Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio For a summoner, it was not wise for them to display the process of them merging with the boundary beads for others to see. Room 999 was usually used only when someone was merging with the divine fire boundary bead. It was used as a good luck charm. Subsequent merging with boundary beads would be carried out independently in their own rooms. They would no longer reveal the process of their merging to others. The training room had a thermal sensor. If an accident occurred to the person who was merging with the boundary beads or they met their end, the thermal sensor would sense it and alert the rest. Aside from the thermal sensor, there were no other detection or monitoring facilities in the training room. It was a very private space. “The reason why the Mind Altar coalesced by summoners is called the Secret Mind Altar is because everything coalesced on that Mind Altar is the secret trump card of the summoner. The less other people know about it, the better. I hope that we can see you at lunch today in the cafeteria!” These were the only words Mo Yanshao said to Xia Ping’an when he passed him the divine altar boundary bead. Xia Ping’an received the box from Mo Yanshao’s hands. He closed the door and returned to the training room next to his bedroom. He then closed the door of the training room. He was alone in the room.
Restraining his own excitement, Xia Ping’an opened the box that contained the divine altar boundary bead. A boundary bead that was the same size as the previous divine fire boundary bead laid in the box. This boundary bead was different from the divine fire boundary bead. The mist that churned inside it flashed with green light. The divine runes that were floating in the green light were also different from that of the divine fire boundary bead. For Xia Ping’an, the divine runes were still three characters written in Small Seal Script: You, Chao, God. The divine fire boundary bead had the characters for Suiren. The divine altar boundary bead had the characters for Youchao. It was as he had expected. A certain speculation in Xia Ping’an’s mind was confirmed. He took a deep breath. Although he appeared calm, his heart was already overwhelmed. If the characters of ‘Suiren’ on the divine fire boundary bead had been a coincidence, then seeing the characters of ‘Youchao’ on the divine altar boundary bead confirmed that it was not random! The people of this world did not recognize these divine runes. There were no legends of Suiren and Youchao in this world. They did not know what Suiren and Youchao referred to, but he knew. He knew why the people who attempted to merge with the divine fire boundary bead had failed. After experiencing it himself, Xia Ping’an could completely understand why. Those who failed did so for two reasons. One of the reasons was because they did not know about Suiren’s historical calling. When the tribe’s divine fire was extinguished, they had actually ventured out bravely to find the ember of the divine fire. The people whose heads exploded while merging with the divine fire boundary bead probably died while on their way to seek the embers of the divine fire. As for the clever ones, they would choose to create fire by drilling wood together and provide the tribe with fire. This would coincidentally align with Suiren’s historical records. However, although many people knew the theory of creating fire by drilling wood together, those who could actually pull it off and obtain fire were rare. One out of 10 might be able to succeed.
Prior to this, Xia Ping’an had seen silly people who did not know the trick attempt to do so by attaching wood to an electric drill. In the end, they similarly failed and did not manage to create fire. In reality, the trick to creating fire by drilling wood together was to create a tool to speed up the rotation of the wooden rod. The second point that they needed to know was that the fire was obtained not from the two pieces of wood, but from the wood chips that were ignited from the friction of the two pieces of wood.
If they only knew a bit of theory but did not have the ability to execute it properly, they would still fail at merging with the divine fire boundary bead. If the other boundary beads were the same as these two boundary beads, wouldn’t the worlds within the boundary beads be wide open for Xia Ping’an? With his experience, he probably only needed to glance at the divine rune of each boundary bead to know what he needed to do inside to succeed. Xia Ping’an was excited. He was previously a top student in Peking University’s History Course. If Xia Ping’an claimed that his knowledge of Huaxia was second place, who else would dare to claim that they were number one? Calm down. Calm down. Only two boundary beads were like this. He still did not know how other boundary beads were like. He shouldn’t celebrate too soon. Xia Ping’an cautioned himself. In order to confirm his speculation, he at least had to wait until he became a full-fledged summoner and came into contact with other boundary beads. If the worlds in the other boundary beads were as he predicted, only then would his hypothesis finally be proven. Xia Ping’an twisted the ring on his finger, revealing a silver needle. He then pricked his finger and allowed a drop of blood to drip onto the divine altar boundary bead. The divine altar boundary bead absorbed Xia Ping’an’s drop of blood. In a short while, it began to change. Xia Ping’an was wrapped in a green light cocoon and once again entered into the world of the boundary bead. *** Xia Ping’an opened his eyes. He noticed that he was in a primeval forest. He was surrounded by towering trees and in his hand was a sharp wooden spear. He was standing in a gigantic swamp pit. This swamp was about a hectare in size. Black mud bubbles were constantly surging up to the surface of the swamp. The mud had covered Xia Ping’an up to his chest. Together with Xia Ping’an in the swamp were two other fellows. Their faces were ashen as tears trickled down their cheeks. They were trembling in fear. Right beside the swamp pit, about 10 meters away from where Xia Ping’an and the two guys were, a saber-toothed tiger, more than 2 meters long, was staring at them. The beast was pacing anxiously. It kept growling, but it was hesitant to enter the swamp pit. The men could still breathe since the swamp pit only came up to their chests. If the saber-toothed tiger stepped into the swamp pit, it would drown in it. Not far away from where the saber-toothed tiger was, a man was lying on the ground. He was being torn and consumed by another saber-toothed tiger. Blood stained the ground around him. The man’s limbs and head were torn off from his torso. It was a gory mess. The man had completely become the food for the beasts. This gigantic swamp pit became a sanctuary for the people here. The saber-toothed tiger beside the pit could only glare irritably at the people in the pit. It roared and revealed its large fangs on the shore. Could it be that he and the other two people had encountered a saber-toothed tiger in the forest and had jumped into the swamp pit to stay alive? From the looks of it, that should be what had happened. The person who was gnawed by the saber-toothed tiger probably did not manage to jump into the pit in time.
The living environment of people in ancient times was so treacherous. Any ordinary excursion to find food or scout out terrain and the surrounding environment could result in them losing their lives. They might end up a beast’s meal in their sleep without any premonition or die to attacks from various poisonous insects and snakes. The opening setting for the mission of Youchao was too treacherous. 3