In the Great Flame Republic, as long as division-level troops were deployed, at least one summoner who possessed the Requiem Banner would be dispatched with them. As long as one such summoner followed the group, all the soldiers knew that as long as the summoner remained alive, they would be able to "return home". Even if they died in battle, their corpses would not be defiled. They would not degenerate into wandering spirits. This was a tradition that had been passed down for countless years in the army. It was the same for other countries as well.
In society, among the upper class or families who had wealth and influence, once someone passed away in the family, they would invite a summoner with a Requiem Banner into their homes to perform requiems and prayers for the deceased. This would allow the corpse of the deceased to be preserved well after burial. It would receive the best treatment and would not be desecrated by others.
The item summoning slot for the Requiem Banner could only be obtained when merging with the divine altar boundary bead. If this opportunity was missed, no other boundary beads could give a summoner the Requiem Banner item summoning slot.
Among all the summoners of the National Order Council of Xianghe City, none of them had the Requiem Banner.
"I like this kid. This kid might just surprise us this time around. If he can obtain a Requiem Banner from merging with the divine altar boundary bead, then our branch will have a summoner with a Requiem Banner in the future. It will make a lot of situations much more convenient. At least we won't encounter situations where we need help from the provincial branch," Tu Polu said with a hopeful tone as he rubbed his chin.
Mo Yanshao nodded his head in agreement. There were too many uses for summoners with the Requiem Banner. It was very inconvenient that the National Order Council of Xianghe City did not have such a summoner to hold the fort. It always felt as though they were missing something.
"Do you think that he will have another perfect merge this time?" Cao Xinghua, who had been quietly enjoying his soup, suddenly asked.
"How could that possibly happen?" Li Yunzhou said as he laughed loudly. "I am not jealous. It is just that fewer people have managed to perfectly merge with the divine altar boundary bead compared to the divine fire boundary bead. Many people who obtained the Requiem Banner had not managed to get a perfect merge. If he manages to get a perfect merge this time, aside from mastering more than three summoning slots, he can also get 24 points of divine power. On top of his previous 16 points, he will have 40 points of divine power.
"That is more divine power and summoning slots than some new summoners manage to obtain after three boundary beads. The Yizhou Province has not seen such a genius, who can perform two perfect merges consecutively when merging with foundation establishment boundary beads, for many years. If he still manages to get a perfect merge, I will lick the bottom of his shoes and call him 'master' in the future."
"We have all heard what you said. I hope that you won't go back on your word when that happens," Fang Lingshan said as she gave Li Yunzhou a cold look.
...
Unknowingly, just like last time, Xia Ping'an's body had undergone another baptism of divine power. After the baptism, his mind once again appeared in the mysterious domain in his consciousness.
As expected, there were some changes to the mysterious domain in his consciousness.
The divine fire burned even brighter and stronger than before. Its light dispelled the darkness in the space. The space that was lit up by the divine fire was several times larger than before.
Around the divine fire, several things that weren't present before had appeared.
There were now 40 balls of golden light that represented divine power.
After Xia Ping'an ignited his divine fire last time, he had not touched the 16 points of divine power. After merging with the boundary bead successfully this time, he had immediately gained 24 points of divine power.
The burning divine fire no longer appeared to be burning in a cave. Instead, it seemed to be burning within a gigantic wooden house.
The jade wall behind the divine fire was still there. Another floating diorama of Youchao had appeared on the jade wall. The floating diorama of Youchao depicted him standing on a hillside, looking far off into the distance. Youchao wore a colorful tiger skin on his body which shone with mysterious brilliant colors. He was also holding a wooden staff in his hand.
Behind Youchao, there was a nest of leaves and branches. The nest was glowing.
On the hillside of the floating diorama, there were a few new tombs. Next to the new tombs, a banner painted was red, white, yellow, and black. The banner had mysterious patterns of the sun, moon, and stars on it.
Although it was part of the floating diorama on the jade wall, the banner was still waving as though it was alive.
With his prior experience, Xia Ping'an was no longer surprised when he saw this. He reached out to the objects in the new floating diorama with his mind. He discovered that the tiger skin on Youchao's body, the green nest behind him, and the four-color banner waving in the distance were all empty and could be filled with divine power.
Based on his current results, each time he successfully merged with a boundary bead, his Secret Mind Altar would undergo new changes.
This time, he had successfully obtained three summoning slots!
Xia Ping'an was somewhat excited. The waving banner should be the Requiem Banner that was so famous among summoners and ordinary people. With the fame of the Requiem Banner, even if Xia Ping'an wasn't a summoner, he too would be renowned far and wide. He never imagined that he would actually obtain the Requiem Banner from completing the historical calling of Youchao in this boundary bead.
