Special Profession

"It leveled up again!"

Third Clone clenched his fists, his eyes shining with excitement as he punched the air. "At my current state, I could easily beat the previous two versions of myself!"

"Search the battlefield first." Lin Mo suppressed his excitement. "Quick!"

Eight corpses lay strewn across the ground, the bloody smell mingling with the scent of earth as it spread through the air.

They searched the bodies and gathered everything useful.

Copper coins, dried rations, weapons, fire starters... and a wooden token found on Old Liu the Sixth.

It was palm-sized, with the character "Soldier" carved into it.

[Item: Fierce Soldier Token (Incomplete)]

[Type: Job Certificate]

[Effect: The holder may use this token to visit any 'Barracks'-type building and accept the 'Fierce Soldier' class advancement trial.]

[Note: Obtained by the Great Chieftain of Black Wind Stronghold during his early military service. It became invalid after he left the army and must be reactivated.]

"A Job Certificate!" Lin Mo's eyes lit up.

Though it was incomplete and needed reactivation, it meant... there was a clear path for class advancement!

"A Barracks-type building?" He pondered. "Black Stone Village definitely doesn't have one. The nearest city..."

But this was not the time to think about that.

Lin Mo put away the wooden token and began searching for the "secret passage entrance" mentioned on the beast-hide map.

According to Old Liu, the entrance was "beneath the temple."

The four searched every corner of the temple.

They tapped on the floor and walls, moved broken furniture, and even inspected the base of the collapsed statue.

They found nothing.

"Could we have misunderstood it?" West Number Clone frowned. "'Beneath the temple' might not mean inside the temple, but underneath it? Like... a cellar?"

Lin Mo walked to the temple entrance and looked over the clearing outside.

The clearing was overgrown with weeds, but in one spot... the grass seemed to be growing differently.

He walked over and crouched down for a closer look.

The wild grass there was noticeably sparser, while the dirt beneath was several shades darker than the surrounding soil.

He brushed aside the tangled grass, revealing the ground beneath.

It was actually a tightly fitted blue Stone Slab!

"Found it! It's right here!" he murmured.

The Clones gathered around at his call and worked together to clear away the dirt and weeds covering it.

A blue Stone Slab roughly one meter square emerged, its edges marked by faint seams.

At the center of the slab was an inconspicuous groove shaped like... the hilt of a hunting knife?

Lin Mo's heart stirred. He pulled out the rusty little knife from Old Liu's belongings.

The blade was so rusted that it barely resembled a knife anymore, but the hilt was unusually designed, carved from some kind of Beast Bones.

He aligned the hilt with the groove and slowly pressed it down.

Click.

A faint mechanical sound rang out.

The Stone Slab sank slightly, then slid half a foot to one side, revealing a pitch-black opening beneath!

"It worked!" Third Clone said excitedly.

Stone Steps wound downward inside the opening. A strange odor—a mixture of mildew, dust, and old grease—slowly drifted up from its depths.

Lin Mo did not rush in. He bent down to inspect it first.

The Stone Steps were steep and slippery. After only five or six steps, they turned a corner, their end swallowed by boundless darkness with no bottom in sight.

He then looked at the shifted Stone Slab. There was even an iron handle fitted on its inner side, clearly designed to be locked from within.

He took out half a candle he had picked up from the ruined temple and lit it with a fire starter.

A dim yellow halo trembled outward, barely illuminating the three steps ahead. Beyond that lay a dense blackness that seemed capable of swallowing all light.

"I'll go first." First Clone took the candle. "Main body, stay in the middle."

The four Clones protected Lin Mo in the center as they descended the Stone Steps one after another.

The stairs were longer than expected. After spiraling downward for roughly thirty or forty steps, they finally reached level ground.

Before them stretched a man-made passage, about two meters wide and three meters high. Faded murals were carved into the stone walls on both sides.

Holding up the candle for a closer look, they saw scenes of ancient armies at war:

Soldiers stood in formation, chariots thundered forward, generals waved their banners... but the style was rough and the lines simplistic, with much of it already flaked away.

"This didn't look like Hunter's territory," Third Clone muttered.

The passage stretched forward for about twenty meters, ending at a heavy stone door.

The stone door was tightly shut, its surface covered in dust, with a recessed palm print at its center.

"Want to try?" West Number Clone looked at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo stepped forward and pressed his right hand against the palm print.

The stone door did not move.

"Do we need some kind of token?" Clone Five guessed. "Old Liu's map didn't mention it..."

Just then, the Destiny Mark on the back of Lin Mo's hand suddenly gave off a faint golden glow!

[Special Trial Space entrance detected]

[Requirements met: Destiny Holder, Level ≥3, possesses the 'Abnormal Vital Blood' talent]

[Trial type: Special Profession advancement]

[Available profession: Lord (rare hidden profession; global slots during closed beta: 10)]

[Soul trait detected: 'Will Domination']

[Accept the 'Heart of the Lord' trial?]

[Warning: This trial carries a risk of death. Those who fail will permanently lose their eligibility to become a Lord and may suffer soul damage.]

A translucent golden prompt box suddenly floated before the stone door.

"Lord?!" Lin Mo's pupils contracted sharply.

A rare profession!

There were only ten slots worldwide during the closed beta!

This was far stronger than anything like "Valiant Soldier" or "Hunter King"!

"Accept!" Lin Mo did not hesitate.

[Acceptance confirmed]

[Scanning trial participant's qualifications...]

[Special status detected: Symbiotic Consciousness Body ×4]