Chapter 22: Apostle Square, Training Room

"Newcomer, want to learn about the Paradise? Just 100 Paradise Points."

Chu Danqing had just stepped out of his room with Da Bao when, upon reaching the Apostle Square, a cheerful voice reached his ears.

"Not that much—only 10 points," Chu Danqing cut off a digit outright.

He’d barely scraped together five thousand Paradise Points with his A-rank evaluation; you’re asking for a fifth of that right off the bat—he felt cheated.

"That doesn’t make sense—even if you just slacked off, you should still have—" The speaker was a plump middle-aged woman, but she fell silent when she spotted Da Bao beside Chu Danqing.

Then she understood: it wasn’t that Chu Danqing had nothing—he was haggling.

Anyone who summoned such an impressive familiar in the Reserve Trial must have at least a C-rank evaluation.

"Ten points won’t even cover my cost," the woman muttered, then said, "Alright, consider it a friendship discount—30 points."

"Fine. But you have to tell me how you knew I was a newcomer," Chu Danqing asked.

He knew how to trade Paradise Points—just use Apostle Authority.

"This is the default area where Reserve Apostles first enter the Apostle Square. Everyone here has completed their first trial."

As she spoke, she initiated a transaction with Chu Danqing: the item was called a Type-I Information Data Crystal.

The attribute panel was visible directly through the transaction interface, with Dimension Paradise’s notarization attached.

"I see," Chu Danqing nodded and confirmed the transaction.

The crystal is consumable; once used, it grants Chu Danqing a data packet containing summaries and insights on all things Paradise-related.

This was definitely not information a Reserve Apostle should have access to—its widespread distribution implied Dimension Paradise’s tacit approval and support; otherwise, it couldn’t be so broadly disseminated.

The content was extensive, and Chu Danqing absorbed it quickly.

As for the middle-aged woman, she moved on to recruit other newly emerged Reserve Apostles.

"Before becoming a full Apostle, the highest rank is only A? Then what about the Fallen Flower Woman? Did I mess up?" Chu Danqing suspected the system wasn’t accurate.

What about attempting an S-rank evaluation by contracting the White Dragon Fish?

Chu Danqing couldn’t possibly pass the attribute check for the Contract Scroll.

Da Bao’s contract succeeded because of voluntary agreement and high favor—bypassing the attribute check entirely.

If he’d chosen the White Dragon Fish or the Fallen Flower Woman, he’d likely have been eaten on sight, never even getting to use the Contract Scroll.

Even if he somehow forced a successful contract, the low favor would trigger immediate backlash.

If such a choice existed, it wouldn’t start by trying to devour him.

According to statistics, Dimension Apostles’ overall ratings hover around D to C; few reach higher, and as long as you don’t completely slack off, you’ll never get E or F ratings.

He also discovered why his two basic skills—Summoning Theory Basics and Summoning Technique Basics—were so valuable.

These two skills form the foundation of the system; improving them grants comprehensive system knowledge.

Once raised to Level 10, they can advance into Proficient Skills, unlocking further knowledge Chuancheng and enhanced effects.

Effectively, they’re both a vast, complete knowledge repository and a powerful skill.

But they have a drawback: they’re extremely hard to improve, requiring either rare resources or heavy Paradise Points.

Or you can go to the Paradise’s Training Rooms and enhance them by spending Evaluation + Paradise Points—how much you gain depends entirely on you.

The information clearly stated the cost: an A-rank evaluation plus 5,000 Paradise Coins grants ten days of training, including corresponding guidance.

Of course, this method isn’t limited to basic skills—other skills can be improved this way too, though whether it’s worth it depends on the individual, since you can also raise skills via the Skill Chamber using Paradise Points.

Also, when strengthening attributes in the Attribute Chamber, it’s recommended to enable Pain Shielding; without it, the enhancement effect is slightly better—but excruciatingly painful.

Chu Danqing read through the entire content slowly; many parts were useful and would help him avoid pitfalls.

Most intriguing to him was the existence of four other factions besides Dimension Paradise.

They were: Fantasy City, Nightmare Space, War Domain, and Death Realm.

As Chu Danqing had originally suspected, Dimension Paradise didn’t erase you on a whim or execute you for failing a mission.

Most penalties were simply deduction of Paradise Points.

Even if your points went negative, they only confiscated future trial rewards to settle the debt—your equipment and skills wouldn’t be reclaimed.

If you were truly hopeless but still alive, they’d just turn you into a Life Apostle and let you keep shining.

The most severe mission penalty was actually attribute deduction.

But the other four factions were different: their missions were harder and their penalties harsher—they started with percentage-based attribute deductions.

Mission failures often meant immediate erasure or forced execution.

Thus, in combat proficiency, Dimension Paradise ranked at the bottom.

Due to lower pressure, its culture was far superior to the other four factions.

Chu Danqing was still a Reserve Apostle and couldn’t access these four factions—he needed to become a full first-rank Apostle first.

Reserve means a new recruit, an intern.

To become a first-rank Dimension Apostle, it’s simple: raise any one of your five attributes to 10 points, and you trigger the Rank Breakthrough Trial.

Furthermore, Rank Breakthrough Trials have tiers: breaking through all five attributes differs greatly from breaking through just one.

"Let’s go to the Training Room—I urgently need someone to guide me," Chu Danqing didn’t choose to spend his Attribute Points or convert his gear into usable resources.

For him, the priority was solidifying his foundation—nothing he owned could be lost anyway.

To transform from a man raised in a peaceful modern city into a competent Summoning Apostle, having a mentor was best.

For example, the order in which he should upgrade his attributes, or which gear to trade for resources to compensate for his weaknesses.

Having a qualified mentor provide a plan would be far better than fumbling around on his own.

Chu Danqing knew where it was, so soon he arrived at the Training Room with Da Bao, having bought a long-battery video recorder, paper, and pens along the way for 10 Paradise Points.

A Life Apostle greeted Chu Danqing, guiding him and explaining the process.

The information matched closely with what he’d purchased, indirectly confirming its authenticity.

[Available Tiers]

[A-Rank Training Room: Select the skills you wish to improve]

"Your evaluation and reward points are exactly enough for one training session—Paradise encourages growth through this method."

The evaluation reward is the true value; Paradise Points and Attribute Points are just bonuses.

Chu Danqing selected Summoning Theory Basics and Summoning Technique Basics, then noticed Da Bao’s option appear below—he added it too.

[This Training Session: 10 Days. Reserve Apostle’s Remaining Rest Period Not Exceeded. Generating A-Rank Basic Skill Instructor...]

[Generation Complete. A-Rank Basic Skill Instructor: Heir of Qingyun Sacred Land (Projection)]

"Wait— isn’t this Qingyun Sacred Land Heir’s age way off??" Chu Danqing stared at the projection, his expression oddly strained.

(End of Chapter)