Under the influence of his biological clock, Chronicle woke up promptly at five o'clock.
After a quick wash, he put Zongzi and its favorite coffin into his sea of knowledge.
Then he walked towards the cafeteria.
It was still early and the sky was not yet bright.
Even the first-year high school students who were undergoing "Wilderness Survival Training" had just woken up.
Therefore, when Chronicle entered the cafeteria, there were not many people inside, and only a few windows were open.
Fortunately, he was not picky about food. He ate fried dough sticks, soy milk, and porridge, and felt satisfied.
After eating his fill, Chronicle left the cafeteria with Ying Tai, attracting the attention of others, and headed towards the entrance of the secret realm.
Due to the scorching sun and the unbearable heat of the Indian summer, forcibly using the "Paper Men Carrying Cursed Red Palanquin" or the "Paper Man Carrying Coffin" could cause unnecessary consumption.
So Chronicle walked with Ying Tai to the bus stop and got on the bus with the old men and women.
After a bumpy ride and changing buses twice, they finally arrived at the entrance of the Land of Peach around nine o'clock in the morning.
Although he had heard the name "Land of Peach" in the news since the day he crossed over, and even established a "prototype of the secret realm" in his mind through the descriptions of Fan Lei, Xie Wenyuan, and others during the unified training, all those grand fantasies were shattered the moment he saw the entrance of the secret realm:
On the open land, ten miles of peach blossoms were blooming proudly against the seasonal rules.
Among them, there were "vague figures" and faint conversations could be heard, but the specific content was unclear.
There was also a towering peach tree shadow standing at the end of the field of vision, twisting for dozens or even hundreds of miles, with lush branches and a curved trunk forming a huge gate.
Outside the gate, the sunlight was bright, the grass was fragrant, and the falling petals were colorful.
Inside the gate, ripples flickered, and eerie shadows and heavy oppressive gray mist emerged, making people subconsciously think of a certain "Boss of the 25th Street".
"What a grand scene."
Chronicle looked around and saw that the outskirts of the peach forest were filled with fences and tents.
Disposable cards of green, blue, and even purple quality were posted everywhere as if they were free.
People wearing the Zhongyuan military uniforms had stern faces, holding various weapons, standing in formation, and scanning the surroundings with cold and stern gazes.
There were also war vehicles rumbling around in a combat posture, as if these huge creatures never needed to rest, as if they didn't need oil.
Chronicle had good eyesight and even saw several figures fully armed, with bloodthirsty eyes, and as tall as skyscrapers, looking towards the entrance of the secret realm through the vast clouds and mist.
This scene was truly shocking.
It should be noted that even the shining Dijia and the Dark Parrot Limpet were only two hundred meters tall at most, while these huge creatures had a terrifying size of several hundred meters per person on average.
Although they were just illusions, those eyes as big as houses and teeth like city walls still made people feel a sense of "giant phobia".
"Fortunately, I see these giants several times a day and have adapted to them, otherwise I would really be scared."
Chronicle smiled lightly and thought of some strange things that should not be seen in the light.
Then he took Ying Tai's hand and walked straight to the largest tent at the entrance.
During this time, a patrol team approached to stop him.
But he just said the three words "Wang Jindong" as if he held the highest authority "Tiger Token", and the soldiers immediately showed respect, seriousness, and politeness, leading him to the tent without any hindrance.
When they arrived outside the tent, the leading soldier did not continue forward, but stood with his legs together, straightened his back, and shouted, "Report."
"Come in."
A familiar voice came from inside the tent.
As the heavy canvas was pulled open, Su Wen's face, which Chronicle was so familiar with, instantly appeared before his eyes.
But unlike his usual carefree and mischievous appearance, he looked serious and cold at the moment.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but Chronicle felt that in this environment, the other party's eyes seemed to have become much clearer.
It was like the dispersal of thick fog and the lifting of a thin veil, revealing the true nature of the eyes.
"Xiaonian, you've become stronger in just two days."
The killing intent on Su Wen's face dissipated the moment he saw Chronicle.
Su Wen returned to the state of "hahaha" during the training period, laughing loudly and patting Chronicle's increasingly strong arm, showing off to the middle-aged people around him, saying that this was his nephew, who was invincible among the younger generation.
In fact, according to Chronicle's parents, he was not wrong in saying so.
After all, the "City Defense Army" and the "Zhongyuan Army" under the Card Master Alliance, although separated by several insurmountable gaps, were comrades-in-arms who defended the people of Jiuzhou side by side.
And Su Wen was the same age as Chronicle's late father and mother, who had already sacrificed themselves in the secret realm accident two years ago. He was also Chronicle's military card teacher, so it was not a problem to call him uncle.
But not everyone thought so.
"You brat, you really know how to add a generation to yourself."
Fan Lei suddenly spoke up and tapped the sand table in front of him.
"Uncle Dong has already spread the news that you are his disciple. According to seniority, you should call him your martial uncle."
"If you dare to call him nephew, what about it? Do you want to be the same generation as Uncle Dong? Should we call him Big Brother Dong from now on?"Upon hearing Fan Lei's words, Su Wen's face instantly turned bitter. He forced a smile and said to the nearby Chronicle, "Brother Nian, Uncle Dong has already informed us in advance. He wants you to enter the outskirts of the secret realm with this group of new recruits. It will last for two days and is a simple experience."
"You should still call me Xiaonian. The title 'Brother Nian' sounds strange."
Chronicle smiled and said, "Regardless, both you and President Fan are my teachers. Even if I have to learn from the principal in the future, we should each have our own discussions. We can't just be considered peers out of thin air."
