"You took part in the nomination trials, right? How are the matches going?" Zhou Haoyu asked, glancing over at Mu Nujiao.
Although Mu Nujiao's cultivation talent was top-notch, her actual strength wasn't considered outstanding.
No matter how gifted you were, without resources you couldn't compete—and the simplest and most direct resources were cultivation sanctuaries like the Haotian Tower or Three-Step Pagoda.
To put it bluntly, Mu Nujiao's innate talent might let her cultivate twice as fast as an ordinary mage.
But in a place like Haotian Tower, a week of training could equal months of normal effort—even longer.
For example, the third floor of Haotian Tower had one hundred times elemental concentration. One day of training there was worth a hundred days outside.
Add a stardust magic tool and training for one week could be equivalent to several years for a normal person.
Of course, the longer you stayed, the lower the efficiency—and once you reached High-Tier, the gains dropped sharply.
Even Zhou Haoyu, after reaching the fourth floor of Haotian Tower, no longer felt the overwhelming benefit he got when he first entered.
"Thanks to the seed you gave me, the matches have gone very smoothly," Mu Nujiao said—and visibly brightened as she spoke.
Zhou Haoyu suddenly remembered that Mu Nujiao's Plant Element had already evolved—not only good for control, but also for killing.
Though the Horror Plant Demon wasn't a Commander creature, it was peak Warrior-level and in the hands of a Plant mage, it was even more useful than an ordinary spirit seed.
Going by that, Mu Nujiao really might win herself a nomination ticket.
"This magic ring increases Wind Element spell power by twenty percent—might help you stand out in the trials."
Zhou Haoyu took out a ring and handed it to her—a little advance investment.
Mu Nujiao stared at the ring, momentarily at a loss.
"Wooow~~"
Ai Tutu suddenly popped up from behind the sofa, eyes locked on the ring with a wicked grin:
"Mu-jie, he gave you a ring! He's definitely interested in you. And I heard the Zhou clan is developing a Fire Vein—it matches the Mu family perfectly. Maybe you should just marry in?"
Even though Mu Nujiao knew Ai Tutu was teasing, her cheeks still flushed pink. She glared at Ai Tutu fiercely.
Zhou Haoyu already has a fiancée—how is that 'matching'? What did Ai Tutu want her to be? A mistress?!
"This… I can't accept it. I already owe you too much," Mu Nujiao said seriously, returning the ring.
"Don't you want to enter the National Team?" Zhou Haoyu countered.
While they could later kick Zu Jiming off the team and replace him with Mu Nujiao, that would be troublesome. Much better if she secured a proper seat herself.
Most members were Intermediate mages anyway—and with the Horror Seed, Mu Nujiao wasn't inferior.
Mu Nujiao's expression wavered slightly as she looked at the ring once more.
There wasn't a single student who didn't want to join the National Team—she was no exception.
Only by joining it would she have a chance to escape the control of her clan.
Children of such families enjoyed resources—but they were also tools, often to be used for political marriage.
Given Mu Nujiao's talent and beauty, she would almost certainly be married off someday.
But joining the National Team would make her a High-Grade Seed on track to reach Super-Tier.
And the clan would never marry off someone with that kind of value—especially not a National Team member.
That title alone could net more benefits than a marriage alliance.
(Especially depending on the team's final results.)
"Just treat it as me lending it to you," Zhou Haoyu said.
From behind, Ai Tutu propped her chin on her hands, rolling her eyes.
This guy is obviously digging a pit for Mu-jie…
If that magic equipment wasn't so helpful, she would've taught him a lesson.
"…Then after the trials are over, I'll return it to you," Mu Nujiao finally said.
"Fine. I'm in no hurry," Zhou Haoyu smiled.
With Jiang Feng's help, Zhou Haoyu's magic-tool forging efficiency had improved greatly.
Besides the Wind-element magic ring, he had also forged Lightning and Ice element rings—each adding 20% magic amplification.
Although they couldn't compare to the Divine Imprint Benediction, they were extremely practical for now.
A spirit seed's 2.5× amplification could be brought up to 3× with these rings—that was already comparable to a high-quality Greater Spirit Seed.
As for Zhou Haoyu's Profound Yang Golden Thunder, it could reach over 7× amplification—truly terrifying.
Most importantly, these rings could stack with the Divine Imprint Benediction.
If he received a 2× benediction, he would obtain over 14× amplification—absolutely absurd.
"You're giving Mu-jie such nice things—don't I get anything?" Ai Tutu looked at Zhou Haoyu eagerly.
"If you were joining the nomination trials, I could give you a tool too." Zhou Haoyu shrugged.
In truth, Ai Tutu wasn't lacking in talent—she just rarely put her heart into magic. Otherwise she'd already be near double-element Intermediate level 3.
"Hmph, who are you looking down on? I just didn't want to steal Mu-jie's spotlight." Ai Tutu said proudly.
Zhou Haoyu shook his head helplessly and took out a pendant from the Candle Dragon bracelet.
"This pendant calms the spirit—it'll help your cultivation."
Ai Tutu's delighted expression instantly fell. "So stingy…"
Even so, she very smoothly tucked the pendant into her pocket with practiced ease.
Zhou Haoyu rolled his eyes. That pendant might look simple, but for Ai Tutu it was actually a highly useful sacred item.
"We haven't seen each other in a while—how about going out for dinner together?" Zhou Haoyu suddenly suggested.
"Great! There's a grilled fish place nearby that's amazing—I went there before with Mu-jie!" Ai Tutu agreed immediately at the mention of food.
Before Mu Nujiao could even respond, Ai Tutu was already hanging on her arm, begging.
"Mu-jie, this guy is finally treating us—we have to bankrupt him tonight!"
Zhou Haoyu's face darkened. Was that really something to say right to his face?
After a quick change, the three headed downstairs to the grilled-fish restaurant for a small get-together.
Ai Tutu ordered five whole fish in one go, along with a massive cauldron of sides—without caring whether they could finish it or not.
Zhou Haoyu only ate one fish, Mu Nujiao ate one, and the remaining three practically vanished into Ai Tutu's stomach.
No wonder she had such a magnificent chest capacity…
Aside from fish, they also shared a few drinks.
Mu Nujiao merely sipped lightly, while Zhou Haoyu and Ai Tutu basically drank freely on and on.
...
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