Xia Ping'an had just put on his clothes in the lounge when Yan Duo came in.
"Well done! Let's go," Yan Duo said. It was rare to see him smiling at Xia Ping'an. Xia Ping'an followed him and left the lounge.
The two of them left the Death Coliseum without anyone getting in their way. They entered the elevator and once again returned to the underground parking lot. Only when they got into the car did they take off the masks on their faces.
Yan Duo drove the black Q7 out of the underground parking lot and out onto the busy streets outside. They were back on the surface again.
The streets outside were jam-packed with traffic. The pedestrians were like a tightly woven weave as they moved about on the sidewalks. The shopping malls and streets stores were all conducting business as usual. Elders were even playing chess next to the roadside flower beds, and children were riding their bicycles on the sidewalks.
This scene was in stark contrast with the gore and death of the Death Coliseum that Xia Ping'an had just witnessed and experienced firsthand. This strong contrast made it seem that life had such an absurd sense of reality.
"Is this Death Coliseum acquiesced by the National Order Council?" Xia Ping'an asked as he sat in the car.
"The order of the underground world is also order," Yan Duo calmly answered as his eyes were on the road ahead. He continued driving as he explained, "The Death Coliseum is almost as old as the National Order Council. It conducts its business in many countries around the world. Of course, in the Great Flame Republic, the National Order Council is considered to have a collaborative relationship with them. Rather than letting the plutocrats in the country seeking excitement fly all over the world every day in their planes with their sugar babies and various confidential information, we placed them where we can monitor them. We let the Death Coliseum work for us. You wouldn't be able to prevent those who died in there from doing so. Even if they didn't die here, they would die elsewhere."
It indeed made sense.
"By the way, how did you come up with the idea of using a whip?" Yan Duo asked Xia Ping'an. "Within its range, your whip has the power of a bullet. Impressive!"
"The whip is a weapon that can maximize its own mechanical characteristics. I am also afraid of dying, so I don't want people getting close to me," Xia Ping'an replied.
"You are much more interesting than Mo Yanshao," Yan Duo remarked as he laughed. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Yan Duo, the captain of the provincial branch Yan Battalion."
"The Yan Battalion?" Xia Ping'an asked, confused.
Yan Duo explained, "You can consider it the provincial branch's special summoner maneuvers team. We are also affiliated with the National Order Council and have officer status, yet, at the same time, we are relatively more independent. After we complete the assigned missions from the provincial branch, the rest of our time is free. I am the contractor of the team and have a few subordinates working with me."
Xia Ping'an nodded his head and also formally introduced himself, "I am Xia Ping'an, a new recruit of the National Order Council of Xianghe City's Special Forces Unit."
"How about it? Would you consider working for me? The perks would be far better than Xianghe City's Special Forces Unit. After you become a summoner, if you work with me, you will have more chances to obtain boundary beads. As long as you come over, I can apply to increase your basic pay by two tiers. You will be able to travel around the world each year and enjoy delicacies worldwide. Before the end of this year, I will get my hands on another boundary bead for you. In the future, you will get at least two boundary beads each year. These are the terms of my offer. Think about it."
"Before I came, Director Mo told me that if you try to poach me, I should not listen to your sweet talk and that he would settle the score with you afterwards," Xia Ping'an said with a chuckle.
Yan Duo laughed and changed the subject. He said, "In the future, you will know that those who work with me have it much easier than those who work with Big Mo!"
"Where are we headed now?"
"I am bringing you to where you will merge with the divine being boundary bead."
...
Yan Duo did not drive back to the National Order Council provincial branch. Instead, he drove to an area of high-end mansions in the outskirts of Xinchuan City. He stopped the car in front of a very modern mansion.
He used a key to enter the mansion and closed the door. They entered an elevator and came to the second basement. Yan Duo immediately brought Xia Ping'an to a training room with a security door. He explained, "This is a safehouse of the National Order Council of Xinchuan City. You can merge with the boundary bead here safely."
As he said this, Yan Duo took out a box and passed it to Xia Ping'an. He said, "This is the divine being boundary bead. Among the three foundation establishment boundary beads, this one will take the longest time to merge. It will take around three days. If you have any questions, you can ask me."
Xia Ping'an suppressed his excitement. He gently opened the wooden box. Inside the wooden box, there was a colorful boundary bead sitting quietly on the flannel.
Thick fog churned in the boundary bead. Amid the fog, there were three characters written in Small Seal Script twinkling: Shen, Nong, God.
It was as he had expected.
Shennong God. The so-called divine being boundary bead was related to Shennong!
Xia Ping'an was excited beyond words. However, he didn't show his emotions. After carefully examining the boundary bead, he raised his head and looked at Yan Duo. "Is there anything that I should be careful about when merging with this boundary bead?"
Yan Duo replied, "Hmm. This is the last bead out of the three foundation establishment boundary beads that summoners have to merge with. Once you successfully merge with this boundary bead, the Secret Mind Altar in your consciousness will take shape. You will be a bona fide summoner. This bead is called the divine being boundary bead because after merging with it, you might obtain familiar summoning slots and be able to summon some special figures."
