**Chapter 19: Settlement and Rewards**
When Zhou Ming's consciousness returned to clarity, he was already on a huge plaza. It was empty all around, with only a large orb suspended in mid-air above his head. Looking out as far as the eye could see, there was only boundless darkness and profundity.
"Oh, still the classic Main God model," Zhou Ming couldn't help but quip.
A pillar of light descended from the sky, enveloping Zhou Ming.
Countless specks of light particles merged into Zhou Ming's body, repairing the damage to his body and quickly restoring his physical condition to its peak state.
*The first full-body repair is free. Subsequent repairs will be charged.*
With the Main God's prompt, the pillar of light vanished, and Zhou Ming landed on the ground.
Zhou Ming squeezed his fists in surprise, feeling the abundant power surging within his body.
Not only were external, internal, and hidden injuries completely recovered, but even the injuries caused by the death of his natal Gu were fully restored. At this moment, Zhou Ming's body was so healthy that not a single flaw could be found.
"Amazing." Zhou Ming exclaimed, genuinely impressed.
*Task settlement complete. Please check it yourself.*
"Check task settlement." Zhou Ming shouted toward the large orb above his head.
Immediately, a flood of information poured into his mind.
**Task 1: Survive ten days. Task completed. Basic reward points 1000 obtained.**
**Task 2: Protect Adele Bronses. Task completed. Reward points 1000 obtained. Task completion evaluation: Excellent. Overall evaluation significantly increased.**
**Participated in task: Annihilate the assassin organization Cronus. Task completed. Participation rate 27%. Reward points 2700 obtained. Task completion evaluation: Excellent. Overall evaluation significantly increased.**
**Overall task evaluation: Five stars.**
**Special Reward One obtained: 150% bonus to total reward points.**
**Special Reward Two obtained: One five-star lottery qualification, with a choice between designated draw or random draw.**
**Special Reward Three obtained: Next task hint. This reward will be issued one day before the task begins.**
**The next task world will be entered in 15 days.**
As expected, the rewards for tagging along with experienced reincarnators on tasks were very high.
Not to mention the combat experience gained from several assassins in that series of battles, just the final reward points alone were higher than the combined total of Task 1 and Task 2.
Moreover, participation in the task had undoubtedly affected the overall task evaluation. The five-star evaluation boosted his reward points by 150%, meaning Zhou Ming ultimately received a total of 7050 reward points.
For a newcomer on his first task, this was a considerable income.
Additionally, there was that five-star lottery qualification.
"Hmm?" Zhou Ming scratched his head and asked, "Main God, what's the difference between a designated draw and a random draw?"
The Main God's response appeared in Zhou Ming's consciousness.
**Designated draw: Three rewards are drawn based on the reincarnator's current attributes. The reincarnator chooses one.**
**Random draw: Ten rewards are drawn randomly. The reincarnator chooses one.**
Zhou Ming pondered for a moment, understanding the difference between the two options.
One option drew rewards that were compatible with the reincarnator's attributes and could be used immediately, but the choice was narrower—three out of one.
The other option drew items that were largely unrelated to the reincarnator's own attributes and could not be used immediately. However, the choice was wider—ten out of one.
Both options had their pros and cons. After all, even though they were both five-star lottery qualifications, there was still a significant difference in value between different items.
If he drew a top-tier five-star item, he could sell it to other reincarnators and use the reward points earned to strengthen himself.
In that case, the ten-out-of-one draw clearly had a higher probability of yielding good items.
However, after a brief consideration, Zhou Ming still chose the three-out-of-one reward.
Firstly, this was his first task, and he lacked understanding of both the Main God Space and other reincarnators. Choosing an item that suited him was safer.
Secondly, he also wanted to see how the Main God judged his own attributes.
**You have chosen the designated draw qualification. You have obtained the following three reward options: Fire Dance Whirlwind Sword Art, Wood Spiritual Root, and Heavenly Water Pearl. Please choose one as your reward.**
Zhou Ming was slightly taken aback, immediately understanding how the Main God had judged his own attributes.
