Father and Son Go into Battle

To be honest, Xu Nan did not have a very good impression of this "mentor." Though Teacher Wu's time in the entertainment industry had been over a decade ago, he had since vanished from public view and had not caused the public much grief.

But Xu Nan had imagined that a senior member of the Thousand Rays Society would be a meticulous soldier with a military background, right?

Clearly, his understanding of the Thousand Rays Society's structure had been off.

The Thousand Rays Society did indeed have a military background, but in the beginning, it had still been a ramshackle civilian outfit. When Pro World had first turned its attention toward Earth, the first batch of professionals had emerged on Earth.

These people had awakened long before Xu Nan and the others.

Some of them had even traveled to another world through fortunate coincidences, and they had all eventually been absorbed into the Thousand Rays Society.

Of course, there had also been those who refused to cooperate. By now, they were either under house arrest or already dead.

In the beginning, the higher-ups' attitude toward these matters had remained ambiguous. Only after the military stepped in and began conducting large-scale investigations into the other world did the Thousand Rays Society truly establish itself.

During that process, military professionals continuously poured in, diluting the proportion of civilian members within the Thousand Rays Society to a certain extent.

But that did not mean that every professional in the Thousand Rays Society was a dedicated soldier.

In fact, many of the professionals secretly recruited by the Thousand Rays Society came from other industries.

For example, the man before Xu Nan was somewhat unusual.

Zhang Yingluo had vaguely mentioned to Xu Nan that sorcerers were indeed somewhat unwelcome within the Thousand Rays Society.

They awakened through their bloodlines, their development was entirely unpredictable, and they had a terrible reputation.

Thus, within the Thousand Rays Society, sorcerers were a group isolated by many people.

Wu Sanpao was one example. Otherwise, he would not have started complaining the moment they met.

Of course, he was not lacking someone to vent to and looking for Xu Nan to ramble at. Xu Nan understood very clearly that Wu Sanpao was most likely giving him a warning in advance.

The Thousand Rays Society might not be as wonderful as he had imagined.

But it did not matter. Being unpopular was no big deal. In fact, Xu Nan did not want too much attention. That was just his nature. Drifting along in an organization and taking it easy sounded pretty good.

Making a fortune quietly was more his style.

So he cared about more practical matters. The Training Camp mentioned by both Zhang Yingluo and Wu Sanpao was what concerned him most.

"As for the Training Camp, it's nothing much. It's just a place to drill newcomers like you. There's nothing worth introducing. You'll know when you get there."

Perhaps because he was getting older, Wu Sanpao was much more talkative than Xu Nan had expected.

"This time, we recruited three sorcerers. The other two are second-generation kids with military backgrounds. Your political affiliation is listed as ordinary citizen, so you were assigned to me."

"Honestly, I think the sorcerer class is a pain in the ass too. I obtained my class inheritance many years before you did, but I'm still completely lost when it comes to figuring it out."

"Oh, right. You're level three now?"

Xu Nan nodded.

"How did you level up before?" Wu Sanpao asked curiously.

Xu Nan felt a little awkward.

He could not exactly say that he leveled up by doing embarrassing things, could he?

"Forget it. Looking at that confused expression of yours, I can tell you stumbled through it without understanding anything too."

Wu Sanpao opened a bottle of alcohol. After Xu Nan indicated that he did not drink, Wu Sanpao did not force him and simply drank by himself. "As your mentor at this stage, I can only give you one little secret."

Xu Nan listened attentively.

"Stimulation!"

Wu Sanpao whispered into Xu Nan's ear.

Xu Nan looked puzzled.

"A sorcerer's bloodline needs intense stimulation. Whether it comes from outside or within, it can trigger a transformation in the bloodline."

Wu Sanpao spoke animatedly. "The simplest example would be intense emotional conflict—more specifically, heartbreak. Have you ever been heartbroken?"

Xu Nan shook his head. He had never even been in a relationship. He was a genuine innocent virgin.

"Many sorcerers first awaken their bloodlines after suffering intense emotional stimulation. Some lose family members, some experience their first kiss, first love, or first time having sex. Others are more unusual and need severe pain before they can awaken their bloodlines..."

"For example, there's a colleague in our department who inherited his bloodline early on but could never awaken it. Later, I whipped him a few times, and he suddenly awakened..."

"Everyone awakens differently, but it's generally related to stimulation. Of course, everyone has different triggers, so you need to figure them out yourself."

Wu Sanpao shrugged. "That's all I can tell you."

Xu Nan fell into thought.

Wu Sanpao had not said much, and it all sounded like nonsense, but his description of sorcerer bloodlines had vaguely allowed Xu Nan to touch upon certain core secrets.

"Of course, after all these years of research, our department has developed a series of accelerated awakening procedures."

Wu Sanpao added, "Once you come out of the Training Camp, I'll take you through this list. What level you can awaken to will depend on your luck."

"That's how sorcerers are. Other than awakening, there are no other methods of cultivation."

Xu Nan looked over the list. There were quite a few categorized items on it—

Street racing, clubbing, whipping, VR movies, dating lessons, sex education, high-temperature charcoal roasting, glacier challenges...

There were so many options that it was dizzying.

Some of the items made Xu Nan's scalp tingle just from looking at them.

"Don't worry. They've all been tested and are carried out within safe and legal limits." Wu Sanpao smiled. "One person who went through these procedures is already a level nine sorcerer. It can't be helped. They don't envy us for no reason."

"After all, sorcerers are probably the only class that can be trained so quickly."

