55: Chapter 55 Graduation Season Begins

Three months of sleepless nights and countless battles on the edge of life and death—there was only one final step left to reach the goal that could change his family's fate.

The next day, just as Qin Ce was preparing to make one final push for the top spot on the rankings...

...

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The squad badge on Qin Ce's wrist suddenly vibrated violently and persistently, emitting a conspicuous glow.

A message in the squad badge?

Or was another squad causing trouble again...?

Qin Ce focused his consciousness into the squad badge.

A message flashed in bright red in the center of the badge's interface.

[Congratulations to Starlight Squad leader Jiang Ruowei! Her Pet Beast has successfully broken through the black iron rank and officially promoted to Bronze Rank!]

[Detection of a Bronze Rank Beast Tamer in the Elite Class has triggered the early start of Graduation Season!]

[three-star mission System, unlocked!]

[Graduation Assessment Task, issued!]

The notification faded.

Qin Ce looked at the badge interface again.

In the task column.

The [three-star mission] module, which was previously grayed out and locked, was now radiating a brilliant golden light, with lines of text scrolling out like flowing water:

[Graduation Season · three-star mission Unlocked]

[Task Types:]

1. proof of the lone wolf: Slay 10 mid-grade bronze fierce beasts alone (any species). Reward: Points +1800, [Three-Star Special Resource Exchange Voucher] ×10.

2. Beast Swarm Dispersal: Defeat at least three Bronze Rank beast swarms (population greater than 100, with Bronze Rank accounting for 30%). Reward: Points +2400, [Three-Star Special Resource Exchange Voucher] ×15.

3. Leapfrog Hunt: Cooperatively slay 1 Silver Rank ordinary fierce beast. Reward: Points +3500, [Three-Star Special Resource Exchange Voucher] ×25.

4. Unknown Exploration: Reconnoiter and map a designated area (danger level below Gold Rank), marking resource points, fierce beast nests, and terrain features. Reward: Points +1000, [Three-Star Special Resource Exchange Voucher] ×5.

5. Beast Egg Refining: Within one hour of a fierce beast's death, use a Soul Talisman to condense a fierce beast egg. Quality requirement: Upper Bronze Rank or higher. Quantity requirement: At least 8 eggs. Reward: Points +800, [Three-Star Special Resource Exchange Voucher] ×12.

...

Previously, the gap between Qin Ce and Jiang Ruowei was only 136 points.

But any one of these three-star missions offered over 800 points.

Completing just one of these would allow him to instantly overtake Jiang Ruowei and take first place.

But...

Qin Ce's gaze lingered on the fifth task for a moment.

fierce beast eggs!

He recalled the knowledge Wei Ming had briefly mentioned before: every time a Beast Tamer breaks through a major realm, their Soul Talisman upgrades accordingly, unlocking a new pet slot.

When a Beast Tamer has an empty slot, they can slay a fierce beast no more than two major ranks above them and, within an hour of its death, use a Soul Talisman to try and "condense" its soul and bloodline essence into a fierce beast egg of that type.

This was one of the primary ways most Beast Tamers acquired new Pet Beasts.

It was also one of the most important sources of income for a newly promoted Beast Tamer. The market price of a high-quality fierce beast egg was enough to support a commoner family's expenses for several years.

However, high-quality fierce beast eggs were not easy to obtain.

First, the slain fierce beast had to be sufficiently excellent.

Second, the refining process was extremely taxing on mental strength, and the success rate was influenced by multiple factors such as the beast's species, its state at death, and the Beast Tamer's own condition.

Furthermore, there was a certain element of luck involved.

Therefore, truly "good eggs" that could be condensed were extremely rare.

And now...

"In the Elite Class, only Jiang Ruowei has broken through to Bronze," Qin Ce whispered to himself. "So, right now, only she has an empty pet slot. This fifth task can actually only be done by her; it's practically her exclusive task. Coupled with the resource support behind her, it's as if she's already one task ahead of everyone else the moment the three-star missions were unlocked..."

Thus, the appearance of the three-star missions didn't mean he could catch up to Jiang Ruowei faster; instead, the distance between him and Jiang Ruowei had actually widened.

This thought sent a chill through Qin Ce's heart.

He placed even more importance on this change in the squad badge.

He continued reading.

The resource exchange list had also changed significantly due to the three-star missions. In addition to the previous point exchange list, a Three-Star Special Resource Exchange list had appeared. The dazzling array of names and descriptions of effects on it were enough to make one's eyes burn with desire:

[Fire Spirit Essence]: A strengthening material for fire-attribute Pet Beasts, capable of increasing flame purity and temperature.

[Ice Heart Lotus]: An auxiliary spiritual medicine for ice-attribute Pet Beasts, stabilizing the mind and enhancing freezing control.

[Wind-Thunder Stone]: A rare dual-attribute ore of wind and thunder, can be used for forging or direct absorption.

[Earth Core]: A breakthrough material for earth-attribute Pet Beasts, with a certain probability of triggering bloodline evolution.

[Star Sand]: A universal material for space and mental attributes, it nourishes the Soul Talisman and expands mental strength capacity.

...

Every single one was a top-tier resource that was priceless on the market.

Compared to these three-star rewards, the [Moonlight Dew] and [Earth-Core Fire Lotus Seed] that Qin Ce had snatched from the exchange list over the past few months were practically like children's toys.

Why say that?

Because although the items in the previous point exchange list were also unavailable on the market, their core function was to supplement the constitution of the Pet Beast and Beast Tamer, or to be converted into internal energy after digestion.

However, the three-star rewards were different.

This brought to mind what Teacher Wei had said during their lessons.

"Only after reaching Bronze Rank does a Pet Beast enter its true 'Growth Phase.' This is because the black iron rank can only be considered the infant stage of a Pet Beast. Just like our human infants, the infant stage can only be fed breast milk. Pet Beasts at the black iron rank can only solidify their constitutional foundation through ordinary nutrition; no interference can be made with the elements, energy, or bloodlines within their bodies."

"Upon reaching Bronze Rank, it's as if we humans have entered early childhood. We can be fed other foods and given other nutrients to adjust our constitution. Similarly, Pet Beasts can gradually introduce elemental strengthening, bloodline purification, and trait awakening to adjust their very essence."

"True nurturing only begins at this stage."

Therefore, the three-star rewards were things that could directly improve the essence of a Pet Beast.

Just like before, the evolution paths for Pet Beasts that Qin Ce had identified through Nine-Star Insight all required materials from these three-star rewards to succeed.

This proved the preciousness of the three-star resources.

In other words, with Jiang Ruowei's upgrade to Bronze Rank and the start of the Graduation Season in the squad badge...

Both the difficulty of the tasks and the richness of the rewards had ascended to a new level.

The competition was becoming increasingly fierce.

It had also become even more difficult for Qin Ce to overtake Jiang Ruowei in the rankings!

Qin Ce tightened his fist.

Qingluan was currently at Black Iron Peak, just one step away from Bronze.

But that step might require the stimulus of a life-and-death struggle, or perhaps the guidance of a certain opportunity.

...