Dead Bone Mountain Range

"Heroic Profession?" Bai Pu was somewhat surprised. "For a newly promoted Awakened, shouldn't the best template they can obtain only be Reinforced Elite?"

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head. "I watched Wan Zhen's interview. He awakened at fifteen, starting with the Reinforced Elite profession, 'Pegasus Knight.' Later, by a stroke of luck, he unlocked a second class change and ultimately achieved a Heroic Profession. Oh, and when he became the Top Scorer, he was already level 4."

"So-called strokes of luck are nothing more than the blessings of one's family."

Li Ling said, "Understand now? That's why I said becoming the Top Scorer isn't easy. Standing out from tens of thousands of talented Awakened—how could that possibly be simple?"

"Yeah, I awakened relatively late, so my raw strength is temporarily behind." Bai Pu said, "Next, I need to hurry up and level... I remember I still have one chance to enter the Intersection Lands, 'Dead Bone Mountain Range,' right? Can I go in now?"

"The Intersection Lands aren't open whenever you want, especially exploration-and-combat-type Intersection Lands. I remember they open once every three months." Li Ling looked at Su Xiaoxiao. "Xiaoxiao, you should remember more clearly than I do."

"Mm, calculating the time, Dead Bone Mountain Range last closed in January. It should be almost time for its summer opening." Su Xiaoxiao opened her personal information terminal and summoned the Intelligent Assistant to check. She quickly confirmed the date.

"The summer opening date for Dead Bone Mountain Range is... May 15th. If you register now, you still have a little over ten days to prepare," Su Xiaoxiao said.

"Where is the entrance to the Intersection Lands?" Bai Pu planned to set off early. A sense of urgency welled up within him.

The threshold for advancing to an intermediate Awakened was from level 3 to level 4. This stage was the easiest time to trigger a second class change! Unlike those other privileged second-generation Awakened, Bai Pu had no family blessings or precious Spirit Realm Oddities bestowed by elders that could easily grant him an opportunity for a second class change.

He had to grow stronger as quickly as possible and seize that piece of heart tissue from the Superstar Alliance's Intersection Lands!

Seeing Bai Pu's eagerness, both Li Ling and Su Xiaoxiao smiled.

"No need to leave early. Every one of the seven districts has an entrance to the Intersection Lands." Su Xiaoxiao then explained the reason to Bai Pu.

The Dead Bone Mountain Range Intersection Lands were controlled by Huaxia's military, which had established Space Channels in all seven districts of Huaxia.

Therefore, Bai Pu did not need to travel to another district. He only needed to head to the special military base in Jiangnan District, where he could enter the Dead Bone Mountain Range Intersection Lands through a Space Channel.

"That's quite convenient..." Bai Pu silently nodded, then opened a copy of Modern European History and began reading intently.

In the blink of an eye, May 15th arrived—the day the Dead Bone Mountain Range Intersection Lands opened.

Jiangnan Base City, western outskirts.

Special military base.

The hall was packed with Awakened from all directions.

None of these Awakened were above level 3. They belonged to the low-level Awakened ranks. Some were active-duty soldiers, some were members of military-civilian cooperative organizations such as the God Strategy Army, and many were complete outsiders who had paid exorbitant Spirit Energy Point entrance fees to gain access.

Having gotten his admission for free, Bai Pu quietly marveled when he heard the jaw-dropping Spirit Energy Point entrance fee. Joining a large organization really did come with plenty of benefits—provided one received focused training, such as in the Genius Camp.

"Bai Pu!" A familiar voice suddenly rang out.

Bai Pu closed his book and turned around. Qilin, along with two unfamiliar teenage Awakened, was looking at him.

The three of them came over.

"Bai Pu, Ling-jie told me you signed up for this Dead Bone Mountain Range Intersection Lands expedition too. Sure enough, I found you."

With a smile, Qilin introduced them smoothly. "Let me introduce you. This is Taurus, an elite profession Monk. And this one..."

"Mad Dog." The pale-faced youth beside him, dark circles beneath his eyes, stared at Bai Pu as he spoke. From the very beginning, his eyes had been fixed on Bai Pu, completely unconcerned with the strange looks from others.

"Hello."

Bai Pu nodded and gave them a socially appropriate smile before returning to his book.

"Uh..." Qilin was momentarily at a loss for words. He had originally wanted to invite Bai Pu to form a team and enter the Intersection Lands together, but now he did not know how to bring it up.

"Forget it. Bai Pu signed up for the college entrance exam too. His foundation is weak, and he's been working hard at studying. Let's not disturb him," Qilin said softly to the other three after thinking for a while.

The stocky youth codenamed Taurus had a gleaming shaved head. He curled his lip and laughed.

"Forget it. Our three-man team is enough anyway. We've got a tank, DPS, and support. Besides, we're all level 3. What's the point of bringing along a level 1? It'd be hard to divide the loot too..."

