The paper has been made public. The reward system is different from selling ultimate moves.
It's a one-time reward provided by the Alliance.
"First, there's a one-million paper bonus."
"Second, choose three items from the following reward list."
Su Hao looked over.
The list of optional items sent to his email was extensive.
Many of them were things he had his eye on.
"A Fire-type Secondary Attribute Core—this is a must-have!"
Right now, Little Fire Crow's spiritual power barely exceeded 150, completing its "second mini-compression."
Unless Su Hao let it break through immediately, there was no way to raise its spiritual power to 200 points, even over the entire winter break.
The gap with the Dream Butterfly was widening too much.
"A Secondary Attribute Core can drastically cut down training time. Maybe before next semester starts, Little Fire Crow can break through, and then evolve afterward."
Little Fire Crow's evolved form was ordinary.
There were no undiscovered evolution paths.
From Little Fire Crow to Fire Fluff Crow, then to Fire God Crow.
A very stable evolution, gradually strengthening the fire control abilities along the Little Fire Crow path.
"Even though there's no new evolution path to choose, the final form, Fire God Crow, is already strong."
Fire God Crow is a medium-sized bird-type spirit with red and gold feathers.
It can release flames of extremely high temperature.
"If I can integrate other fire seeds, Fire God Crow could get even stronger, but thinking about that now is too early..."
Su Hao shook his head.
What he knew so far only went up to the Elite level; beyond that, he had no access.
The Silkworm's level wasn't high enough either to get information from the panel.
"Too bad, if only there was a complete Attribute Core."
He looked back at the item list.
Among them, the Secondary Attribute Core was already the most precious treasure.
One piece cost at least several million, and it was priceless on the market.
After all,
this thing could only be found in the New World, a non-renewable treasure. And the Spirit Masters who could discover them usually didn't need that few million.
Either they used it for their own spirits.
Or they traded it with other Spirit Masters.
From that perspective, the Alliance's reward was already generous.
It was only because he provided the complete evolution conditions that he got this reward.
Su Hao also realized that the generous rewards from the Joint Exam...
Were probably...
"Sponsored by King Zhou."
Having chosen one item, Su Hao continued browsing.
"Should I pick a Wood-type Secondary Attribute Core?"
The precious items on the list were limited.
Otherwise,
Su Hao would want to pick two Fire-type Secondary Attribute Cores—there was no rule saying you could only use one.
"Gu nuo~ Gu nuo gu nuo~"
The Dream Butterfly glanced at the list, not tempted at all, and even wanted to refuse.
Give it all to Little Fire!
Su Hao shot it a look. "You think giving it to Little Fire Crow means you can skip training? Not happening."
Dream Butterfly: "(⊙﹏⊙)"
But it wasn't really that resistant to training anymore.
It was used to it by now.
In its spare time, it would take out the Spiritual Power Crystal Ball and play with it, practicing control.
Occasionally, it could watch Su Hao use the Su-style stimulation method on Little Fire.
And it no longer had to be pricked itself.
The Dream Butterfly's happiness was that simple and pure.
Su Hao finally settled on the other two items.
Flame Feather.
And a Mirage Stone.
The Mirage Stone was a special carrier, containing a mirage constructed by a Transcendent-level Illusion-type spirit.
Along with some of its insights.
It would be very helpful for the Dream Butterfly to learn "Dream Weaving."
The Flame Feather could subtly nourish Little Fire Crow's feathers. It was said to come from a powerful Fire-type spirit.
"Permission has been upgraded too."
On the Alliance's internal network, his level had been raised to LV4.
The New World section was unlocked.
There was also an official notification message for him.
"Dear Mr. Su Hao, given your spirit's relatively low strength, if you're curious about the New World, please exercise restraint. It is not recommended that you enter the New World for exploration."
Translated: You're weak. Just look, don't go in—you'll probably die.
Su Hao: "..."
But this warning only made him more curious about the New World.
Back at Qinglan Base, under King Zhou's lead, it was a rush in and out, with little real understanding.
Su Hao clicked to enter the New World section.
What met his eyes were various regions.
—Divided by the existing New World entrances in Dragon Country.
There were twenty-eight in total, with Qinglan Base among them.
After reading some beginner guides, Su Hao roughly understood.
"The New World is an incredibly vast world. Even though Dragon Country has twenty-eight entrances, the towns or cities on the other side of each entrance are very far apart."
In fact,
Su Hao only saw four locations, two close to each other. The exact positions of the others in the New World were unclear, and the environments across many entrances varied greatly.
Dragon Country's exploration of the New World was still very limited.
"But it doesn't seem to mention much about danger here?"
What restricted Spirit Masters' exploration were the wild spirits in the New World.
The spirits there were, honestly, very strong. Many were centuries-old spirit overlords, and even King-level Spirit Masters might not be a match.
"But those spirits aren't stupid. They won't attack cities guarded by Kings for no reason."
Su Hao concluded.
In the New World, as long as you didn't stray far from human cities, it wasn't dangerous.
But he suspected that the New World entrances within Dragon Country weren't just twenty-eight. Some hadn't been made public.
Su Hao opened the forum for the Qinglan Base City area.
There were posts recruiting teams, doing quests, offering material bounties...
Huang Tianlu (Elite): "Looking for a team at Frostwood Forest. Have two Elite-level spirits, Mountain Ape and Stone Giant. Need a Water-type Spirit Master, good at ranged attacks, female. First two conditions can be relaxed. Interested parties, discuss at Blue Sky Tavern."
Zhou Ying (Elite): "Buying materials, Dragon Snake Bud. Price negotiable."
Luo Liangzhe (Master) (Verified: Qinglan Town Garrison Officer): "Guard duty at Emerald Jade Mine, two-month term. Last three spots left. Interested, DM."
It wasn't much different from what he saw on gaming forums.
The only difference was the authenticity. Everyone was verified by real name. There were no keyboard warriors here—if there were, they'd be strong in real life too.
"The New World has so many resources, no wonder they restrict information."
Take Jade Powder, for example.
It came from Spirit Jade Mines.
If an ordinary person picked up a few Spirit Jades, they could become rich overnight.
Faced with a thousand percent profit, people would risk their lives.
If the New World were opened to the public without restrictions, it would immediately draw a flood of adventurers.
But without Elite-level strength, most of them would die in the wild. Maybe a few lucky ones would succeed, drawing more envious people to follow.
Society wouldn't be as stable as it is now.
So,
the Spirit Master Alliance restricted information about the New World. To do business there, you had to be at least an Elite-level Spirit Master.
Or have an Elite-level manager under you.
—
Em, it wasn't padding. The last chapter took at least three hours of editing and rewriting. But since you say it's padding, I can only... curl up and reflect in silence.