Clearly, the Fire Dance Whirlwind Sword Art corresponded to the Sword Qi Gu, the Heavenly Water Pearl corresponded to the Water Armor Gu and Water Jade Gu, and the Wood Spiritual Root corresponded to the Leaf Blade Gu, Straw Sandal Gu, and Grass Root Gu.
Although Zhou Ming now only had the Grass Root Gu and a dying Sword Qi Gu, the other Gu worms that had already died were still accounted for by the Main God.
"I wonder how long this calculation method will last? If I bring in a completely different set of Gu worms next time, will the Gu worms from this time still be included in the task rewards?"
Zhou Ming couldn't get an answer. The Main God naturally wouldn't answer his question.
He didn't bother thinking about it further, focusing on checking the detailed descriptions of the three rewards.
The Fire Dance Whirlwind Sword Art had thirteen layers. Once mastered, its power was unparalleled. It also had an ultimate sword move: Heaven and Earth Share Life, which was a suicidal sword move within the Fire Dance Whirlwind Sword Art. Its power could destroy heaven and earth, making it extremely formidable.
However, mastering the Fire Dance Whirlwind Sword Art required a large amount of time. As a reincarnator, one must perform tasks at regular intervals, leaving no time for slow cultivation.
It was also possible to directly strengthen it layer by layer at the Main God's place, but that would cost a considerable amount of reward points.
"Unless you specialize in the sword dao, choosing this is meaningless."
Zhou Ming shook his head and looked at the Wood Spiritual Root next.
The Wood Spiritual Root allowed a mortal to qualify for daoist magic cultivation and provided a bonus in wood path cultivation.
Clearly, this item was something often seen in some cultivation novels. Its appearance was a verdant line, and he didn't know whether it was considered an organ or a tool when transplanted into a human body.
However, Zhou Ming wasn't thinking about that, but rather whether integrating this Wood Spiritual Root into his body would improve his aptitude.
The aptitude problem had troubled him for too long, so when he saw this reward, the first thought that came to mind was this.
Although he knew this idea was unrealistic—as the two were not the same cultivation system—Zhou Ming still held a faint hope for this Wood Spiritual Root.
As for the third item, the Heavenly Water Pearl, it was a low-rank magic treasure. Its function was to form a water shield when activated, resisting a certain degree of damage. The usage condition was cultivation—possessing true essence power—and it could be activated during the Qi Refining stage.
Zhou Ming smiled.
It seemed he didn't need to worry about how to choose.
As his finger gently tapped the Wood Spiritual Root, the other two options immediately disappeared, and the Wood Spiritual Root fell into his hand.
At the same time, the Main God's voice resounded.
**You have obtained the Wood Spiritual Root. You can choose to use it yourself, or have the Main God strengthen it and integrate it into the reincarnator's body. Strengthening requires 200 reward points.**
"Damn it." Zhou Ming despised the Main God. Even if the Wood Spiritual Root was given to him, he wouldn't know how to use it. Those two hundred points were clearly unavoidable.
After paying two hundred reward points, a white pillar of light enveloped Zhou Ming. The light flashed, and the Wood Spiritual Root in Zhou Ming's hand vanished without a trace.
Other than that, Zhou Ming felt no change.
"Is that it?" Zhou Ming's eyes widened.
Before he could continue to check, the Main God's voice continued to resound.
**Reincarnator possesses item "Grass Root Gu," which is not in the Main God's exchange sequence. Submitting to the Main God will grant 200 reward points.**
**Reincarnator possesses item "Sword Qi Gu," which is not in the Main God's exchange sequence. Submitting to the Main God will grant 800 reward points.**
"Hmm?" These two consecutive Main God prompts immediately drew Zhou Ming's attention completely, pushing everything else aside.
"The Main God doesn't have Gu worm exchanges here?" Zhou Ming was greatly surprised. He quickly opened the exchange list, entered "Gu worm," and searched.
In an instant, countless dense exchange entries flashed before Zhou Ming's eyes.
The sheer number was so great that Zhou Ming couldn't see the end of them.
