Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Generous Prize for Topping the Joint Exam (Sixth Update, Requesting Subscriptions)

As for this teleportation scroll, it was the transport artifact Immortal had spoken of, capable of sending one to Immortal's palace, where those few orange legendary-grade pieces of equipment were hidden.

According to the scroll's instructions, using it to teleport there would temporarily grant a status of respect, meaning the guards in the encampment would not attack him.

But that did not mean he could simply take the treasure without incident.

If Immortal permitted it, then of course he could.

But his contract with Immortal was one of mutual deceit, and the being had never intended to hand over the treasure in the first place, so he would have to find another way.

Either steal it, or seize it by force.

Forcible seizure was unlikely. The devil lord's palace was heavily guarded; when Immortal was absent, there should not be any legendary-grade protectors, but there would certainly be many extraordinary devil guards. Add to that the numerous magical traps within the palace, and with his current strength, a direct assault was impossible.

At the very least, before he advanced to the extraordinary rank, the odds were slim.

That left only theft.

But stealing would not be easy either. Such treasures were certain to be protected by all manner of magical traps, and those traps would have to be disarmed before the treasure could be taken.

The traps laid by a devil lord would surely be legendary in grade, and he would likewise need legendary disarmament scrolls to open them.

"Hmm."

"At minimum, I need to prepare one or two legendary trap-disarmament scrolls. Yes, and several extraordinary-grade ones as well."

There would surely be more than one treasure in that vast palace. If he managed to go there at all, how could he possibly take only one thing?

For the moment, the teleportation scroll could not be used. It would have to be put aside until he was fully prepared and could then set his sights on those two legendary pieces of equipment.

As for the other purple epic accessory, he could either sell it for money or exchange it for an epic item he could actually use.

All in all, it was still a fine haul, worth a great deal.

The next morning, as soon as Chu Cheng woke up, he saw a message from his homeroom teacher:

"The joint examination has ended early. You are now confirmed as the top scorer of this year's joint examination. The rewards are as follows. Once you have chosen, send me the list."

Attached to the message was a file listing the rewards for this year's first-place joint-exam result:

One Original Hero Mark, unique.

One piece of level 30 epic-quality equipment of your choice. Another attachment opened to a new page, where a long list of equipment names in purple appeared, dazzlingly varied and almost blinding to the eye.

One weapon-skill manual of your choice, able to raise any weapon skill to expert level.

20 free attribute points and 20 skill points.

50 gold.

Chu Cheng made his choice quickly.

For the weapon skill, he chose two-handed sword.

Then he spent nearly ten minutes reviewing the more than twenty epic pieces of equipment one by one before selecting a one-handed sword.

Frozen Seal, Epic, Purple

Equipment Type: One-Handed Sword

Requirement: Level 25

Base Attack: 115 slashing, 108 piercing

Bonus Attribute: Strength +15

Bonus Attribute: Dexterity +15

Bonus Property: Frostbite. Each attack deals an additional 30 points of frost damage and reduces movement speed by 30 points and attack speed by 30% for 3 seconds.

Bonus Effect: Frozen Seal. Within one minute, if frostbite is triggered 30 times on a single target, Frozen Seal will trigger once, freezing the target for 3 seconds. During the freeze, the target's frost resistance is reduced by 100, and frost damage is increased to 120 points.

Tip: Frozen Seal can trigger at most once every three minutes.

Soket Slots: 3

Evaluation: Frost power coils around the blade; listen to the fierce northern wind.

"Top-tier!"

Slowdown and control together, with no lack of burst either. It was absolutely top-tier.

It was a pity there was only one. If he had two, that would be marvelous.

Chu Cheng already had an idea: he intended to exchange the accessory called Devil Lord's Might for an epic one-handed sword, pairing it with Frozen Seal to make a matched set.

After completing his choice, Chu Cheng immediately sent the form to his homeroom teacher.

"Wait a moment!"

Not long after, he received another message from her:

"Come to my office!"

He immediately left and went to Duan Yuqin's office, where he knocked softly on the door.

"Come in!"

He pushed the door open and entered. Duan Yuqin rose from behind her desk, her face radiant, looking to be in an excellent mood.

"That you could take first place in the joint examination was beyond the teacher's expectations. This time, I've benefited from your light as well, and my authority and treatment at the school have both been raised by half a rank."

She took out a bag, placed it on the desk, and slid it toward him, saying, "With these resources, your strength will surely rise greatly. For this year's entrance examinations, a first-rate academy should be no problem, and even a top-tier academy is within reach."

At this, she looked at Chu Cheng with bright, intent eyes.

"Our school has gone five consecutive years without anyone entering a top-tier academy. If you can do it, the school will reward you with a True Realm Stone. Do you have the confidence?"

"A True Realm Stone?"

Chu Cheng's eyes lit up, and he nodded.

"Yes!"

It had to be said: as long as the reward was generous enough, his enthusiasm would rise instantly.

A True Realm Stone was a truly fine thing. It was not like a resurrection scroll, which required someone else to save you. This item worked on its own. If you died in battle, you would immediately revive on the spot at full health, full mana, and in perfect condition, with an additional powerful buff that would help you deal with the danger right in front of you and prevent you from dying again after revival.

Moreover, dying with a True Realm Stone carried no penalty, and its impact was minimal; if you only died once, it would hardly affect your future at all.

Its only flaw was that it was far too expensive, and far too rare. Even with money, you might not be able to buy one.

Of course it was best not to die if he could avoid it, but fate was unpredictable. No one knew when misfortune would arrive.

Having one on hand would be far more reassuring.

After returning from his homeroom teacher's office, Chu Cheng opened the bag and took out the items within.

Frozen Seal was immediately equipped, replacing one of his swift scimitars.

Then came a manual from a grand swordmaster, which could instantly raise two-handed sword weapon skill to expert level. He used it without hesitation.

It was worth noting that earlier, he had exchanged for a swordmaster manual with Revered reputation, whose effect was to raise any sword-type weapon skill to proficient level.

His one-handed sword was already proficient, while his two-handed sword was now expert, so for the moment it was useless to him and could only be sold.

Next were the 20 free attribute points and 20 skill points. Together with what he had stored, he now held a full 65 free attribute points and 62 skill points.

Then there were the 50 gold, which had relieved his immediate financial pressure.

Finally, there was the Original Hero Mark: a bead covered in runes on its surface, looking just like an ordinary stone bead when not activated.

He did not dare activate it casually. This thing was also single-use; if, within twenty-four hours of activation, it failed to locate any hero legacy, the Original Hero Mark would vanish.

Now that the money was in hand, it had to be spent at once.

He first sold off the things on him that were of little use, including the swordmaster manual, bringing in 4 gold and 36 silver.

Then he spent 29 gold to buy the remaining 10 free attribute points and 9 skill points from his purchase allowance, leaving him with 38 gold.

And then...

"There still isn't enough money!"

Several rare-grade items had slots for magical gems to be inset, and there were still ten empty slots waiting to be filled.

At present, he had one rare-grade dense azure gem, as well as two uncut epic magical gems called Morningstar.