Lin Miao, who had not gotten involved, smiled and walked up to pat Luo Qingyan on the shoulder.
"No matter which department Lin Ran joins, Sister Qingyan absolutely must come to our side..."
"After all, with your talent, I doubt you'll find anyone who understands it better than me in the whole world."
Luo Qingyan was slightly stunned.
"Sister, you are also..."
Lin Miao smiled faintly and immediately revealed her talent domain.
Ten luminous wings appeared behind her.
"My talent is SS-grade Holy Angel."
"When my talent is fully developed, I should have twelve wings."
"Though it can't compare to your SSS-grade Divine Angel, which ultimately reaches eighteen wings, I do have some experience in cultivating this type of talent."
"I'm definitely the perfect fit for you!"
Luo Qingyan's eyes lit up, and she smiled.
"Thank you, Sister Miao. I'll consider it carefully."
Upon seeing Lin Miao's display, the other four immediately looked crestfallen.
Right! They had almost forgotten that Lin Ran and Luo Qingyan were basically a package deal!
As long as they could win over Luo Qingyan, Lin Ran wouldn't be able to get far either.
However, since they were in the same school, they didn't necessarily have to choose the same department, did they?
Regardless, Lin Miao had already gained a head start in the competition.
The four felt dejected.
Yet, dejection aside, they still had to do what they needed to do.
As the leader of this operation, Lü Qiufeng patted Lin Ran on the shoulder again.
"Alright, Little Brother Lin Ran, then it's settled. We'll leave it at that for now..."
"The freshman orientation is coming up soon, and the five of us have some matters to attend to, so we'll be taking our leave."
"See you on campus!"
With that said, the five bid farewell to Lin Ran and Luo Qingyan one by one and left the conference room.
Zhou Yi, who had been waiting by the door, saw his opportunity and quickly slipped in, smiling.
"Little Ran, Qingyan, how did it go with choosing your universities? Was it smooth sailing?"
Lin Ran smiled.
"We've been specially recruited by Qingjing Yan Yun University, and all the arrangements have been discussed and settled."
"We just need to wait for ten days to report for duty."
Zhou Yi immediately gave a thumbs-up.
"A top-ranked university nationwide, you have excellent taste!"
"However, isn't their start date a bit too early?"
Luo Qingyan chuckled.
"The formal admissions for major universities haven't even begun yet."
"Those who are going this early are probably only us special recruits."
"Perhaps it's to accelerate talent cultivation even faster..."
"After all, many forbidden areas within Dragon Country are not peaceful, and there are frequent conflicts at the borders. They are in great need of personnel right now."
"The sooner we become combat-ready, the sooner we can share the burden with the country."
Zhou Yi nodded and sighed.
"It's reassuring to know you both have such thoughts..."
"Then, I wish you both boundless success and soaring careers!"
Both of them clasped their fists and smiled.
"We'll gladly accept your kind wishes, Uncle Zhou!"
...
Over the next ten days, Lin Ran was intensely cultivating.
The rewards he received from the college entrance examination had been retrieved from the storage bureau, and the vouchers had been exchanged for physical items.
Thirty-five high-grade gene enhancement fluids, three gold-grade magical energy equipment redemption vouchers, and five gold-grade rare treasure redemption vouchers!
The first gold-grade magical energy equipment:
[Blackstone Necklace]
[Category: Necklace]
[Quality: Gold]
[Equipment Effect: Increases the wearer's magic resistance by 10%, physical resistance by 10%, and maximum mana by 10%]
The second gold-grade magical energy equipment:
[Blackstone Armor]
[Category: Chestplate]
[Quality: Gold]
[Equipment Effect: Increases the wearer's physical resistance by 30%]
The third gold-grade magical energy equipment:
[Blackstone Leggings]
[Category: Leggings]
[Quality: Gold]
[Equipment Effect: Increases the wearer's physical resistance by 20%, and maximum mana by 10%]
With these three pieces of equipment, Lin Ran's magic resistance increased by 10%, physical resistance by 60%, and maximum mana by 20%.
Coupled with Lin Ran's vitality and recovery speed, which were more than ten times that of a normal person, his survivability was terrifyingly high.
Especially his physical resistance, which had increased 1.6 times its original value.
Awakened individuals, ferocious beasts, or aliens whose primary means of attack was physical combat would surely be frustrated when facing Lin Ran.
Furthermore, these pieces of equipment did not need to be worn. They could exert their effects simply by being placed in the item slot within his spiritual consciousness space.
Except for weapons.
The limit for usable slots was seven equipment items.
Thus, Lin Ran would not appear strange externally.
Of course, if he chose to wear them, no one would stop him...
For the five rare treasure vouchers, Lin Ran chose "Clear Condensing Sweet Dew" each time.
[Clear Condensing Sweet Dew]
[Category: Rare Treasure]
[Quality: Gold]
[Consumable Effect: Increases the user's maximum mana value, with the specific effect being related to its quality]
After consuming these Clear Condensing Sweet Dews, combined with ten days of training, Lin Ran's combat power surged.
It directly increased from 800 to a full 2700.
The reason he deliberately stacked his maximum mana was because the Soul Ring's effect was extremely potent, recovering mana based on his maximum mana value.
Moreover, the cost for Lin Ran was practically negligible, making it incredibly comfortable to use.
His current maximum mana value, boosted by the Clear Condensing Sweet Dew and the magical energy equipment, had reached over three times its previous level.
Paired with the Soul Ring's recovery effect, as long as he didn't activate Susanoo and used Kamui and Amaterasu with more restraint, he would generally not be short on mana.
This was another significant improvement for Lin Ran.
The Soul Ring, with a cooldown of 25 seconds and a recovery of 25% of maximum mana per use, was equivalent to recovering 1% of maximum mana per second.
If used with some moderation, it was practically infinite mana.
If he were to solo the college entrance examination dungeon again now, he could probably clear it in three minutes.
It was just a pity that during the college entrance examination, wearing magical energy equipment or consuming rare treasures in advance was not allowed.
Otherwise, it would be considered cheating and would result in disqualification from the exam.
In addition, while rare treasures were useful, they were not unlimited.
There was an upper limit to how much any given attribute could be increased for an individual at different power stages.
For instance, if Lin Ran consumed too many Clear Condensing Sweet Dews that increased his mana cap, subsequent consumption would yield diminishing returns, eventually having no effect.
This was akin to pouring water into a container; once it's full, it cannot hold more.
Either one chooses to increase their power and expand the container, or they can only consume rare treasures that enhance other attributes.
Therefore, it was impossible to become infinitely stronger solely through rare treasures.
However, because rare treasures were extremely scarce resources with very few acquisition methods, ordinary people did not need to consider reaching their limits.
Otherwise, major universities would not be using such items to attract geniuses who performed exceptionally well in the college entrance examination.