal instinctively looked at Yu Feng.
Yu Feng stood with his hands behind his back and nodded: “Yes, that rule does exist. So who do you want to challenge?”
“This student wishes to challenge…”
A sinister grin flashed across Song Hao’s face. Then he suddenly pointed straight at Lu Chen, who was on the stairs—
“Him!!”
