Chapter Forty-Six: System 2.0 Enhanced Edition (Part Two)

An ancient charm lingered in the air, as if it were the perfect season of spring, with shepherd’s flute and willows in March. The first thing that caught Zhang Yu’s eye was the new system interface. The once-ordinary screen was now framed by alternating bands of carved wood and painted designs, depicting a young shepherd beneath a weeping willow, playing the flute as he tended his flock—a scene both refined and steeped in classical elegance.

“Now this looks more like a high-tech system,” Zhang Yu thought happily to himself. He next noticed that the original categories had changed: the personal information and bond system had been merged and now formed the main interface.

At the center remained his own handsome face, surrounded by portraits of everyone with whom he had formed a bond—each connected to him by lines of glowing colors, signifying different depths and meanings. These radiant threads made the screen dazzling and beautiful.

Moving the virtual cursor to each portrait, Zhang Yu could see the corresponding values. However, aside from his own, the charm stat for everyone else had vanished; what was once a five-attribute system was now four.

There were now five major function bars, relocated from the top to the left side of the screen.

The first was the quest bar. Previously, the modest tasks would occasionally pop up—now they formally graced the stage of the system, with three quests currently available:

[Prestige Quest]: Raise your prestige to “Renowned in the Region.” [Reward]: Skill “Speak of the Devil.”

[Bond Quest]: Raise the number of bonded friends to ten. (Note: Intimacy must reach 80 for a friendship bond, and 90 for a special bond.) [Reward]: Significantly increase intimacy with a designated general.

[Career Quest]: Establish your own faction or pledge allegiance to a lord. [Reward]: One random building blueprint.

Three quests, with no penalty for failure and no time limit, yet the rewards were generous. Truly, a benevolent system—one that would bring tears to a kindly old man’s eyes and leave even the Supreme Deity speechless: a paragon of fairness among systems.

But Zhang Yu had no time to thank fate for its mercy; all his attention was focused on the quest rewards—

“Speak of the Devil”?!

Building blueprints?!

So fantastical, so thrilling—what was going on?

His confusion was soon dispelled, for these items appeared in both the second and third bars as well.

The second bar: Skills.

...

[Speak of the Devil]: On activation, appear instantly anywhere within a hundred-mile radius. Price: 1,000 points.

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[Don’t Force My Hand (Parts One, Two, Three)]: On activation, the user’s martial prowess is greatly enhanced for the time it takes to burn an incense stick. Price: 500–2,000 points.

[Silver Tongue]: On activation, the user gains an eloquence as sharp as steel for the duration of a cup of tea. Figures like Su Qin, Zhang Yi, and Zhuge Liang would approve. Price: 1,200 points.

...

It was as if he’d stumbled upon an Armstrong rotary turbojet club—so long as he gathered enough prestige or experience points, each of these skills would prove unimaginably useful at critical moments!

Zhang Yu was overjoyed, until a thought struck him: “Why are all these one-time-use items?”

Scrolling down, he finally saw the skills that could be acquired permanently.

[Sunflower Acupoint Strike]: The signature move of “Saint of Thieves” Bai Yutang—a technique of immense utility… Heh, don’t tell me you only want to use it for good deeds. Price: 8,000 points.

What? Must it be so underhanded? And you call yourself a system! And… eight thousand points?! Why not just rob people!

Going further, he found the Duke Wei’s masterpiece from “The Deer and the Cauldron,” [Shadow Step]: “I don’t offend others unless they offend me; but if they do, I run!” Price: 12,000 points.

[Cloud Ladder Leap]: The lightfoot skill created by Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang, enabling nimble movements, up and down, back and forth at will. Price: 15,000 points.

Zhang Yu didn’t want to look any further. Fifteen thousand points! That could boost his stats by thirty whole points. With his current intelligence at sixty, adding thirty would bring him up to ninety—enough to be considered a formidable strategist.

No wonder the permanent skills were buried so far down; their cost-effectiveness was simply too low. Unless the day came when he had more points than he knew what to do with, he would never exchange for one.

After mentally sentencing these “robbery” skills to indefinite suspension, Zhang Yu continued scrolling.

The third bar: Treasure Pavilion.

Upon opening it, he was dazzled by the array. It resembled the marketplace found in online games he’d played in his previous life, offering weapons, armor, clothing, accessories, sundries—everything imaginable, and all at reasonable prices!

A luxurious white silk robe, resistant to fire, water, and dust, was just 250 points! A majestic set of armor emblazoned with a soaring dragon, the [Divine Martial Dragon Armor], cost only 500 points.

But the better the equipment, the higher the requirements for the wearer. For example, to don the Dragon Armor, one needed both martial strength and leadership at eighty—leaving Zhang Yu, with his modest stats, sighing in envy.

Ordinary standard weapons and armor, however, could be redeemed for as little as five to twenty points, which gave Zhang Yu an idea…

Surprise after surprise left him feeling calm and at ease. Yet, what attracted him most in the Treasure Pavilion were not these items, but those under the sundries section.

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[Grand Papermaking Technique – One Set]: Still troubled by heavy bamboo slips? Frustrated by the high cost of paper? Acquire the grand papermaking method and realize your dreams of “paper diplomacy”! Price: 5,000 points.

[Movable Type Printing – One Set]: Spreading our nation’s advanced culture and upholding the virtues of our heritage is the unshirkable duty of all Chinese sons and daughters. Price: 7,000 points.

[Basic Gunpowder Formula]: Looking for a little excitement? Price: 2,000 points.

[One (Two, Three, Four, Five)-Star Building Blueprint – One Sheet]: Price: 500–5,000 points.

[Civilization-Level Building Blueprint – One Sheet]: Price: 10,000 points.

[Epic Building Blueprint – One Sheet]: Price: 20,000 points.

...

Now these were true treasures.

After mentally reviewing the system’s upgrades, Zhang Yu had already reached the main gate. He was in high spirits, his confidence unmistakable. Zhang He, arriving at the door, was taken aback for a moment, then broke into a wide grin.

“Master Zhang.”

“General Zhang.”

Zhang Yu, not considering himself an outsider, entered with Zhang He, and before they had gone far, Zhen Yan and Zhen Yao hurried to greet them.

Though with the fall of the Wang family, the Zhen family’s dominance in Wuji was now unchallenged, the man before them was a general sent by the new master of Jizhou, in a sense a representative of Yuan Shao himself. It was only natural that the family would treat him with the utmost respect.

“General Zhang, my brother and I heard you were calling and have come to invite you into our humble home for a talk—”

“Ah! Master Zhen, you are too gracious. I am but a man of war, burdened with official duties and unable to stay long. I came only to admire the famed elegance of Master Zhang, the Jade Gentleman of Zhongshan—please, no need for any elaborate hospitality.”

Zhen Yan and Zhen Yao were left standing, momentarily speechless. Zhang Yu, delighted, offered the pair an apologetic smile, then, with Zhang He, allowed themselves to be led by two graceful maids into the Zhen family’s main hall for guests.

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