After hanging up the phone, Du Yu hurriedly opened the Bookstore's official website and quickly found the officially published report card.

Sitting at the top of the comprehensive ranking was himself:

Ancient Pine Tower Demon Spirit Academy, Du Yu, 94.9 points!

The second place was, surprisingly, also someone from Ancient Pine Tower Demon Spirit Academy—Lin Shihao!

Looking at Lin Shihao's impressive 85.3 points, Du Yu couldn't help feeling a bit odd inside. This must be the bonus points for being a leader, right?

You know, Lin Shihao hadn't actually made a move from beginning to end.

So, the 5.1 points I got docked must have been for the leadership part?

No, that's not quite right.

Throughout the whole exam, he didn't really show much leading-the-team ability. The closest he got was when he joined forces with Lin Shiyi to pincer attack Zone 4.

At that time, Du Yu was leading a team of reinforcements, sneaking up on the Blue Team's camp from behind.

Thinking about it, I probably lost a lot of points in leading troops and leadership. But the rest of my performance must've been so dazzling that I brute-forced my total score back up!

Third place—Du Yu recognized this name format: Liu Juncai.

Must be a Liu Family disciple, likely the Blue Team's leader.

After the special contestant Liu Junting was knocked off his pedestal, and with such a disadvantage in the opening stage, this person managed to do a great reversal, still successfully gathering the team, assembling special units, commanding the camps, and fighting the Red Team to a draw.

Such leadership—truly impressive... Wait a minute!

Liu Juncai?

Du Yu clicked on her name, glanced at the photo, and couldn't help but blink.

Isn't this that "self-destruct girl"?

The one who summoned the Mud Po Goddess Sculpture?

From the opponent's perspective, Du Yu naturally didn't have any good feelings for her—once even cursing her as insane, such a hysterical one.

But if you think about it from a teammate's perspective...

After their main force was wiped out, this girl, in order to help the Blue Team regain the advantage, was willing to risk her own life, forcefully or pleading with the Spirit Pet in her body to come out, trying to take Du Yu down with her for a mutual destruction.

Such a desperate "propping up the collapsing house" move—Du Yu would definitely want her on his team!

Never mind the leadership skills, just that self-sacrificing spirit is on par with Little Shiwei!

What a ruthless one.

You'd better keep growing. Now that the Twin Trees have been invaded by the Bottomless Pit, the Great Xia needs ruthless people like you...

Not bad, not bad~

There really are all types of talents. Looks like the Great Xia won't be finished off any time soon.

Du Yu secretly mused as he searched for the reward rules.

"Whoa!" Du Yu stared at the first-place prize, his mind buzzing.

Library Ring*1, Demon Lamp Po*3, a custom Demon Soldier or Demon Pet—pick one.

The ring, soldier, and pet aren't much to talk about—the key is the Demon Lamp Po!

This is a kind of Celestial Material and Earthly Treasure, similar to the Dust Spirit Bead spat out by the Dust Spirit Deer, both cultivation materials that help Demon Tamers train.

But, the Demon Lamp Po isn't mainly for nourishing the body or supplying pure Wind Attribute Qi to help demon tamers break through levels.

Demon Lamp Po comes from the Demon Plant· Demon Lamp Tree.

It's a naturally congealed Residual Soul, a treasure to help Demon Tamer·Master Level or higher experts train and condense their Demon Soul!

This stuff is valuable and basically impossible to find on the market.

Especially for those at Demon Tamer·Peak Stage, people on the verge of breaking through to Great Imperial Demon, Master Level.

To refine a mature Demon Soul, they'll fight to the death over just one Demon Lamp Po!

Three words: Struck rich!

While wildly overjoyed, Du Yu also felt a bit weird.

The Demon Lamp Po that others treasure—honestly, it's not that big a deal for Du Yu.

The reason?

Because Du Yu owned a Shadow Gu Tower!

He could directly extract Demon Souls from Demon Beasts...

Other Demon Tamers have no such ability—they can only bury themselves in cultivation, scouring everywhere for materials.

But after one reaches the Great Imperial Demon, Master Level, things get a lot better.

Once you've cultivated a mature Demon Soul, you can also devour other living beings' Demon Souls to strengthen your own.

As for how much benefit you get in the process and whether you'll get counterattacked by the other Demon Soul—that's your own business.

So strictly speaking, other than Demon Tamer Prentices and Demon Tamer Journeymen, every other stage of Demon Tamer desperately needs "Demon Lamp Po"!

The demand's way too high—that's the fundamental reason Demon Lamp Po is so precious.

Du Yu gazed at his phone in a daze, with only one thought: So what now?

The rewards are all clearly stated—but who's giving me my prize?

Should I call the Bookstore?

But they only just published the leaderboard. If I call right away, won't I seem too eager, losing my masterly composure?

"Ahem." Du Yu coughed, cleared his throat, and dialed the phone while quietly muttering, "My name is Lin Shihang, my name is Lin Shihang, my name is Lin Shihang..."

"Mmm~" Little Fen Yang gave a soft chirp, suddenly bursting out from the branches and diving into Du Yu's body.

At the same time, a young lady's voice came from the other end: "Hello, Demon Spirit Bookstore, how may I help you?"

Du Yu blurted out, "My name is Lin Shihang."

"Hello, Mr. Lin. How can I help you?"

Du Yu: "Um... I saw on the Bookstore's official site that they just posted the results of the final joint exams.

A classmate of mine did really well!

