The System Store sorted itself out when he ordered it to only show dragon-related items.
And the first thing it showed was an item with a ridiculous price tag.
True Dragon Summon: Permanently summon a True Dragon and become their friend, companion, or Master. They will follow whatever you say.
Alm Points Cost: 100,000,000,000.
What the fck?!* Apollo couldn't help but be shocked at the amount of Alm Points needed to buy this item. That amount was basically saying, "You can't buy me, you cheap ass motherfcker!" How many years would he need to save up to reach that price? 10 years? 100 years? Heck, Apollo wouldn't be surprised if it took at least a million years to afford that!
Shaking his head, he stared at the next item, which also had a ridiculous price.
True Dragon Summon (Temporary): Temporarily summon a True Dragon for 1 hour and become their friend, companion, or Master. They will follow whatever you say.
Alm Points Cost: 500,000,000.
500 million Alm Points for a temporary summon? And only for an hour? The System is basically ripping me off! Hundreds of thousands of years in exchange for an hour? Who's the fool who's going to do that?!
Apollo looked at more items, each one with a price he couldn't afford unless he was immortal, living forever as a beggar begging for money.
After numbing his eyes with the prices, he finally decided to look for the cheapest ones.
The cheapest item was worth 100 Alm Points—it was a book about the history of True Dragons. There was a lot of stuff that didn't seem cool, so he just skimmed past them until his eyes landed on an item called Dragon Eyes.
Dragon Eyes: Reveals the bloodline purity of a dragon with just one look. Once acquired, it can be passed down through generations.
Alm Points Cost: 500 Alm Points.
Oh? Is this Bel's innate ability? Apollo continued to look for more and found similar items.
Inferior Dragon Eyes: Reveals the bloodline purity of a dragon with just one look. Once acquired, it can be passed down through generations, but the power of the ability will dwindle as generations pass.
Alm Points Cost: 350 Alm Points.
It was a "cheap" item that couldn't increase one's strength, more like a detection or identification ability. Apollo felt it wasn't useful. He continued to search for more items before stopping at one in particular. This one could increase his strength, but it cost ten thousand Alm Points.
Dragon Vial: A vial containing dragon blood. Once ingested, one will acquire the bloodline of a True Dragon. The purity is random, with a 1% limit of the True Dragon's bloodline, if one is extremely lucky.
Oh great, another ridiculous item. For 10,000 Alm Points, one can acquire a True Dragon Bloodline, but the percentage is at most 1%? Apollo finally gave up and closed the System Store.
Around this time, Bel continued their conversation. Then someone exclaimed as people began emerging from the golden chariot.
They turned to look at the newcomers, who were wearing expensive hanfu, just like what Master Popo wore, though it was clear they were wearing something underneath—unlike him, who liked to "show off."
The floating platform levitated toward them, lowering itself to the ground, and the newcomers stepped onto it before taking their seats.
"They can fit inside that chariot?" Filly couldn't help but mutter in confusion.
"It actually has more space inside than you'd expect from its size," Bel said.
"Dimension Augmentation," Gail explained. "Only cultivators with this rare ability can do that."
"How come you guys know all this?" Filly asked with a defeated sigh.
"If you read books more often, you'd know about it," Gail said, smiling.
Apollo glanced at each person who took their seats, his eyes stopping on an obese man adorned with shiny golden ornaments. The man was talking to an old man wearing a white hanfu, who nodded occasionally. Five others seemed uninterested in them, while the last three interacted with them like subordinates sucking up to their bosses.
"The mayor is here personally," Bel said, disgust evident in her voice. "And he's brought visitors."
"I thought they didn't like each other. Why are they sitting together?" Gail couldn't help but ask, though she immediately regretted it when she remembered there was an outsider beside them.
"I don't know," Bel shrugged, glancing at the masked man. Then, turning towards him, she asked the second reason she had approached him. "Mr. Can Deez?"
"What?" Apollo looked up at Bel, trying not to laugh.
"Join us after the Advancement Examination," Bel said with a smile.
Hearing this, Filly and Gail exchanged looks.
"Eh? What do you mean by that?" Apollo asked.
"Join the Great Serpent Cultivation School," Bel clarified. "You clearly want to join a martial school, right? That's why you got the invitation through other means."
Apollo raised an eyebrow behind his mask. "Let me think about it," he said, before focusing on Master Popo, who was now standing up and staring at one of the people on the floating platform. Apollo noticed a deep furrow on the instructor's face, which piqued his curiosity.
"I can sense that you're strong," Bel said. "Releasing one's senses to observe another person's cultivation—that's something only a talented cultivator or someone at the 4th-Step Foundation Building can do."
Hearing this, Gail glanced at the masked man with newfound respect. Initially, she saw him as someone Bel was curious about, but now, realizing he could release his senses, he became a potential rival among the top martial students in this Advancement Examination.
Eh? But I could already do that when I was still at the 3rd-Step, Apollo thought. This made him realize that something wasn't adding up with the current situation. Is it because of the Simple Breathing Technique?
"You're definitely going to pass the third test. The only question is how well you'll do and what place you'll end up in. You're sure to receive other recruitment offers, but I'm personally inviting you now. Of course, you can take your time to think about it," Bel smiled.
Apollo just stared at her for a moment before turning to Master Popo, who was now looking at them. "He's about to start."