Chapter 35: Devil's Training

After dealing with the murderous man's matter, it was already evening.

Yu Lin declined Fan Haibo's invitation, choosing to take the stone back to see what Heavenly Bestowed Artifact it actually contained.

Appraisal and such should be left to Zhang Youwei, the party concerned.

At this moment.

In the dormitory, inside the bathroom.

Thump, thump!

Yu Lin hammered twice, shattering the stone and revealing an ancient-looking ring inside.

The ring was entirely jet‑black, its surface engraved in classical script with the words "The gentleman should constantly strengthen himself", the strokes bold and vigorous.

"The gentleman should constantly strengthen himself?" Yu Lin lifted it, turned his head and asked the Dragon Lord:

"Dragon Lord, do you know what ability this Heavenly Bestowed Artifact has?"

The Dragon Lord shook his head and swayed, "How could I know? I can sense its existence only because I, too, was born from a Heavenly Bestowed Artifact, sharing the same origin."

It pointed a claw at the ring, "Put it on and try it; in theory, once you wear it you'll know its function."

Yu Lin saw that it didn't know, nodded in agreement, and placed the ring on his left index finger.

The moment he put it on, he instantly felt an ineffably profound power descend upon him.

Indescribable, inexplicable.

His intuition told him: the ability of this Heavenly Bestowed Artifact is related to the inscription "The gentleman should constantly strengthen himself"!

As for what exact Heavenly Authority this ring possesses......

Yu Lin stepped out of the bathroom and picked up the book that records all currently known Heavenly Authorities.

He casually tossed the book into the air; its pages fluttered wildly.

When it landed, the pages opened, and several lines of text appeared before Yu Lin's eyes:

【Second Sequence No. 04 Heavenly Authority — Human Defeats Heaven Ring】

【Ability Trait: Creates a chance for a "turn the tables" reversal when in absolute disadvantage, for example when suppressed by First Sequence No. 03 Heavenly Authority's Earthly Heaven Connection, temporarily unable to use Heavenly Authority and losing cultivation, this authority can be used to forcibly resist and restore one's cultivation.】

【Note: Each use of this Heavenly Authority consumes ten years of lifespan; users should consider this carefully and employ the authority judiciously.】

【The ability is indeed precious, but the price of life is higher!】

"......... I've already reached absolute disadvantage; why worry about life? Just do it and finish it."

Yu Lin muttered under his breath, yet he still greatly approved of this Human Defeats Heaven ability.

The Heavenly Bestowed Artifact's ability is roughly 5% to 10% less than the full Heavenly Authority's capability.

But the cost is the same; the Heavenly Authority demands ten years of lifespan, and the Heavenly Bestowed Artifact also demands ten years.

Even a Heavenly Bestowed Artifact infused from the First Sequence requires a price to use.

After all, it's a defiant object that lets ordinary people wield a Heavenly Authority.

As for the counterfeit Heavenly Bestowed Artifact Su Qu gave Yu Lin for survival—the Space Ring.

It was crafted by borrowing a Second Sequence Heavenly Authority as a fake for the real, at most possessing half the original power; the higher the counterfeit Heavenly Authority's rank, the weaker this power becomes.

Moreover, after one or two uses, the forged item typically shatters and breaks.

Its sole advantage is that using it costs nothing.

If exchanged with contribution points, that Space Ring is worth ten contribution points.

"You know what ability it has, right?"

"What's your card number and password? I'll top up some money."

The Dragon Lord flew over and landed in front of the computer.

Yu Lin raised an eyebrow, "Dragon Lord, what are you buying?"

"Oh, nothing much, I just met a few kids; they want to game with me, so I'll top up some money, buy skins and such."

"I see, alright then."

Yu Lin hadn't expected the Dragon Lord to embrace the internet so quickly, even showing signs of an online‑addicted old dragon.

But it doesn't matter; as long as the Dragon Lord is happy.

Yu Lin took out his spare card and handed it to the Dragon Lord:

"It contains five million, password *********, Dragon Lord, spend as you wish; if it's not enough, just say so."

"I'll cultivate for a while."

"Fine!" The Dragon Lord curled the bank card with his tail, then opened the computer and eagerly logged into his game account.

Perhaps fearing to disturb Yu Lin's cultivation, it didn't tap the keyboard with its claws as before, but controlled it with its mind.

Yu Lin glanced at the game it was playing: wow—League of Legends.

The speed was unbelievably fast; you could kill and trash‑talk simultaneously, truly bullying!

Teammates showered compliments, making the Dragon Lord's tail sway nonstop, clearly overjoyed.

Yu Lin shook his head and stopped paying attention to it.

He went to the bedroom, sat cross‑legged, silently recited the mantra from "Refining Qi from Initiation to Burial", and began quiet cultivation.

Having been accustomed to Liu Bang's immensely abundant "Qi" back then, suddenly returning to the modern era feels rather uncomfortable.

The cultivation level that would have broken through in a few days now, without using pills or elixirs, will likely be delayed until next month.

But it's fine; others fear drug resistance and pill toxicity, he doesn't—just pop pills to shorten the time.

Yu Lin cleared his thoughts, and his breathing gradually fell into rhythm.

Outside.

The Dragon Lord went on a killing spree all night, defeating masters across the board, spreading his ID "Da Xia First Dragon" throughout the entire League of Legends community.

It and Yu Lin both have bright futures.

The next day.

Inside the classroom.

"How have you been resting during these two days of vacation?"

Chen Haoxi looked at Yu Lin and the three others; although he smiled, Yu Lin always sensed ill intent.

Bai Xiaoxia reached out:

"It's not enough; I suggest adding two more days!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Alright, then I'll give you two more days off!"

"Really?!"

"Just kidding! Starting today, Bai Xiaoxia must train an extra hour each day before class ends!"

"Huh? No! Teacher, I..."

"If you keep babbling, it'll go up to two hours."

Chen Haoxi saw Bai Xiaoxia quickly cover her mouth, looking frightened, and only then nodded with satisfaction:

"I'll count your quick silence as a favor."

"Enough."

He clapped his hands, raised his voice a bit: "I have some news to tell you all."

"On the 17th of next month, America will send a team just like yours, a newly formed rookie squad, claiming they want to have a 'friendly exchange' with us."

"That's the usual practice."

"The winning team will receive a reward jointly offered by both sides!"

"Although in past rounds we've had wins and losses, roughly a fifty-fifty split, I hope this cohort—our most gifted in ten years—will..."

"We allow only victory, no defeat, so..."

He turned to the blackboard, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote four large characters:

"Devil Training!"

He tossed the chalk away.

Chen Haoxi grinned:

"For the next month and a half, I'll devote all my energy; the bureau will open all facilities to you, invite experts, and increase resource allocations, among other things."

"How much you can improve depends on your own abilities!"