I'd like to ask—where do we pick up the prize?"

"May I ask which province's final exam you mean? The rules differ in each province."

Du Yu: "Shaohai Province."

After patiently waiting for a moment, the other side replied, "For Shaohai Province's final joint exams, the leaderboard will be publicly displayed for 15 days. During these 15 days, the exam videos will also be made public to society.

After the announcement period ends, as long as there are no objections, the headquarters of each city's Bookstore will proactively contact the students on the list and distribute the ranking prizes.

Mr. Lin, please let your classmate know to wait patiently."

Du Yu replied in a small voice, "Alright, thank you..."

"Mr. Lin, any other questions?"

"No more." After leaving a "very satisfied" feedback, Du Yu quickly hung up.

"Mr. Lin." Suddenly, a chilly, clear voice rang out behind him.

Du Yu's breath hitched.

He spun around, the leafy sofa's backrest dissolved, opening a gap that let Du Yu see the figure behind him.

"Qing—Master Qing?" Du Yu was stunned silly and stood up awkwardly.

This is way too embarrassing!

Yang Qingqing stood with hands behind her back, quietly watching the completely soaked Du Yu, her mood also much improved.

Sure enough, her judgment was correct.

This young man doesn't need extra motivation—as soon as he has a comfortable home, he still continues hard training.

"Master Qing." Du Yu hung his head. The only thing he did in all this time was one sneaky thing—only to get caught?

Blame that Firethorn Tree phone holder—if I'd held the phone to my ear, she probably wouldn't have heard...

No wonder Little Fen Yang suddenly darted into my body.

She spotted Master Qing ages ago!

"Master Qing, I was just asking a quick question, randomly gave a name..."

Before Du Yu could finish, Yang Qingqing waved her hand, speaking lightly: "No big deal."

"Mmm." Du Yu looked up at the woman. Having not seen her for over a month, she was still every bit the immortal beauty, with an ethereal air.

Only those slightly furrowed brows suggested something on her mind.

"You did very well in the exam." Yang Qingqing looked at Du Yu, her brow easing, as if her worries had lifted quite a bit.

"Our team did pretty well." Du Yu grabbed a Firethorn Branch and handed it forward. "Master Qing, have a seat."

Seeing Yang Qingqing in her luxurious robe, he suddenly realized—she must've been home for a while already?

Yang Qingqing slowly sat on the sofa made of Firethorn branches, resting her chin in her hand, quietly watching the still-training Chi Bear from afar, silently appreciating it.

Du Yu: "Master Qing, when did you get back?"

"Yesterday."

Du Yu was puzzled: "I even transferred you money for the mortgage this morning!"

Yang Qingqing replied absently: "I slept all day."

He hesitated, then asked quietly, "Did the mission go smoothly this time?"

Yang Qingqing didn't respond. Her hand brushed past her forehead, fingertips drawing out thick Wind Demon Breath and sending it aside.

"Nai!" Xiaobai tensed up, big lively eyes full of vigilance, thick mist spreading rapidly.

Du Yu: "Xiaobai!"

"Nai?" Xiaobai was visibly stunned. After confirming it was Du Yu, she quickly retracted the surrounding mist, her defensive posture vanishing in a flash!

"Nai~" Xiaobai chirped happily, clopping forward and elegantly burying her Deer Head in Du Yu's arms.

The joy of reunion, plus... grievance!

Yes—even without a contract, Du Yu could feel her being wronged.

The snowy white Deer Head nuzzled left and right—against Du Yu's chest, and in Du Yu's palm.

"What's wrong?" Du Yu petted her head, fingertips touching her nose, sending gentle Fire Spiritual Qi.

Yang Qingqing: "Xiaobai helped me a lot, don't worry—she's not hurt. It's just I was away too long, she missed you."

"Alright, alright, I'll sleep with you in my arms tonight." Du Yu comforted her softly.

It was obvious—Bai Yujing really missed her master.

At this moment, Du Yu was soaked, but Xiaobai, with her exquisite Deer Head, didn't care—she snuggled right in, not minding at all.

After more than a month apart, Xiaobai had grown a lot, a bit larger in size—at least 165cm tall now?

After soothing her for a while, Du Yu raised his eyes to Yang Qingqing: "Master Qing, just now, Xiaobai's behavior when she appeared..."

Yang Qingqing lightly nodded: "The environment for carrying out the mission was... less than ideal."

Du Yu spoke up: "Master Qing, not even I can know? I promise not to tell anyone!

Maybe I can help—like when we uncovered the Shadow Gu Tower secret last time."

Yang Qingqing silently watched Du Yu, gazing at his worried eyes for a long time. Just as Du Yu pulled his gaze away awkwardly, she seemed to have made up her mind.

She didn't really think Du Yu could help,

But he was a great person to confide in—a trustworthy one.

Yang Qingqing sighed softly, crossing her legs: "What we explored this time was probably another Ancient Spiritual Artifact."

Du Yu perked up: "Like my Shadow Gu Tower, and your Bell Bracelet?"

"Yes." Yang Qingqing lowered her head with a small smile, fiddling with the Bell Bracelet on her wrist. "We failed. For over a month now, it's been nothing but failure."

Du Yu opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

In his mind, his Immortal Master was all-powerful, always calm and imperturbable.

Yet now, the forced smile on her face made her look more like an ordinary person.

Just what had she gone through in that time?

What kind of blow did that Ancient Spiritual Artifact bring her...

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