Chapter 293: It

【You sold: Spirit Beast Atlas · Jade Spirit Dragon, Spirit Beast Sealing Charm · Gold Coin Carp, etc., and received: Skill Book (Beast Companion / Iron Barrier Fence / Mangled Fury), Aurora Power Stone ×5, Paradise Points ×10000, Paradise Savings Card (Face Value 10000) ×1】

The skill books and materials are all Exalted grade; the Aurora Power Stone is a reinforcement material.

【Aurora Power Stone】

【Type: Material】

【Quality: Exalted】

【Effect 1: When reinforcing Exalted-grade equipment, adding it to the reinforcement chamber increases success rate by 20%; maximum of 5 stones usable per attempt】

（Note: If used on equipment below Exalted grade, success rate increases according to quality difference, and maximum usable quantity per attempt is reduced）

Reinforcement materials have value, but only if you accumulate a sufficient quantity.

Take the Aurora Power Stone, for example—unless Chu Danqing has enough to reach 100% success rate, he won’t even glance at it.

But if you can reach 100% success rate through quantity, its value surges instantly.

The same applies to Aurora Power Stones.

Still, one must admit, the Longhu Alliance is indeed generous.

What they gave was above market value.

“After reaching Rank 2, there are still such good items—definitely consider the Longhu Alliance first; we won’t shortchange you.” Mei Zheng added, “You can still mention my name—I’ll give you a rebate.”

“Of course, I won’t hide it from you—when I refer someone successfully, I get a commission too.” Mei Zheng was straightforward; better to be open than to hide it, for mutual benefit.

“Alright.” Chu Danqing agreed—it was good for him either way.

“By the way, are you interested in taking on outside jobs for the next rank-up trial? Price is negotiable.” Mei Zheng changed the subject.

Chu Danqing shook his head: “No, not interested.”

He knew what outside jobs meant—members of the Longhu Alliance with low potential and strength, who had survived long enough to qualify for the hardest trial, now hoping to gamble on a shortcut.

Success rates aren’t zero, but they’re low.

So they use items to lock into the same trial world as Chu Danqing, hoping for even occasional help—not full guidance.

Why not have Longhu Alliance members help directly?

The reason is brutal: compared to these aging, low-potential members, the Longhu Alliance cares far more about those with real potential and strength.

Naturally, they won’t let them drag others down.

But as a major faction, the Longhu Alliance won’t ignore them entirely—so they hire brokers and powerful independents or small teams to broker connections and see if anyone will take the job.

If someone does, everyone wins.

If not, too bad—they’re on their own.

“Alright, if you ever change your mind, once you reach Rank 2, you can contact the Longhu Alliance’s regional coordinator—we always offer fair prices.” Mei Zheng didn’t press.

This sort of thing had to be left to chance.

Chu Danqing nodded, then turned and left.

His next trial wasn’t a rank-up exam—it was a war mission; even if he wanted to help them, he couldn’t.

As for the broker’s fee, Chu Danqing didn’t pay it—Mei Zheng, as the Longhu Alliance’s regional coordinator, covered it.

When brokers broker deals for major factions, the cost is always assumed to be paid by the faction, not the individual or small team.

The main reason is that major factions offer higher commissions; individuals or small teams can at most charge 1000 Paradise Points as intermediary fees.

Major factions can pay more—that’s a Paradise rule, not their own policy.

After leaving, Chu Danqing learned the three skills, used his 10,000 Paradise Points savings card, then headed straight for the Skill Hall.

On the way, he used his remaining five Expert-grade skill crystals, all invested into Summoning Contract Mastery.

It jumped from Lv.6 to Lv.11, raising summon affinity to 22%; summon contract strength remained at 20%.

He shook his head—six levels at once was intense, especially since all six were new knowledge.

Upon arrival, Chu Danqing paused briefly, then began leveling up skills.

——

【Array Co-Defense (Active) Lv.20→Lv.MAX: After activation, consumes (number of designated summons × 1) mana per minute, continuously transferring your shield to designated summons; transmission stops when summons reach 50% of your maximum shield value】（Paradise Points ×20000）

——

[Soul's Protection (Passive) Lv.10→Lv.MAX: For every 2% decrease in HP, summons gain 2% damage reduction and 10% healing boost, stacking up to 10 layers] (Paradise Points ×30000)

——

【Crimson Pact (Passive) Lv.1→Lv.20: For every 2% decrease in HP, summons gain +2% to all stats, stacking up to 10 layers】（Paradise Points ×19000）

——

【Beast Companion (Passive) Lv.1→Lv.20: For each day a summon stays by your side, gain +2% to all stats, stacking up to 10 layers】（Paradise Points ×19000）

（Note: Stacks reset if summon dies, is dismissed, or moves over 20 km away）——

【Iron Barrier Fence (Passive) Lv.1→Lv.7: When summons are out of combat, gain +7% damage reduction】（Paradise Points ×7000）

——

【Mangled Fury (Passive) Lv.1→Lv.7: When your HP falls below 77%, summons gain +1.7% critical rate and +7% critical damage】（Paradise Points ×7000）

——

After this round of upgrades, Chu Danqing had only 15,016 Paradise Points left.

