Chapter 26: Token of the Divine Mechanism Battalion Repeating Crossbowmen

The token is a piece of equipment, and it is indeed of the summoning type. After reading its attributes, Chu Danqing did not accept it immediately.

Instead, he asked, "What is the awakening limit?"

The other party replied bluntly, "It has no true spirit."

"Then you must compensate me for the difference," Chu Danqing said calmly. "Add another 1,000 Paradise Points."

Chu Danqing only had 3,080 Paradise Points left on hand, and he still needed to make subsequent purchases and unlock certain paid Apostle functions.

"I don't have enough Paradise Points," the other party said dismissively. "Five hundred, no more."

"That won't do. You can pay in goods; I'm not picky about the type, as long as the value is sufficient." This time, Chu Danqing did not restrict the category.

Being able to trade the White Dragon Fish Howl horse-lance for something he needed was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The other party thought for a moment and added a consumable item used for recovery.

Chu Danqing made a rough calculation of the value and completed the trade.

[You have sold: White Dragon Fish Howl, and obtained: Divine Machine Battalion Repeating Crossbowman Token, Medicinal Porridge Steamed Bun x5, Paradise Points x500]

After receiving the horse-lance, the other party turned and left without a word, showing no intention of socializing with Chu Danqing.

After all, if the other party succeeded in their promotion, they would become a First-Order Dimensional Apostle and would no longer appear in the reserve area.

Apostles of different tiers have their own respective zones and rarely interact unless they form an organization.

This is because once an Apostle's tier increases, the value of equipment, items, and consumables that do not match their tier tends to decrease.

Just as ordinary-quality Lesser Fish Marrow Blood can instantly restore 10% of health at the reserve stage, it might only restore 1% for a First-Order Dimensional Apostle.

They require excellent-quality consumables to keep up with their own strength.

Despite Chu Danqing having a pile of excellent-quality items, in reality, for the vast majority of reserve Apostles, even ordinary-quality items are considered rare.

Only a small number of people can obtain them through high ratings.

Even without the +1 compensation from his comprehensive settlement rating, a B-rank rating is already among the top 10% for reserve Apostles.

"The duration is a bit low, but for equipment of excellent quality, it's already high enough." Chu Danqing was quite satisfied with the Divine Machine Battalion Repeating Crossbowman Token.

[Divine Machine Battalion Repeating Crossbowman Token]
[Type: Equipment/Token]
[Quality: Excellent]
[Durability: 100/100]
[Attributes: None]
[Effect: Divine Machine Battalion Military Order (Active): Consumes 20 energy points to summon a repeating crossbowman to fight for you. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 30 minutes]
[Equipment Requirement: 5 Intelligence, 25 Energy Points]

"With the repeating crossbowman, my long-range capability is secured."

"I was originally planning to train my own long-range combat skills, but now, I can skip that entirely." Chu Danqing had to recalibrate his positioning once more.

Previously, he had positioned himself as a long-range shooter, but now that he had a superior substitute, he could only choose to be a support healer.

In truth, he knew he should aim for a "jack-of-all-trades" role, capable of filling any position for a few minutes. However, with nothing currently in his possession, he had to take things one step at a time.

As for the other consumable, the medicinal porridge steamed buns, the recovery effect was decent.

[Medicinal Porridge Steamed Bun x5]
[Type: Consumable]
[Quality: Ordinary]
[Effect: Each full steamed bun consumed instantly restores 1% of health.]

The other party didn't just give him five buns, but five bamboo steamers, each containing ten.

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't squeeze any more value out of the other party, Chu Danqing wouldn't have bothered. The man definitely still had Paradise Points, but he wasn't going to let them go; he needed to save them to awaken a true spirit for the White Dragon Fish Howl. Otherwise, why would he be buying equipment containing a true spirit?

The benefit of the medicinal porridge steamed buns is that they recover health instantly, but the downside is that a single bun restores too little. In battle, only Dabao’s big mouth could handle a whole steamer in one go. Even if Chu Danqing could stuff ten buns into his mouth at once, he would likely choke. The advantage, however, is that they are more flexible once separated.

"Saved another expense."

After seeing the seller off, Chu Danqing took out his notes to review. Since he was running a stall, he might as well stay busy; reviewing and gaining new insights was a great way to consolidate his systematic knowledge. He had considered wandering around, but given Dabao’s level of intelligence, leaving him to watch the stall would be too difficult for both him and the customers.

Not long after, a few more groups came to ask for prices. Most were interested in the Wolf Fang Necklace, but unfortunately, the offers they made were not to Chu Danqing’s satisfaction. Some also came for the Eater of Kin’s Grudge, but the prices offered didn't meet his expectations, leading to failed trades. Chu Danqing was not in a hurry; he had plenty of time.

On the other hand, Dabao was truly struggling by Chu Danqing’s side. He did not rely on experience or technique for combat, but rather on instinct and intuition, which did not require honing. Therefore, Chu Danqing focused on cultivating the quality and quantity of his "Blood Rage" power. Because Dabao lacked the intelligence, the learning process was extremely difficult, yet Chu Danqing tirelessly taught him over and over again.

In Dabao’s situation, everything acquired post-natally required repetition to reach the point where practice makes perfect. The combat intuition, derived from beastly instinct, was also born from such repetitive practice. It wasn't just practice, though; it was a grafting of Dabao’s original potential, obtained at the cost of his original skill for enhancing the bleeding status.

Dabao practiced clumsily according to Chu Danqing’s guidance. His progress was slow, but he was incredibly diligent, never slacking off.

"Having someone to guide you and not having someone is completely different."

"Compared to the Holy Son, my level is too low to even look at," Chu Danqing mocked himself.

Dabao had grown so quickly in the training room not because Chu Danqing was particularly brilliant, but because the Holy Son had been there to hand-hold Chu Danqing on how to nurture and train him. Now, without the Holy Son—a mentor with A-rank basic skill proficiency—his level had immediately returned to what one would expect from a Basic LV5.

"Pack up. Let’s go back and rest; we’ll come again tomorrow." Chu Danqing checked the time.

Dabao breathed a sigh of relief; he was finally done practicing. Even he felt frustrated by the slow progress. Chu Danqing had sensed this, which was why he made the call. Training requires a balance of tension and relaxation. Remaining in a constant state of tension would lead to more mistakes and affect Dabao’s mindset.

Before heading back, the two went to buy food and daily necessities. In the training room, these were provided by the Paradise, but now that they had left, they had to buy them themselves. The items they purchased were manufactured by "Life Apostles" to meet daily needs; they had no panel attributes, provided no buffs, and were quite cheap. They bought a large haul, which only cost 80 points.

The personal room provided by the Dimensional Paradise only contained a bed, one person’s worth of bedding, and a bathroom—nothing else. He and Dabao had to stay there for another twenty days before entering the trial world, and without these supplies, it would be difficult to survive.