As expected of Youchao, the forebearer of Huaxia civilization, he gave the living a place to stay and the deceased a place to rest. He was too awesome!
As his excitement gradually calmed down, Xia Ping'an's mind left the Secret Mind Altar in his consciousness, and he opened his eyes.
Some more impurities from his body had been excreted by the baptism of divine power. There was still a layer of sticky gray substance on his skin. Xia Ping'an stood up and felt his body was light and floaty. It appears that his body's physical attributes had improved again.
When he looked at the time in the room, it just happened to be lunchtime. He did not know whether it was due to the baptism of divine power, but his stomach also began to growl, and he felt especially hungry. Xia Ping'an left the training room and quickly showered. He then went downstairs refreshed and came to the cafeteria.
Just as he reached the entrance of the cafeteria, he heard Li Yunzhou say, "If he still manages to get a perfect merge, I will lick the bottom of his shoes and call him 'master' in the future."
"We have all heard what you said. I hope that you won't go back on your word when that happens!"
This was the voice of ice queen Fang Lingshan.
...
Xia Ping'an looked down at the shoes he was wearing and contemplated as to whether or not he wanted to step into some dog poop first.
In the end, Xia Ping'an merely smiled and walked calmly into the cafeteria. He greeted everyone and said, "Hi! Everyone is here."
Everyone suddenly turned around and looked at him. When they saw that Xia Ping'an had appeared, they gazed at him intently.
Mo Yanshao was the first to stand up. He asked directly, "Did you succeed?"
Xia Ping'an nodded his head and replied, "Hmm, I succeeded. I felt some additional changes to my divine altar, and there are more things there. By the way, Director Mo, I seemed to have obtained a Requiem Banner. I better report it to the National Order Council first."
What?
Those who were still eating all stopped doing so. Just now, they had just been discussing whether Xia Ping'an might be able to obtain the Requiem Banner. They never imagined that, in the blink of an eye, Xia Ping'an would report having done so.
Xia Ping'an had already thought about reporting this when he came down. The Requiem Banner technique had too many uses. It was impossible for him to keep it hidden. He might need to use it soon. Rather than hide it now and reveal it later when he unleashed it, he might as well come clean and let everyone know about it now.
As a new recruit of the National Order Council of Xianghe City, it was necessary to display his worth and build good relationships with his colleagues at suitable moments.
"Are you certain it is the Requiem Banner?" Mo Yanshao confirmed as his expression became serious.
"It should be. I sensed that there was an additional banner in my divine altar. The appearance of the banner resembled those that appear in films and television series. I can also fill it with divine power. I feel that I can summon it."
"Then it should be it!" \ Mo Yanshao replied as he nodded his head. There was an extra sparkle in the look he gave Xia Ping'an. Prior to this, he knew that Xia Ping'an was not ordinary. However, he never imagined that Xia Ping'an would be so incredible. His first merge with the divine fire boundary bead was a perfect merge. Now, with his second merge with the divine altar boundary bead, he obtained the Requiem Banner.
"How many points of divine power did you obtain this time?" Fang Lingshan suddenly asked.
Upon hearing Fang Lingshan's question, Li Yunzhou's expression instantly became nervous. His gaze even glanced down at Xia Ping'an's shoes as he silently gulped down his saliva. He was afraid to hear the answer that he dreaded.
"I seemed to have obtained more divine power points this time," Xia Ping'an said as he glanced at Li Yunzhou's slightly pale face. He paused for a moment and then said, "It should be around 18 points of divine power."
"Phew!" Li Yunzhou heaved a long sigh of relief. He calmed down, and he revealed a smile on his face. "I said that a perfect merge was not so easily achieved. It is already incredible that Xia Ping'an could achieve a single perfect merge under my guidance. Am I right?"
"What Senior says is true!" Xia Ping'an responded with a smile.
Mo Yanshao said to Xia Ping'an, "After successfully merging with the divine altar boundary bead, you will need to rest for three more days before it is the best time to merge with the final divine being boundary bead. For the next few days, you should get adapted to your new self here. After three days, prepare to merge with the divine being boundary bead. After you merge with it, your Secret Mind Altar will completely coalesce and you will officially join the ranks of summoners. You will then be able to unleash spells. When that happens, you will be considered to have truly joined the Special Forces Unit."
"I recall that the provisional summoners, who managed to perfectly merge with the divine fire boundary bead and obtain the Requiem Banner, all successfully merged with the divine being boundary bead," An Qing said as she looked at Xia Ping'an with her beautiful blinking eyes. "It appears that our Special Forces Unit will soon have another summoner."
When the others heard An Qing say this, the looks they gave Xia Ping'an were full of interest.
Xia Ping'an was now only a step away from becoming a summoner.
With Xia Ping'an's performance in his previous two attempts, this final step was set in stone.
...