“Broke again.” Chu Danqing sighed—money really didn’t last.

He might have 15,000 points now,

but 5,000 were reserved to reinforce the Eight Steeds Ascending Dragon Chariot to +5, and the remaining 10,000 were for summoning funds.

“But it’s not hopeless—I still have 87,000 Arena Points. After exchanging for needed potions and evolution scrolls, I can cash out some more.”

Chu Danqing suddenly remembered his unused Arena Points.

As for whether using Paradise Points now would be a loss? Impossible—using Basic-grade skill crystals to level skills is the real loss; their true purpose is to upgrade base skills.

If Basic-grade skill crystals weren’t non-tradeable from strategic bonuses, Chu Danqing would’ve sold them long ago.

“Good news—I’ll make another profit after the war mission.”

“But first, I need to reinforce the Eight Steeds Ascending Dragon Chariot.” Chu Danqing muttered, setting off.

Why keep 15,000 points when he could cash in Arena Points? Simply for error tolerance.

Better safe than sorry—even if Paradise is safe, problems might still come from yourself.

He headed straight to the Reinforcement Hall and began.

【Current Equipment Reinforcement: Eight Steeds Ascending Dragon Chariot +4, Cost: Paradise Points ×5000, Success Rate: 105.6%, Materials: Aurora Power Stone ×5】

【Begin reinforcement? Yes/No】

【Reinforcement in progress, estimated time: 50 minutes】

Reinforcement began immediately; Chu Danqing eagerly anticipated the stats.

Fifty minutes wasn’t long—he sat down, reviewed his new knowledge, and scrolled through various channel chats.

Since the channel chats were added, communication among Apostles became far denser.

Unlike before, when most loners and independents rarely interacted.

But the chat content was a mix of truth and falsehood, hard to distinguish.

Chu Danqing couldn’t effectively tell them apart.

Then he casually contacted the broker.

【Wu Sheng Shi: Do you know the standard for Rank 1 rank-up trials?】

【Broker Rank1 C7 You7623: ?】

The other party sent a question mark.

It wasn’t a question—they were puzzled by his question.

You cleared the Sprint Class bonus mission, boosted your five stats to 30—the Rank 1 limit—then rested briefly, and Paradise automatically issued the rank-up trial.

Now you’re asking what the standard is? That’s odd.

Chu Danqing was equally confused—why is your codename full of ranks, letters, and ‘You’? Are you adding the Chinese hour system too?

【Broker: I see—you entered your last bonus mission using an item】

The broker, experienced and sharp, immediately understood.

Mainly because Chu Danqing’s previous items misled him about his progress.

【Broker: I can’t fully disclose details—it’s Paradise’s secret—but I can give you some insider info】

【Broker: To choose S-rank rank-up trial, you need not only five stats at 30, but also one Talent and a top-1000 Arena ranking】

【Wu Sheng Shi: What’s the reward?】

Chu Danqing didn’t care about lower-rank trials—he’d only pick the hardest, best one.

【Broker: I can’t say more—it’s for sale】

Not just because he wanted money—this involved classified intel.

Further disclosure would be an intel transaction; he wouldn’t give it away for free.

He told Chu Danqing the S-rank prerequisites only because Chu Danqing had already placed two major orders with him.

Otherwise, if anyone else asked, he’d ignore them outright.

【Wu Sheng Shi: No money. Next time for sure】

Paying was out of the question—these requirements were still tough for most Apostles.

Five stats can be ground out, but Talents and top-1000 Arena ranking? Hard.

To get a Talent book, you need at least a Fine-tier Glowing Chest.

That’s achievable with effort.

But reaching the top thousand rankings, even at a regional level, is not easy.

Thus, this is another screening by the Paradise.

The strong grow stronger.

But the weak do not necessarily grow weaker—there are those who achieve greatness late.

The Paradise cultivates not only the strong, but also the core forces and the lower ranks.

“Couldn’t get it for free—what a shame,” Chu Danqing sighed, then turned his gaze to the enhancement chamber.

Time ticked away second by second until the chamber’s countdown reached zero.

At the same time, the Paradise issued a prompt.

【Enhancement successful: Eight Steeds Ascending Dragon Chariot upgraded +5】

(End of Chapter)