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Shi Quan, who had reacted, finally woke up from his Cultivation, his expression filled with surprise.
"Reputation Treasure Chest?" Shi Quan's expression immediately became a little strange; he hadn't expected there to be this type of treasure chest.
So far, including the current Reputation Treasure Chest, he had triggered a total of four types of treasure chests.
The first type was the Awakening Treasure Chest triggered during Martial Spirit Awakening. This type of treasure chest was clearly a one-time chest, and it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to obtain it again later, because it's impossible to Awaken a Martial Spirit twice, right?
The second type was the Destiny Treasure Chest. Shi Quan speculated that its trigger rule was that he could trigger it as long as he met and interacted with people favored by destiny. Tang San was the male protagonist of the novel, Xiao Wu was the female protagonist, and the only other person who might trigger a Destiny Treasure Chest was Bibi Dong, the great villain of destiny. As for whether Qian Renxue counted, Shi Quan wasn't sure.
The third type was the spirit power Treasure Chest. The trigger rule for this one was relatively simple: it would be triggered every time he achieved a Breakthrough in a Realm and completed spirit ring absorption.
The current Reputation Treasure Chest was the fourth type.
Shi Quan hadn't expected to inexplicably trigger this fourth type of treasure chest; it was truly a case of 'man sits at home, treasure chest falls from the sky.'
"Fame First Appears…"
Shi Quan muttered to himself with a smile, "Then does that mean there's also 'Fame Prominent'? 'Widely Known'?"
At least from the System's prompt, Shi Quan inferred that the Reputation Treasure Chest, like the Destiny Treasure Chest and spirit power Treasure Chest, should be a Reputation treasure chest.
"Since that's the case, I need to find a way to participate in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament."
Previously, he had no plans to participate in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament; the rewards of the competition held no appeal for him. Wouldn't it be better to just watch the excitement from the sidelines instead of expending effort fighting so many battles?
But now it was different. To gain reputation, wasn't the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament the best place to do so?
If he even won the championship, he would immediately become famous throughout the entire Continent, completely negating the need to painstakingly research Spirit Master theories and then debate and publish them.
Although he didn't know if it would trigger, he still had to try. He couldn't give up any opportunity to trigger a treasure chest!
From the first treasure chest until now, everything from each treasure chest had been useful to Shi Quan.
This also made Shi Quan certain that although treasure chests were difficult to trigger, every item from them was a high-quality product and would definitely be useful to him. Therefore, he could not miss any opportunity to trigger a treasure chest.
"But what is Nightmare?"
Withdrawing his thoughts, Shi Quan's attention returned to the newly opened reward from the treasure chest.
System Space.
What met his eyes was a mass of black mist. The specific appearance of the Nightmare was not clear; he could only see purple outlines within the black mist, as if pairs of eyes were staring directly at him.
Nightmare: A soul spirit, it is the Origin of nightmares, lingering between nightmares, feeding on fear, growing in the darkness. It is a pure Incarnation of evil primordial power, transcending the shackles of the mental Domain, traveling between the mortal World and dreams.
Note: This soul spirit is a Natal soul spirit, 100% loyal to the host.
"soul spirit!" Shi Quan's eyes widened. This thing seemed to have only appeared in Douluo Dalu 2. He didn't know much about soul spirits, only that they could not only evolve spirit rings but also assist the host in battle...
"But what is a Natal soul spirit?"
Shi Quan frowned and tentatively asked, "System, what does 'Natal soul spirit' in the note mean?"
His mind was silent. Just as Shi Quan was shaking his head in disappointment, he noticed that the note for Nightmare had changed.
Note: This soul spirit is growth-oriented and can continue to improve with the Spirit Master's advancement, 100% loyal to the host.
"It can do that?" Shi Quan's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but give the System a thumbs up.
Simply put, a soul spirit that can grow with the Spirit Master is a Natal soul spirit.
"In that case, this Natal soul spirit, Nightmare, is a good thing. This soul spirit is clearly arranged for my third Martial Spirit, Soul."
Shi Quan rubbed his hands excitedly. Just as he was about to extract it, his gaze suddenly fell on the card next to Nightmare.
soul spirits produced by the System had 100% loyalty. If he used a Critical Hit Card to get another Natal soul spirit, wouldn't that be incredibly awesome?
Even if the reward wasn't doubled, if the already Natal soul spirit, Nightmare, had its strength doubled, how strong would the resulting soul spirit be?
Use it?
Or not?
Shi Quan's expression was conflicted.
Go for it!
The sooner he used it, the sooner he enjoyed it. Who knew when the next treasure chest would be triggered? The top priority was to maximize the reward and improve his strength.
"System, use Critical Hit Card, critically hit the Nightmare reward."
"Ding, Host has used Critical Hit Card. The System will refresh the Reputation Treasure Chest reward and open it again. Are you sure?"
"Refresh?" Shi Quan's expression froze for a moment, and he asked in confusion, "System, will the reward after a critical hit become a new one?"
"Ding, Host, after the Critical Hit Card is used, a brand new critical hit reward will be added to the treasure chest, and the original treasure chest reward will be x2. After the treasure chest is opened again, new rewards will be drawn from the treasure chest again."
Upon hearing the System's explanation, Shi Quan's expression immediately became hesitant. If after the critical hit, the item opened was no longer a soul spirit, wouldn't he have lost out?