However, as Zhou Ming's gaze swept downward, his expression grew increasingly solemn.
Of course, the Main God had Gu worm exchanges here.
But the sources of Gu worms were diverse: there were mortal venomous insects, exotic insects from wuxia worlds, wondrous Gu from cultivation worlds, and even legendary primordial divine Gu.
Gu worms from different sources had different refining systems, and naturally, different driving methods.
The Gu worms from Zhou Ming's main world (Gu World) were completely different from all the Gu worms on the Main God's exchange list. They belonged to different systems and were thus unrelated.
Just as the Main God had said: "not in the Main God's exchange sequence."
In other words, Zhou Ming's main world (Gu World) was an undeveloped blue ocean for the Main God.
And a blue ocean meant an incredibly vast space for profit.
A surge of intense excitement suddenly rose in Zhou Ming's heart.
He forcibly suppressed this excitement and chose to submit the Grass Root Gu to the Main God.
Two hundred reward points were credited to his account.
Then, Zhou Ming immediately searched for "Grass Root Gu" in the Main God's exchange list.
A few minutes later, he found the exchange option.
**Grass Root Gu: One-turn wood path healing Gu worm. Healing effect is average. Evaluation: One star. Exchange requires 100 reward points. Exchange prerequisite: Possesses an aperture.**
One hundred points.
Zhou Ming's eyes widened abruptly, and his body trembled slightly.
He unhesitatingly submitted the dying Sword Qi Gu to the Main God, and another eight hundred reward points were credited to his account.
Afterward, he quickly found the newly appeared exchange option in the exchange list.
**Sword Qi Gu: Two-turn sword dao offensive Gu worm. Possesses excellent offensive power. Evaluation: Two stars. Exchange requires 400 reward points. Exchange prerequisite: Possesses an aperture.**
Zhou Ming stared blankly at the exchange information, finally unable to resist throwing his head back and laughing loudly.
For a Gu worm not on the Main God's exchange list, the Main God was actually offering double the price for acquisition.
He brought a new Gu worm from the Gu World to the Main God, and the reward points he received allowed him to exchange for two identical Gu worms. He could then return to the Gu World to sell them, and continue buying new Gu worms for the Main God.
Back and forth, he would make several times the profit with each transaction. He was going to be rich.
"Calm down. Be calm."
Zhou Ming suppressed the urge to immediately exchange for Gu worms and return to the Gu World to resell them. He paced back and forth twice excitedly, gradually calming his inner turmoil.
Never make decisions when emotionally agitated—this was one of the principles Zhou Ming had always followed.
Excitement leads to impulsiveness, and judgments made impulsively are very likely to be wrong.
Feeling his heartbeat gradually return to normal, Zhou Ming's thoughts also became clearer. He did not deny the idea of cross-world reselling—he just needed to refine it further.
After some thought, Zhou Ming asked, "Main God, can I return to the main world now? Can I come back after returning?"
**A reincarnator can return to the main world at any time. Before the next task begins, they can also return to the Main God Space at any time. The first return to the Main God Space is free. Each subsequent return requires a payment of 1000 reward points.**
The Main God's reply extinguished the last bit of fervor in Zhou Ming's heart, and his mind completely returned to clarity.
"Sure enough, the Main God's loopholes aren't that easy to exploit."
Each round trip to the Main God Space required a payment of 1000 reward points. Considering his own safety and time cost, this meant that a single Gu worm reselling profit below 1500 reward points would result in a loss.
Moreover, there were several other issues that needed to be resolved for reselling Gu worms.
Even if they were both One-turn Gu worms, the value of different Gu worms varied greatly. So, would their exchange prices at the Main God's place also differ?
Furthermore, the double acquisition price was, after all, only the result of Zhou Ming's two submissions—the sample size was too small to conclude it as a rule.
Who knew if other Gu worms would also have a double acquisition price? And would the Main God allow him to infinitely farm points without any reaction?
The Main God could not answer these questions. Zhou Ming could only verify them himself, and Zhou Ming was pessimistic about the outcome.