Chapter 19: The Study of the System

Faced with this situation, Wang Liang felt quite awkward. He’d thought he’d been fighting with his weapons and equipment all along, but hadn’t expected that what he held in his hands didn’t count—only those slotted into the equipment bar truly did. Such a baffling situation made Wang Liang shake his head. He placed the Slayer’s Blade into his left and right hand weapon slots.

As soon as he did, he realized both weapon slots were now occupied.

“I knew it—so that’s the difference.”

He hadn’t finished speaking when he sensed something wrong: the Slayer’s Blade could now appear and disappear at his will, summoned by a mere thought.

This discovery made Wang Liang’s eyes light up. He quickly placed the Silver Radiance Gauntlets into the glove slot.

Now the Silver Radiance Gauntlets, like the Slayer’s Blade, could materialize in his hands whenever he wished.

So this was how equipment worked. No wonder. But then, why did Niu Xuanguang and the others still wear their armor and such all the time?

Puzzled, Wang Liang took out the Slayer’s Blade again, intending to walk toward Niu Xuanguang with it in hand.

After only a few steps, Wang Liang seemed to realize something. He glanced down at the Slayer’s Blade and understood.

Though he held the Slayer’s Blade now, since he wasn’t in combat, he couldn’t feel its presence at all.

And that was just a weapon. Wang Liang could imagine what it would be like to wear a full set of heavy armor and feel no different from wearing regular clothes.

No wonder Niu Xuanguang and his companions always wore the same set of gear—even during rest, they never took it off.

At first, Wang Liang had thought it was a sign of high tactical awareness. Turns out, it was all the equipment interface’s doing.

Having figured out the equipment bar, Wang Liang quietly adjusted his gear. Then, like an old hand—no, like a seasoned gamer—he casually walked over to Niu Xuanguang’s side.

Niu Xuanguang merely nodded at Wang Liang without a word, letting him join the center of the team.

After all, their mission had to continue; they didn’t have the luxury to overthink things.

Wang Liang, on the other hand, found himself curious about the attribute panel and other interfaces he’d never carefully examined before. He kept experimenting, eager to see if he’d overlooked anything obvious.

Soon, Wang Liang made a new discovery: the skill panel, which he’d always neglected.

Not only did it detail all his skills, but there were also four slots into which he could drag any skill he mastered.

For each slot, ten percent of the experience Wang Liang earned would automatically be allocated to the corresponding skill.

Aside from continuous study and practice, this was the only way to directly grow a skill.

Looking at the explanation, Wang Liang was left speechless.

He also noticed the skill progression requirements. To upgrade any skill, specific conditions had to be met. For example, to raise Blade Mastery from level one to two without using the four experience slots, he’d have to swing his sword at least ten thousand times.

And as for his Sutra Mastery, that skill was stuck at the threshold from level three to four. Without converting experience, he’d have to comprehend something new from the sutras themselves.

After some thought, Wang Liang placed Sutra Mastery, Blade Mastery, Archery, and Basic Innate Qi Techniques into the skill enhancement slots.

With that done, he began to check the other panels.

Soon, he made yet another discovery: the crafting panel. Since Wang Liang only had culinary skills, most options were grayed out.

A closer look revealed the usual twenty or so categories: cooking, blacksmithing, carpentry, mechanisms, alchemy, pill refining, magic artifact crafting, and so on.

Each category had its own unlocking requirements. The easiest, like cooking, merely required basic skills and a fire; crafting magic artifacts, on the other hand, demanded blueprints, a dedicated refinement room, and all sorts of prerequisites.

The relative complexity was obvious at a glance.

Now Wang Liang understood where Wei Ban’s abilities came from. At the very least, he’d unlocked shipbuilding and puppet crafting and raised them to a high level.

This discovery made Wang Liang find the system more and more entertaining. He continued exploring its other aspects.

He soon found the information log, which recorded all enemies Wang Liang had ever slain.

There was also a map, documenting every terrain he’d traversed.

Lastly, there was a profession panel, which at present was completely empty—understandable, as Wang Liang was still a newcomer and hadn’t met any of the prerequisites for a profession.

...

On the road, Wang Liang was so absorbed in playing with the system that he failed to notice the significant changes in the caravan after they set out again.

In the team, upon resuming the journey, several of the leaders obviously gravitated toward the Paladin, while a few white-robed figures were isolated, seemingly unwelcome.

This situation did not escape Niu Xuanguang’s notice, and the truth became clear: these were the internal factions the previous mission had warned about.

It was also obvious that these white-robed men were connected to the airborne assassins from before. Whether they were allies or enemies remained unclear, but their routes surely coincided.

Niu Xuanguang and his companions were all veterans. Privately, they opened a small group chat to discuss.

“I say, boss, could this be the legendary assassin storyline?”

“Old Zhao, now that you mention it, it’s possible. With the assassin’s artifact in play, maybe they really are here to kill the king.”

“So what do we do? Just follow them to Jade Gate Pass and leave?”

“No, let’s wait and check the quest again when we get there. In any case, we can’t just follow the mission blindly. With our current strength, survival takes priority.”

“Boss, I have a thought. Didn’t the storyline shift earlier? Maybe we can use this chance to stir things up. Marco Polo is dead; eventually, others will come to the East. We can try to split the storyline off entirely.”

“What do you mean?”

“That treasure we got before—we can use it now. The key figure in this group is dead. Even if they deliver the item to Kublai, the plot can’t proceed. They’re just a papal envoy; history has seen countless such missions, most of which perished without a trace.

Think about it—even the pilgrims to the West failed nine times out of ten. Who would remember a doomed envoy?”

“You’re right—this is an opportunity. But that newcomer…”

“He’s not tied to just this world. And if, by chance, we succeed?”