Thus, Fang Zhou cheerfully took out a perfectly preserved Evergreen Fruit from his personal pouch and handed it to Meng Hongzhuang.

Meng Hongzhuang accepted the verdant fruit with great satisfaction. After carefully putting it away, she transferred 30 contribution points to Fang Zhou from her personal terminal, the act feeling as painful as carving out a piece of her own heart.

If it weren't for her poor condition and the fear of wasting its effects, she would have devoured the fruit on the spot.

As Fang Zhou toyed with the oddly shaped Slime Candle in his hand, a thought suddenly surfaced.

Sea City Military Academy is full of hidden talents. Even as a mere first-year recruit, I've managed to gain so many spoils from Cave Hunting. The other seed candidates and senior students must have plenty of good things, too. I wonder if there's a channel to trade with them—a way to exchange resources for mutual benefit? After all, most of the resources available in the Sea City Military Academy's repository are mass-produced. While the prices are favorable and the variety is decent enough for an ordinary student's daily cultivation, some of the rarer resources like Evergreen Fruits, Slime Candles, and Troll Hearts are in extremely high demand. They're often completely unavailable, even if you have the points for them. Many students who obtain rare resources must be keeping them for personal use. Even if something is useless to them, they won't exchange it with the academy. Instead, they'll hoard it, waiting for a chance to trade for something of high value.

Fang Zhou decided to handle his rare resources the same way to maximize their value. The only thing he lacked was a trading channel.

With this in mind, he glanced at Meng Hongzhuang, who was still lost in a blissful, silly grin, and tentatively asked, "Hongzhuang, is there a fixed trade channel for students within the academy? I still have a few Evergreen Fruits I want to trade, preferably for resources useful to an Undead Mage."

Meng Hongzhuang snapped out of her daze. She thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "I've heard that with E-level permissions and above, our personal terminals will unlock a trading section.

"Students can trade freely on it, and the academy guarantees the fairness of every transaction.

"If anyone is caught cheating or deceiving others, the punishments are severe.

"Additionally, the academy holds auctions from time to time to sell some exceptionally rare resources.

"If you're interested, you can ask some of the senior students for the specific details.

"We don't have sufficient permissions right now. We can only participate after the arena challenges end and we are confirmed as academy seeds."

Fang Zhou nodded slightly, making a mental note. He had accumulated a substantial number of contribution points, so he planned to browse the trading section as soon as he got E-level permissions and see if he could find any useful resources.

Just as Fang Zhou was about to close his eyes to rest, Meng Hongzhuang suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh right, Fang Zhou. You just said you have a few more Evergreen Fruits to trade? That's perfect. I can ask around in our academy's Nature Series Professional Association for you. I remember there are still quite a few Apprentice-level Professionals in the association who need Evergreen Fruits. If they have resources that interest you, you can exchange with them."

Fang Zhou's eyebrow twitched as he latched onto the key words in her speech. "Professional Association?" he asked, a bit puzzled.

Meng Hongzhuang paused for a second, then explained, "For mutual assistance and collective progress, the Professionals of each series form their own professional associations. For instance, in our Nature Series Professional Association, the most common Profession is [Druid]. There are also some [Natural Mages], [Forest Knights], and people like me, [Natural Summoners]. Someone like Gu Zhiqiu, a [Storm Mage], belongs to the Wind Series Professional Association. Zhao Yuan, an [Earth Knight], belongs to the Earth Series Professional Association."

She gave Fang Zhou a subtle glance and added, "However, as of now, the only Death-series Profession humans have awakened is [Undead Mage], and their numbers are extremely scarce. I don't know if you guys have formed a professional association or not. At least, in the entire history of Sea City Military Academy, you and Instructor Su Xinyan are the only two Undead Mages. There's already a specialized research group for you, so it seems unnecessary to establish a professional association."

Fang Zhou nodded, his thoughts turning to Sandro, the Golden Upper Rank Undead Mage who had become his Clone Apostle.

While there aren't many Undead Mages, two heads are better than one, and many hands make light work. If he could gather the wisdom and power of these few Undead Mages to serve him, it would undoubtedly accelerate his own growth significantly.

Fang Zhou made a decision. Once he was back at Sea City Military Academy, he would ask Instructor Su Xinyan about the professional associations. If an Undead Mage Professional Association already existed, he would join without hesitation. If not, he would take the lead and establish one himself.

After processing this new information, Fang Zhou told Meng Hongzhuang, "I still have three Evergreen Fruits. Please help me find out if any Nature Series Apprentices need this resource. I'm not short on contribution points, so a barter would be best. I need resources exclusive to the Undead Mage Profession, or resources that can accelerate soul recovery, increase Spiritual Power recovery, or improve the efficiency of skill practice."

Meng Hongzhuang nodded and patted her ample chest. "Don't worry, I'll take care of this little task for you. I'm definitely more reliable than that lazy Bai Xiaochan."

At the mention of Bai Xiaochan, Meng Hongzhuang couldn't help but grind her teeth and spit fiercely, "It must be great being a support professional! Just play some music, sing a few songs, and you can cozy up to someone powerful to become an academy seed. It's nothing like my situation, where I have to risk my life in the caves."

Hearing this, Fang Zhou chuckled to himself. As their "big boss," I'm certainly happy to see my two assistants at odds with each other. It's even better if they compete fiercely.

So, he deliberately said a few more kind words about Bai Xiaochan in front of Meng Hongzhuang. He especially praised the insights she had provided for his skill improvement, indirectly pushing Meng Hongzhuang to fulfill her duties as a research assistant with more diligence. Seeing that Meng Hongzhuang was provoked into a fiery rage, Fang Zhou subtly fanned the flames a little more before deciding he'd done enough and stopped.

While they were talking, the airship reached its optimal flight altitude. Meanwhile, the other cadets on the airship were also busy. Some closed their eyes to rest, some reviewed their hunting experiences from the past few days, while others discussed their gains and regrets.

Amidst the clamor, the airship gradually accelerated, piercing through the clouds as it flew toward the Cave Fortress.

Looking out the porthole at the undulating cave landscape below, Fang Zhou's heart filled with anticipation. The three-day Cave Hunt had been brief, but it felt as if several dozen days had passed. The spoils from each battle were substantial, but the fatigue was just as real.

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