Distribution of Rewards
"This competition and exchange between the two sects has come to a successful conclusion. The prize for the first place in weapon crafting is a Law Treasure crafting material, which can be chosen by the participant..." The elder from the Evergreen Sect who was in charge of judging the competition stepped forward and announced.
"Good heavens, one piece of material for crafting Law Treasure! Doesn't that mean I'll have Law Treasure as soon as I break through to the Golden Core? And with Law Treasure, my combat power will be much stronger than those without Law Treasure."
"Is this what they mean by 'getting ahead at the first step and then getting ahead at every step'? By using the time spent searching for Law Treasure for cultivation, how much more time do they have compared to others?"
Shen Ge was also shocked by the reward. He turned and looked at Jin Ling with some envy. You have to know that this is a material for refining Law Treasure. He has only encountered two pieces in all his years of cultivation, which shows how rare it is.
Moreover, this is a choice she can make herself. If she comes across a suitable material, Jin Ling will have her own natal magic Law Treasure, and then her strength will surpass that of Senior Sister Wang Yan.
"The second place winner in weapon crafting will receive 5,000 Spirit Stone, along with a copy of a master weapon crafting expert's guide."
Forehead...
The reward has shrunk considerably. Don't be fooled by the fact that 5,000 Spirit Stone seem like a lot; compared to the materials needed to craft Law Treasure, it might not even be worth half of that.
Shen Ge glanced subconsciously at Liu Tao in the Evergreen Sect's camp, then quickly looked away.
Why did the reward for second place decrease so much?
Many people turned their gazes to Liu Tao, feeling some sympathy. After all, he lost to Jin Ling by a narrow margin, but that slight difference reduced his reward by more than half, a truly huge loss.
Liu Tao's expression also turned somewhat unpleasant. He remained silent for a moment, but perhaps because he was being watched, he quickly revealed a Shiran smile.
After all, losing is losing. It would be unseemly to look bad at this point, which is unnecessary. Besides, losing to Jin Ling is not shameful.
"Third place in weapon crafting, the reward is three thousand Spirit Stone and half of the weapon crafting experience. We hope you will continue your efforts."
With the second-place reward already in mind, the difference in the third-place reward wasn't so significant, and most people had already guessed it.
"The winner of the first place in alchemy will be awarded 10,000 Spirit Stone, a copy of the Alchemy Master's Manual, and a scroll of High Antiquity spirit medicine."
Upon hearing this, some disciples murmured, "This reward is not as good as the one in the weapon refining area. What's going on?"
"Strange, why is there such a big difference in the rewards for alchemy?"
Faced with the disciples' questions, the elder didn't explain anything, but continued, "The second place winner in alchemy will be awarded one Haoyuan Pill, plus a copy of the Alchemy Master's Insights."
"That's normal. Although the Haoyuan Pill can increase the success rate of breaking through to the Golden Core, it only costs around six thousand Spirit Stone, and it's just that it's rarely sold."
"But does the sect reward the Spirit Moon Sect disciple with the Haoyuan Pill because they believe his chances of breaking through to the Golden Core are slim?"
Some people expressed their feelings, while others made malicious speculations, and the surroundings became noisy for a while.
But Qingfeng, the person in charge, remained calm and composed, as if he didn't care about the reward at all, or hear the whispers. Just in terms of composure, Qingfeng had truly mastered the art of self-control.
"The third-place prize in alchemy is three thousand spirit stones and a copy of the Master Craftsman's Manual. We hope you will continue your efforts."
The rewards for talismans and formations were roughly the same afterward. The first place winner in talismans received a Talisman Treasure, and the first place winner in formations received a complete formation plate, which were quite generous.
However, Shen Ge could only be envious, because he didn't place and couldn't receive these rewards; he could only look forward to the team rewards later.
Mu Wan, standing to the side, said with some longing, "If only I could have all those first-place rewards! When I break through to the Golden Core, it would be like ascending to the heavens in one step. Maybe even those Middle Golden Core Stage cultivators wouldn't be a match for me."
The idea was beautiful, but it was just a fantasy; the reality was that she had none of it.
In fact, Mu Wan is already quite strong. She has only been cultivating artifacts for more than ten years, and being able to refine top-grade Law Artifact is already a sign of exceptional talent. If she were given more time to mature, she might not even be as good as Jin Ling at this stage.
As for Shen Ge, he started learning weapon crafting a few years later than Mu Wan, but now he can fight Mu Wan to a standstill. His talent and comprehension are certainly good, worthy of his Supreme-Grade Metal Spirit Root.
"Next is the team battle reward. Because there are many participants on both sides, the reward is not very generous when divided among all the participants. Each participating disciple on the winning side will receive one thousand Spirit Stone."
Not bad. With so many people and each person receiving a thousand Spirit Stone, that adds up to forty thousand Spirit Stone. Adding in the previous rewards, it's still a bit of a loss.
It's unclear whether the Evergreen Sect or the Spirit Moon Sect shed more blood.
However, the Spirit Moon Sect obtained at least 400,000 Spirit Stone in the White Bone Mountain Secret Realm that time, so this small loss is nothing.
After receiving their rewards, Shen Ge and his group found a place to chat with Li Ze and the Evergreen Sect. They talked about all sorts of things, and the atmosphere was quite lively for a while.
In the pavilion at the highest peak, Ye Xingchen was still working as a tea boy, a job he had been doing for three days. Although he hadn't seen any benefits yet, he showed no impatience whatsoever.
Over the past three days, these powerful figures had shared many secrets and amusing anecdotes from their youth with him. Those mentioned by these powerful figures were now mostly at the Golden Core Stage. Although he couldn't get a word in edgewise, he listened with great interest to these stories.
Take, for example, Ao Feng, the current law enforcement elder of Flowing Gold Valley. Back when he was in the Foundation Establishment Realm, he fell in love with True Person Qingyu of the Spirit Moon Sect and confessed his feelings. As a result, he was beaten black and blue by True Person Qingyu and ran back to Flowing Gold Valley in tears. That one-sided beating made him hide in Flowing Gold Valley for fifty years without daring to take a step out until he broke through to the Golden Core Stage and things got a little better.
However, he would never set foot in any place where True Person Qingyu appeared, and he has never seen True Person Qingyu a second time.
How cruel must the beating have been to make someone so afraid? It's even worse than a mouse being afraid of a cat. I wonder if this incident will become a mental demon when Ao Feng breaks through to the Nascent Soul. If he gets beaten up by True Person Qingyu in the illusion, his Dao heart will probably crumble to dust.
"Fellow Daoist Ziyang, after this exchange, why not stay a little longer? It would be better for us to sit and discuss the Dao than to go back and worry about those trivial sect matters," said Daoist Qingguang.
Ziyang smiled and shook his head, saying, "Unlike you, fellow Daoist, you have so many fellow Daoists helping you, so the sect's trivial matters are naturally much less. I'm different. Now that my master is in seclusion, the heavy burden of the sect is on my shoulders alone. I really can't leave. If I were to be away from the sect for a few months, I don't know what kind of chaos it would become."
"Fellow Daoist, what you're saying is true. Of the four of us, your Spirit Moon Sect is the most harmonious. There's practically no internal strife. How chaotic could it be? You're just unable to let go of the responsibilities on your shoulders."