Xu Nan gradually began to understand.

At least within the Thousand Rays Society, the training system formed for sorcerers was rather unconventional compared to other classes. Once their bloodlines awakened, if the stimulation was effective, they could advance rapidly, raise their levels at high speed, and immediately become combat-ready.

It was completely different from the gradual progression of other classes. No wonder sorcerers were so easily ostracized.

But Xu Nan was not optimistic about this.

The Ron Sorcerer Bloodline was entirely different from other sorcerer bloodlines. Breaking through shame was a kind of stimulation too, but the angle was far too bizarre.

The two chatted a little more about internal gossip within the Thousand Rays Society.

At the end, Xu Nan finally asked, "Teacher Wu, may I ask how everyone in the department allocates their stat points?"

Wu Sanpao stared at him in surprise. "Of course they all put them into Charm. As for the other attributes, it depends on your mood."

"Being able to fight and dance only lasts for a while."

"But being good-looking lasts a lifetime!"

A vein twitched on Xu Nan's forehead.

"What about skills?" He had stockpiled nearly two hundred skill points and had no idea where to start.

"Depends on personal preference." Wu Sanpao thought for a moment. "Sorcerers don't rely much on skills. They mainly rely on feats and spells."

Fine. Xu Nan completely gave up on the idea of asking Wu Sanpao for a suitable way to allocate points.

It was not that Wu Sanpao was unreliable. The sorcerer class was simply too special.

They chatted for a while longer, and Wu Sanpao slipped away. Before leaving, he even paid for the meal, which improved Xu Nan's impression of his mentor considerably.

From his conversation with Wu Sanpao, Xu Nan learned that because sorcerers were so rare, the so-called interview was really just a formality.

The physical examination was the same. The most important thing was still the Training Camp three days later.

Although Wu Sanpao had not revealed the Training Camp's contents, he had kept emphasizing that the Training Camp results were very important for newcomers.

Especially at this critical juncture, with the Thousand Rays Society about to step into the public eye.

After the Training Camp, the newcomers would be broken up and reorganized. Though they would still be assigned to departments according to their classes, they would generally be grouped based on Pro World's class balance.

And no matter when it was, being assigned to a good group was the most important thing. It meant resources and opportunities.

The Thousand Rays Society's management could not be overly strict, but neither would it be too lax.

If Xu Nan wanted to accomplish anything, he had to stand out during the Training Camp.

Unfortunately, Xu Nan did not want to become everyone's focus.

In his opinion, he might as well coast through the Training Camp, then find some idle job afterward. Being a fringe member within the Thousand Rays Society would not be bad either.

After all, his strength still had to rely on himself!

After returning to the dungeon.

Xu Nan checked on the Mechanical Ghost's production progress and was fairly satisfied.

The dwarf demons he had sent out had mapped the nearby mineral deposits and submitted the blueprints for his review. Meanwhile, Great Demon Inoya's main force had still not made a move, making Xu Nan wonder whether they had gotten completely lost.

Lü Junyi and Shi Fanglin were still arguing with Wen Xin. After his offer of help was declined, Xu Nan grew a little bored.

He thought about it. It seemed like it was time to run Lost Paradise for the second time!

He was already level three, so he could fully challenge some of Lost Paradise's more difficult instances.

Maybe this time, he could even obtain another Bloodline Fruit!

Of course, Old Mister Luo Mang's was out of the question.

Xu Nan felt that he was not suited for close combat. Whether it was the Lone-Testicle Sorcerer or the Shawshank, neither was something he could accept.

He opened the level-three spell list and picked out several to learn—

Human Immobilization Spell, Fireball Spell, Invisibility Orb, Flight Spell

The four spells cost him half his Shame Points, which made his heart ache.

Then, wearing a full set of fine magical equipment, he entered Lost Paradise alone once more!

Lost Paradise's second floor has been opened!

Checking bloodline strength and automatically selecting an instance!

Coordinates confirmed. Teleportation complete!

This was Xu Nan's second visit to Lost Paradise. The familiar synthesized voice rang out again. "Welcome to the second floor of Lost Paradise. This is Buried Bone Barren Village. Explore to your heart's content, young sorcerer!"

Detected a spell attached to your body: Bloodline Link. Would you like to summon the person linked by bloodline?

Lost Paradise's heart had sent such a message for the first time.

Xu Nan was slightly stunned. "Bloodline Link? What the hell is that?"

"Should I try summoning him?"

The next second, a sleazy young man wearing bright red boxer shorts and a black blindfold appeared before him.

"Zijun, hehehe, I'm here. I finally scraped together enough money for a hotel room today, so we have to enjoy ourselves!"

Song Cheng's clawed hand was about to grab Xu Nan's chest.

Xu Nan mercilessly tore off his blindfold. "Wake up, wake up!"

"Fuck! Where is this?!"

Song Cheng looked completely bewildered.

Xu Nan sneered. "Tell me, what is this Bloodline Link thing?"

Not far away, a zombie came hopping toward them.

Song Cheng screamed and threw himself into Xu Nan's arms. "What kind of hellhole is this?!"

Xu Nan shoved him away.

"This is an otherworldly battlefield. See all those bones? They belong to people who died in battle. I'm here to clear out the undead."

Xu Nan said unhurriedly, "I figured I couldn't let you call me Dad so many times for nothing. So I called you over."

"What's that old saying again?"

"When father and son take the field, they're unstoppable!"

Activity Points +2000, from Song Cheng

Activity Points +600, from Qi Zijun