Chapter 162

"Eva, open the school marketplace."

After leaving Teacher Chen Lin's residence, Xu Jingming sat on the sofa in the second-floor villa, watching the marketplace interface projected by Eva.

With the study trip over, he received a reward of 10, 00 academic credits, plus his remaining balance.

His student account now held a total of 13, 00 academic credits!

These credits would naturally be used as quickly as possible, all converted into personal strength.

"Eva, enter the pill section."

The school marketplace was divided into four sections: equipment, pills, cultivation resources, and combat technique scrolls.

After a moment's thought, Xu Jingming decided to purchase some pills first.

At second stage, he could still consume the Grade-Two pills refined by Jiang Chu.

But now that he had entered third stage, his physical constitution had improved, and Grade-Two pills were no longer sufficient.

Grade-Three pills would be his primary consumption from now on.

Of course,

Jiang Chu's Grade-Two pills were still usable—just relegated to backup.

The school website offered many pills.

Xu Jingming quickly purchased ten Grade-Three Qi-Blood Pills, five Grade-Three Detoxification Pills, ten Grade-Three Ability-Recovery Pills,

and one Grade-Three Blood-Explosion Pill.

The Blood-Explosion Pill was essential for ability users, but its grade must not exceed one's own level.

Otherwise, the moment it was consumed, instead of boosting power, it would cause the body to explode.

After adding this batch of pills to his cart, a total price appeared in the lower-right corner:

"420 academic credits—that's 4. million Daya currency. This is outright robbery..."

Xu Jingming couldn't help but whistle.

Having dealt long-term with Grade-Two alchemist Jiang Chu, he knew the material costs for these pills were extremely low.

Less than a third of the total price, even.

"I wonder when Senior Sister will reach third stage—then I'll have a steady source of Grade-Three pills."

Xu Jingming thought hopefully for a moment, then shook his head, extinguishing the thought.

Jiang Chu doesn't have a system.

She's currently only mid-second stage; reaching third stage won't happen until at least her third year.

By then, he'll need more than just Grade-Three pills.

"Pill procurement complete. Next, cultivation resources..."

His A-Rank combat suit and Qingxiao Black Jiao Spear were still sufficient—he didn't need to buy new equipment.

He quickly turned to the cultivation resources section.

The list matched what he'd seen in the Resource Department: many excellent items.

From F-Rank to SS-Rank cultivation resources, everything was available, overwhelming the eyes.

These cultivation resources represented the most terrifying reserves of top-tier universities.

After all, equipment and pills could be bought outside.

But rare, scarce resources—you couldn't buy them even with money outside!

Of course,

the cultivation resources listed on the school marketplace were also extremely expensive.

Any random S-Rank resource cost over 10, 00 academic credits.

This made Xu Jingming, holding 13, 00 credits, feel instantly broke.

But with the Deep Blue System, his desire for these resources was far weaker than other students'.

Selecting a batch of A-Rank cultivation resources based on his current needs, he proceeded to checkout.

The instant he clicked checkout, his 13, 00 credits shrank to under a thousand.

"Respected S-Rank student, your purchased resources will be delivered to your villa precisely at 6 PM today. Please receive them."

Eva's voice echoed through the villa's living room.

"Understood."

Xu Jingming nodded slightly and rose from the sofa.

A faint shimmer from his space ring—suddenly, a black-green, fearsome long spear appeared.

Xu Jingming gripped the spear and stepped into the second-floor training room.

Tomorrow, the freshman curriculum would officially begin—he wanted to spend all remaining time training...

As Xu Jingming had anticipated,

December 15th—the day after the state issued the extermination order against the Sect of Heavenly Fate—

the Magic City Ability University's task system flooded with tasks related to the Sect of Heavenly Fate.

The rewards were unimaginably generous!

'Task 1: Suspected Sect of Heavenly Fate members spotted in Changshun Street, Yangpu District, Magic City. Investigate.

Reward: 100 academic credits. (C-Rank Task)

Task 2: Third-Stage Lower-Rank fugitive Wang Qiang is spreading Sect of Heavenly Fate doctrine. Assist Public Security Bureau in apprehending him.

Reward: 120 academic credits. (B-Rank Task)

Task 3: Suspected hidden Sect of Heavenly Fate headquarters in Changning District, Magic City. Locate it.

Reward: 10, 00 academic credits. (S-Rank Task)

Task 4:...

...'

Upon release, these generous tasks swept across campus like a storm.

"The school finally released tasks! Rewards are more than a third higher than normal!"

"The school took a big hit—they're clearly seeking revenge!"

"Don't you dare compete with me—this C-Rank task is mine!"

"..."

Suddenly, the entire campus buzzed with discussion about the Sect of Heavenly Fate tasks.

Some tasks were high-risk, like eliminating fugitive Sect members.

Others were ordinary, like gathering intelligence or tracking traces.

Diverse in type, vast in number.

Every student, from first to fourth year, could find a suitable task!

The high academic credit rewards drove every student in the school into frenzy.

"Jingming, are you taking a Sect of Heavenly Fate task?"

At 5 PM,

Xu Jingming walked out of class with the crowd after an Element Academy lecture.

Beside him, Song Qiuyun, who had attended the same class, asked curiously.

Today she wore a black autumn outfit.

Her slender figure's curves were still faintly visible beneath the thick fabric.

"Yes, I've already chosen a task. I'm leaving tomorrow."

Xu Jingming nodded slightly.

"So soon?"

A look of surprise appeared on Song Qiuyun's fair, delicate face.

The Sect of Heavenly Fate tasks had only been released an hour ago.

And each student was limited to accepting only one such task at a time.

Though the rewards were generous,

this was still a cult, and its followers were essentially fanatics and extremists.

Dealing with them was even more dangerous than venturing into the wilderness.

Most students were still carefully considering their options.

Of course,

low-risk E-Rank and D-Rank tasks—like gathering intelligence or tracking traces—had already been snapped up.

But Song Qiuyun didn't believe Xu Jingming would waste time on such low-tier tasks.

"I just happened to see a suitable one, so I took it," Xu Jingming smiled.

In truth, the moment the tasks were released, after brief consideration, he immediately accepted one.

"Suitable task? What rank?"

Song Qiuyun's beautiful eyes lit up, pressing for details.

Her charming face carried a hint of hope.

If the task was low-rank, she might even join him.