The hall was filled with a noisy hum, but Bai Pu's mind was free of distractions as he remained focused on his book.

"Everyone who should be here is here, right? Quiet down."

A voice sounded from the steps at the entrance to the corridor on the north side of the hall.

The speaker was an Awakened military officer. His tone was mild, yet carried an irresistible authority. The clamor in the hall swiftly subsided.

"I am Xiang Yinghua, military skills instructor at Chang Kong Special Forces Base. You can call me Instructor Xiang."

Xiang Yinghua swept his gaze across the hall and said gravely, "You should all have learned the rules before coming here. But to avoid any unpleasant incidents, I will reiterate the disciplines for entering the Dead Bone Mountain Range Intersection Lands!

"First, only Awakened at level 3 or below may enter Dead Bone Mountain Range!

"Second, no communication devices may be carried. You must carry a military-issued Spirit Energy Camera and keep it recording throughout the entire process! Third, the Intersection Lands will remain open for ten days. When it closes, everyone must leave. No one may remain behind!

"Did you hear that clearly?"

Scattered replies of "Heard clearly" rose from the hall, far from uniform.

Instructor Xiang Yinghua's brow twitched, but he held himself back and shouted, "Collect your Spirit Energy Cameras according to your registration numbers, then line up at the entrance for inspection. Numbers 1 through 10!"

The hall stirred again.

Bai Pu had heard about the three rules of Dead Bone Mountain Range. Su Xiaoxiao had specifically explained them to him and had even revealed the reasons behind them.

Dead Bone Mountain Range was where the medium-sized Spirit Realm Plane—the Underdark—and the real world intersected. The highest Awakened level that could currently match with the Underdark Plane World was level 3 or below, including level 3. Therefore, the Intersection Lands followed the same level restriction. Awakened above level 4 could not enter.

Keeping the military cameras active throughout the exploration was easy enough to understand. After all, this was an Intersection Lands the military regarded as a treasure. They needed to monitor the situation at all times and guard against sabotage—though destroying an Intersection Lands was not an easy feat.

The Intersection Lands were also beyond the reach of real-world laws. But if disputes arose—meaning serious disputes capable of triggering a war between major Awakened factions—recordings would make it easier for the authorities to mediate and pass judgment.

As for the final rule, requiring everyone to leave when it closed, that was for the "maintenance" of the Intersection Lands.

Spirit Realm Planes had a characteristic: when no Awakened existed anywhere in the entire plane, the flow of time in the Spirit Realm Plane would gradually accelerate compared to the real world.

The Intersection Lands shared this characteristic. Once all Awakened left and the Intersection Lands closed, time would gradually accelerate. During the three-month closure period outside, more than three years might pass within the Intersection Lands.

Over that long period, fresh batches of spirit energy herbs would grow; frigid Death Energy would breed new monster hordes; and some ignorant Spirit Realm lifeforms would accidentally wander into the Intersection Lands through the cracks, joining its new monster hordes.

This was the "maintenance period" of the Intersection Lands, ensuring that fresh resources would be available to plunder in the next round of exploration.

Bai Pu quickly received his Spirit Energy Camera. He was number 97.

"Bai Pu, let's add each other as friends! Friends on the Spirit Energy Camera have a location function. Once we're in the Intersection Lands, if you run into trouble, you can meet up with us," Qilin whispered.

Bai Pu added him. He felt that Qilin truly was warmhearted, with his social skills maxed out.

Of course, this also had to do with the potential Bai Pu had displayed. Ever since Bai Pu's monstrous performance in the White Bone Dungeon, Qilin had concluded that Bai Pu would definitely enter the second phase's main battle team in the future.

As for the mere two-level gap between them now, he could probably catch up after just a few Spirit Realm explorations.

Mad Dog also took out his Spirit Energy Camera and exchanged friend requests with Bai Pu, surprising both Qilin and Taurus.

Taurus hesitated for a moment before adding Bai Pu as well. Otherwise, his rejection would have been too obvious.

The military inspection was also simple. They only needed to show their identification and set their profession level to public display status. No other information needed to be revealed.

The Awakened sergeant in charge of the inspection was slightly stunned when he saw Bai Pu's face. Then, upon checking the information on Bai Pu's identity card and discovering that he was a Genius Camp member of the God Strategy Army, his expression softened even further.

When he looked up and saw that Bai Pu's profession level was only level 1, the sergeant offered a reminder. "Be careful once you're inside. Just kill a few lone Skeleton Soldiers around the outskirts. If you encounter an enemy you can't defeat, leave the Intersection Lands in time, and your life won't be in danger. Everyone gets one of these maps. Take it."

Bai Pu accepted the map and thanked him. Then, together with the other nine people in his batch, he stepped into the curtain of light within the Space Channel.