"What kind of familiars can I summon with this boundary bead?" Xia Ping'an inquired curiously.
"The range of figures that can be summoned with this boundary bead is broad." As Yan Duo said this, he had a look of reminiscing. "Summoners can summon farmers after merging with this bead. Farmers are the most common figures that summoners get. However, some summoners can also summon artisans after successfully merging with the bead."
"Farmers and artisans… Are we referring to actual farmers and artisans?" Xia Ping'an continued to probe in surprise.
"That is right!" Yan Duo confirmed as he nodded his head. "These two occupations are non-combative. Hence, you will rarely see any summoners who will willingly summon these two figures. You will understand after merging with the boundary bead. The farmer who is summoned is no different from an ordinary farmer. He is fully capable of carrying out the responsibilities of farming, rearing poultry, and so on. Some summoners have their own farms and even summon their own farmers to run them. As for the artisans in this boundary bead, their abilities will also be different."
"Is it that incredible?"
"Yes, it is that incredible," Yan Duo replied with a faint smile. "For summoners, this is just the fundamentals. The figures I mentioned just now are merely the ones that ordinary summoners can summon after they successfully merge with the boundary bead. Some can even summon some other figures."
"Oh, other figures can also be summoned?"
Yan Duo nodded. "After successfully merging with this boundary bead, very few summoners manage to summon alchemists that are proficient in concocting pills."
When Xia Ping'an heard this, he was secretly very excited. It was because the familiars that could be summoned after successfully merging with the divine being boundary bead corresponded to the contributions of Shennong.
According to legends, there were 10 aspects where Shennong had greatly contributed towards the advancement of Huaxia civilization. First, he invented the cart and plow that helped to establish a stable agricultural society. Second, he introduced the plantation of five grains, which became the staple food for all. Third, he personally tested all sorts of herbs and established Chinese medicine. Fourth, he set up markets, which promoted trading. Fifth, he transformed linen into clothes, which protected the wearers from harm and the cold. Sixth, he created the bow and arrow, which became weapons of self-defense for the people. Seventh, he pioneered the use of pottery for storage. Eighth, he invented a stringed instrument for entertainment purposes. Ninth, he obtained salt by evaporating seawater, which was consumed to improve health. Tenth, he established astrology and created the first Huaxia calendar.
Shennong was crowned the Father of Agriculture, the Father of Medicine, the Father of Commerce, the Father of Music, and other titles by the Huaxia people. His contributions towards Huaxia civilization were significant.
Among Shennong's 10 great contributions, the first two corresponded to the summoning of farmers.
Shennong's third contribution corresponded to the summoning of alchemists.
His fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth contributions corresponded to the summoning of artisans.
"In short, does it mean that after successfully merging with this divine being boundary bead, I might be able to summon three different types of familiars?" Xia Ping'an clarified.
"That's right. The reason why this bead is called the divine being boundary bead is that most people can only summon a farmer or an artisan after merging with it. Those who can summon an alchemist are rare."
"How many divine power points can I get after merging with this boundary bead?"
Yan Duo answered, "Normally, you will get around 16 or 17 points. The maximum points you can get is 26 and above."
"Twenty-six and above? Could it be that nobody has achieved a perfect merge with this boundary bead before?"
"No one has ever achieved a perfect merge with the divine being boundary bead in history!" Yan Duo shook his head while smiling, amused at Xia Ping'an's question. He then said, "I hope you can try your best today. If you are able to summon an alchemist after merging with the divine being boundary bead, you will have acquired yet another exceptional skill. In the future, even if you merge with other boundary beads, it is rare to come across a bead that will give you more than two familiars. The more successful you are at merging with the divine being boundary bead, the more divine power your Secret Mind Altar can store in the future."
"Isn't divine power obtained through merging with boundary beads? How is it related to the storage capacity in the Secret Mind Altar?"
"The divine power you get from merging with boundary beads is like crops you harvest. You can harvest it once a month," Yan Duo explained. "When your Secret Mind Altar has coalesced completely, you will realize that it is somewhat equivalent to a warehouse that can store divine power. Every month, you can transform your unused divine power into spells or familiars and store them in your Mind Altar. Then, you can summon them during an emergency. The bigger your warehouse is, the more divine power you have. Thus, the number of spells and familiars that you can store is also higher. The spells and familiars will come in handy during crucial times. Do you understand now?"
Xia Ping'an suddenly had a revelation. He said, "I understand. So, a summoner's Secret Mind Altar has such a function."
"A summoner's Secret Mind Altar contains secrets and trump cards that only the summoner should know. In the future, you do not need to explain the situation in your Mind Altar to anyone."
"Alright. Thank you for the guidance and information."
"Do you have any other questions?"
"None." Xia Ping'an shook his head.
"Then, you can merge with the boundary bead here. There is no surveillance in this secret room. I will be outside. Once you finish merging with the boundary bead, you can open the door and come out on your own," Yan Duo added. He then turned and left the secret room. He also closed the door behind him.