A New Day

Chen Guan's mood improved even more. Points could be used to exchange for cultivation resources, equipment, and more, so they had quite a bit of purchasing power.

Although he temporarily couldn't use many spiritual energy resources, there would always be a time when he could. That D-rank exchange permission was a great thing, and he could plan it out well.

Turning off the terminal, his attention returned to the system panel.

5421 Popularity Points flickered with an enticing light.

How should he use them?

Attribute points? Skills? Items? Or... save them up for a more crucial opportunity?

He brought up the mall list and carefully filtered through it again. The system mall wasn't static; it frequently refreshed with new things, so Chen Guan would check the mall from time to time to avoid missing out on treasures.

The [Breath Concealment Technique] and [Basic Mental Stimulation Potion] he had his eye on before were put on hold for now, and he looked at other things first.

He also temporarily ignored the regular items. Besides those, there were some newly refreshed options, or ones he hadn't paid much attention to before.

[Special Skill: Basic Heavy Weapon Mastery]

[Quality: Green]

[Effect: Initially master the basic force-exerting techniques, attack trajectories, and blocking methods of heavy blunt weapons (such as hammers, clubs, doors, etc.), slightly increasing the power and accuracy when using related weapons.]

[Price: 1800 Popularity Points]

(Note: This skill can partially overwrite and enhance the blunt weapon usage part in [Basic Physical Arts Proficiency].)

[Special Item: Minor Stamina Recovery Potion (Small) x3]

[Quality: White]

[Effect: After drinking, slowly recover a certain amount of stamina within 10 minutes, with no side effects.]

[Price: 800 Popularity Points/bottle, bundle price 2000 Popularity Points/3 bottles.]

(Note: Effects cannot stack, continuous consumption yields diminishing returns.)

[Talent Fragment: Power Surge (Incomplete)]

[Quality: Blue (Fragment)]

[Effect: Collect three fragments to synthesize the complete Blue ability [Power Surge]. After synthesis, it can slightly increase the growth rate of the Strength attribute, and when fully erupting, temporarily provide an additional boost to the Strength attribute. The boost is related to base Strength.]

[Price: 1500 Popularity Points/fragment.]

(Note: This is a randomly refreshed item, next appearance time unknown.)

Chen Guan's gaze moved back and forth among these options. This time it was still the traditional one-out-of-three choice.

[Heavy Weapon Mastery] was very practical, directly enhancing his combat power when using the coffin. Most importantly, it was economical and had a high cost-performance ratio, making it his favorite.

[Minor Stamina Recovery Potion] was a guarantee for endurance, playing a crucial role in long battles. The price wasn't too expensive either, so it could be put on the pending list.

The [Power Surge] ability fragment was a long-term investment. A Blue talent was definitely stronger than the Green [Tenacity]. Moreover, this was a Blue ability, and the price was quite cheap, but it required collecting three fragments, making it still a gambler's option.

Gambler options were naturally eliminated first. Gamblers gamble until they have nothing left.

Chen Guan was very confident in his luck. When he was a kid, every time he didn't do his homework, he would encounter the teacher checking it. When he grew up, every time he was late, he would encounter the boss checking attendance, and his salary would be deducted until he was sick of it.

He had always been a person with terrible luck, and now being directly thrown into a high-martial world further proved this point.

Leaving the past aside, as for the [Breath Concealment Technique] and [Mental Stimulation Potion], one leaned towards tactical support and the other towards mental breakthrough, both having their own values.

His fingers tapped unconsciously on the table as his mind rapidly calculated and weighed the options.

Finally, he made a decision.

"Exchange for Heavy Weapon Mastery."

"Exchange successful! Deducted 1800 Popularity Points. Remaining Popularity Points: 3621."

Instantly, knowledge and techniques on how to more effectively and effortlessly swing, block, and control heavy blunt weapons flooded into his mind, merging with the existing [Basic Physical Arts Proficiency].

Chen Guan felt that his feel for the coffin immediately became much clearer, as if the heavy behemoth had become slightly more obedient in his hands. He felt hot to the touch now.

With the remaining Popularity Points, Chen Guan took out a portion as usual to exchange for attribute points.

[Name: Chen Guan]

[Identity: First-year student at Huaqing Academy]

[Ability: Life-type ability Tenacity]

[Special Skills: Basic Physical Arts Proficiency (White), Basic Heavy Weapon Mastery (Green)]

[Attributes:]

[Strength: 5]

[Stamina: 5]

[Agility: 1.4]

[Intelligence: 2]

[Spirit: 1.3]

[Popularity Points: 1021]

Because his training during this period had also improved some attributes, he managed to save some attribute points.

After dealing with the Popularity Points, he remembered An Changqing's reminder about asking Instructor Li Yan for combat techniques, especially techniques for protecting the person inside the coffin.

Indeed, his current combat style was wide open, entirely relying on the coffin to tank hits, with almost zero protection for his main body inside the coffin, relying solely on the coffin itself being tough enough.

In case he encountered an attack that could break through the coffin's defense, or needed to be flexible and mobile, his main body could easily suffer an impact. The old self couldn't mistreat the old self; he had to be careful regarding matters of the old self.

To be honest, Chen Guan himself still didn't quite know the defense limit of the Black Iron Coffin, so he still had to be careful.

Tomorrow afternoon happened to be Li Yan's physical arts class; perhaps he could find an opportunity to ask.

Having made up his mind, Chen Guan felt everything was arranged properly. His body and mind relaxed, and a wave of fatigue washed over him. Today had indeed been quite exhausting.

He walked over to his floor mat, lay down, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

A dreamless night.

...

The next day, still an 8 AM class.

The morning class was Superpower Theory Basics, taught by Situ Ming again.

Today, Situ Ming was talking about the principles of energy field interference and superposition. The content was even more profound, and coupled with the fact that this old man's way of speaking always made people lose track of what year it was, it was strenuous to listen to.

Although Chen Guan struggled a bit to listen, he still tried hard to understand and memorize. He found that although these theories couldn't be temporarily applied to his own cultivation, they had a subtle helpful effect on understanding various ability effects, the operating mechanisms of energy items, and even analyzing combat situations.

During the break, An Changqing took the initiative to walk over and handed him a small metal box.

"Student Chen Guan, this is the extra D-rank resource exchange voucher rewarded from yesterday's mission. It's already activated. You can connect to the academy's resource library through your terminal, browse the exchangeable item list, place an order directly after choosing, and someone will deliver it to your dorm."

An Changqing explained, "I suggest you prioritize some materials that can improve your physical fitness or complement your coffin's characteristics."

"Thank you." Chen Guan took the box, which felt slightly heavy in his hand. An Changqing was very thoughtful.

"You're welcome. Also..." An Changqing paused, lowering his voice. "About yesterday... I'm sorry. I should have trusted my teammates more, and I should have taken on more."

He was referring to his hidden ability, which caused Chen Guan to risk blocking the acid. It seemed this matter made him a bit uneasy. His original intention was just to keep a hand hidden as his father taught him, but he never thought about putting others in danger.

Chen Guan shook his head. "There is no need to dwell on it, An. Everyone has their own considerations, and besides, the outcome was good. That is enough."

Looking into Chen Guan's calm eyes, An Changqing knew that he genuinely didn't mind, which only deepened the guilt in his heart.

"I will do better on the next mission," An Changqing promised solemnly.