No...
Even if it wasn't a soul spirit, the critically hit reward would definitely not be worse than the Nightmare reward.
He hadn't forgotten the Critical Hit Card's description: the critical hit reward either doubled the reward or made it better, so it would definitely not be worse than Nightmare.
"No matter what, it'll be useful to me... Let's go for it!"
Shi Quan gritted his teeth and nodded, "System, confirm!"
"Ding, Critical Hit Card used successfully. Critical hit reward has been added for the Host."
"Ding, Reputation Treasure Chest has been opened again for the Host. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the reward... Dream Butterfly!"
"Dream Butterfly?"
There was no multiplier after the reward, meaning the newly opened reward was stronger than the previous one!
"Dream Butterfly and Nightmare are only one character apart. It looks like it's still a soul spirit!"
Shi Quan quickly summoned the System Space.
The grid that originally held the black mist Nightmare now contained a beautiful butterfly.
The outer part of the Dream Butterfly's wings was an unfathomable black, gradually transitioning inward to cyan and then to white. The wings were like flowing light, existing between solid and ethereal. Two slender tail feathers gently swayed, scattering specks of starlight.
The first impression it gave was of transcendent beauty.
And this was still within the storage grid.
"As expected of a critical hit reward. Just its appearance alone makes it seem not on the same level as Nightmare."
Shi Quan sighed as he looked at the Dream Butterfly's description.
Dream Butterfly: A soul spirit, the Incarnation of the will of nature, controller of illusions and dreams.
Note: This soul spirit is growth-oriented and can continue to improve with the Spirit Master's advancement. It possesses a special spiritual Legacy Origin and is 100% loyal to the host.
Compared to Nightmare, Dream Butterfly's description was simpler and clearer. The note only added one special entry: spiritual Legacy Origin.
From the description, it was evident that Nightmare and Dream Butterfly were not on the same level at all. One was a pure Incarnation of evil primordial power, while the other was the Incarnation of the will of nature. One was the Origin of nightmares, while the other was the controller of dreams and illusions.
Nightmares were merely a type of dream, and yet Dream Butterfly could control dreams. It was clearly superior to Nightmare.
Shi Quan exclaimed in his heart, "I profited, I profited."
He looked at the bright moon outside.
Shi Quan got up, drew the curtains, locked the dormitory door from the inside, and after ensuring everything was secure, he returned to bed.
Fortunately, Marde had arranged a single dormitory for him; otherwise, he would have had to go outside the academy to find an inn again.
"Extract Dream Butterfly."
Blue and white light particles scattered, outlining perfect lines that solidified. Its wings gently moved, and a gentle aura wafted over.
Beautiful!
It was a beauty like that of nature itself, the kind that made one sigh in admiration with just a single glance.
The Dream Butterfly's two wings had a diameter of approximately one meter. Its slender tail feathers gently curved upwards and extended to both sides. As its wings fluttered, countless starlight scattered, and the Dream Butterfly's entire body shimmered, appearing almost ethereal.
The Dream Butterfly's intelligent eyes scrutinized Shi Quan up and down.
"Master."
Suddenly, a soft, intimate female voice echoed in Shi Quan's mind.
"Dream Butterfly, are you speaking?" Shi Quan looked at the Dream Butterfly in front of him in surprise. This Dream Butterfly could actually communicate with him mentally.
"Yes, Master." Dream Butterfly gently flapped its wings, its graceful body soaring into the air and circling Shi Quan. Blue and white light particles fell onto Shi Quan's body, making his mind feel exceptionally peaceful.
"Master, summon your Martial Spirit and let me become your power."
Hearing the Dream Butterfly's eager voice, Shi Quan finally came back to his senses, secretly thinking that the Dream Butterfly in front of him had an intelligence level comparable to humans.
As he thought, Shi Quan had already circulated his Internal Energy and summoned his Martial Spirit, Soul.
The Dream Butterfly almost immediately sensed the presence of the Soul. The light radiating from its wings shone with dazzling brilliance, and its enormous wings slowly descended, enveloping Shi Quan's small body. The two slender antennae on the Dream Butterfly's forehead gently touched Shi Quan's glabella.
The originally ethereal form of the Soul seemed to solidify. Countless blue and white light particles emanated from the Dream Butterfly and landed on the Soul. Silver fluctuations emerged from within the Soul's body and converged with the light particles.
A unique thought belonging to the Dream Butterfly entered Shi Quan's mind, a feeling filled with intimacy and dependence.
The aura from the Dream Butterfly was exceptionally comforting, as if it swept away all the disturbances in one's heart, leaving only a pure land. Shi Quan's inner self reached an unprecedented state of tranquility for a moment.
Opening his heart, he wholeheartedly accepted the Dream Butterfly, and the Dream Butterfly likewise poured all of itself into Shi Quan's body.
Sleep, my Master, and inherit my power within the dream.
Listening to the Dream Butterfly's ethereal voice, Shi Quan's consciousness gradually sank into a deep sleep.
Within the dream.
Shi Quan seemed to have become the Dream Butterfly, fluttering gracefully in the air, wandering everywhere, feeling the vastness of the World. There was no need to think, no need to worry, as if it was a part of this World. Immersed within it, he even gradually forgot his original appearance, as if in a state of unity with nature, even forgetting that he had transformed from Shi Quan...