"Uh."
Su Wen patted Chronicle's shoulder, looking like he wanted to say something but hesitated.
After struggling for a while, just as he was about to say something, Fan Lei suddenly spoke up:
"Alright, don't waste Xiaonian's time."
His strength and position both overshadowed Su Wen. He was the old squad leader during the newcomers' period, and in their terms, it was called "bloodline suppression."
As soon as he spoke, Su Wen obediently closed his mouth.
"Xiaonian, there's still half an hour before departure. Check again to see if you've left anything behind."
"Although you only need to stay in the outskirts of the secret realm this time, in order to ensure authenticity, we won't provide any supplies midway."
"After entering, everything will have to be obtained by yourselves."
Chronicle nodded upon hearing this.
He was meticulous and always liked to make plans. With the help of his assistant, Yingtai, he had everything well-prepared.
"Take a rest for a while."
Fan Lei said as he turned back to the sand table. His hands, covered in calluses and scars, moved around, adjusting the positions of the flags on the model.
His clear and decisive demeanor as a great general was somewhat different from what Chronicle remembered.
"Is Uncle Yuan not here?" Chronicle asked softly.
"Oh, Lao Xie." Su Wen shook his legs and looked like a rascal. "He's not a member of the Zhenyuan Army. What's he doing here?"
After thinking for a moment, he added, "I and Lao Fan handle the association and Zhenyuan together, but due to the importance of the secret realm, we mostly stay here. Most of the matters in the association are handled by Lao Xie."
"This time, we'll be away for more than ten days for training, and the documents have already piled up like a mountain. Unless something unexpected happens, you won't see him for a long time."
"I see." Chronicle nodded and didn't say much. He just sat silently on the cold chair, waiting.
Yingtai, on the other hand, had lost her usual carefree demeanor. She looked around cautiously, pulling Chronicle's sleeve with her left hand and holding the hilt of her sword with her right hand, not moving.
Like a lioness surrounded by hyenas, she was determined to protect her cub and fight while retreating.
"There's no danger, relax."
Chronicle said as he patted the head of the obedient and bright little Kaling. Then, he took out the second-hand phone, power bank, and wireless earphones he bought on the road yesterday and handed them to her.
"Play some games."
Seeing a barely noticeable yet bright and heroic smile appear on her face, Chronicle couldn't help but sigh, "Even a piece of electronic junk can make her so happy. Ancient little girls are really easy to please."
Then he saw her trembling hands accept the phone, but instead of immediately turning it on to play games, she carefully put it away as if it were a treasure. The excessive sweetness revealed by the two dimples that unintentionally appeared had the potential to give diabetes to anyone who saw it.
"Heh."
Chronicle smiled and shook his head, then leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes to rest.
After a while, the soldier who had led him to the tent before shouted "Report" again.
Chronicle knew that it was time to depart, so he grabbed the silly girl who had been smiling foolishly for more than twenty minutes and headed straight for the steel beast crawling on the ground outside the tent.
"Teacher Su, President Fan, I'm leaving first. Take care of yourselves."
Chronicle bid farewell to Su Wen and Fan Lei before squeezing into the back compartment of the transport vehicle with the Zhenyuan soldiers, who all had young and inexperienced faces, and their various intimidating Kalings.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to greet Su Wen and Fan Lei.
"Alright, go."
After the two of them spoke, they turned around one after another and didn't continue to see him off.
Inside the carriage, feeling the probing gazes around him, Chronicle didn't pay much attention.
After all, everyone else was dressed in the rough and cold Zhenyuan military uniform, while he was wearing a casual outfit for exploring the secret realm.
A three-in-one assault jacket, a sweat-absorbent and dirt-resistant lining, anti-cutting work pants, three-proof expedition boots, and a white wooden space bag. There was also a well-behaved and bright little girl. No matter how you looked at it, he resembled a young master going out for an autumn outing.
Even Chronicle himself hadn't expected that as a senior pauper, he would one day be mistaken for a rich second generation.
"Which rich second generation would give a little girl a second-hand phone?"
Chronicle smiled and shook his head, then looked outside through the cracks in the dark green tarp.
To be honest, in his memory, the famous ghost city of Land of Peach always had a layer of "hazy" filter.
But ever since he spent more than half a month in the training forest of Heigulongdong, this layer of gray filter had taken on a black and red hue.
According to reason, the source of all this—the secret realm of Land of Peach—should be even more sinister and terrifying.
But the scenery that appeared before Chronicle's eyes like a revolving lantern at this moment was beautiful and picturesque, with beautiful peach trees.
If he didn't know in advance that this was one of the top ten "ghost nests" in the world, he would have thought it was a 5A-level tourist attraction."Peach blossoms in early autumn, completely against the common sense of seasons…"
Chronicle withdrew his head, turning to see the others whispering amongst themselves.
Unable to contain his curiosity, someone gently tugged at his sleeve, "Hey, buddy, you look like a high school student. What brings you to the secret realm?"
Chronicle turned his head at the sound, seeing a round, plump head protected by a heavy, high-tech black helmet, revealing a slightly immature, ordinary face.
"A mentor told me that I've accumulated enough foundation and it's time to digest it in the secret realm, so…" Chronicle said, moving his slightly numb shoulders, "I came."
"Are you a Card Craftsman, Battle Card Craftsman, Repairer, Enhancer, or…" the other continued to ask.
Card Craftsman, no explanation needed.
A Battle Card Craftsman is a more "elegant" term for an ordinary Card Craftsman, who can cultivate spiritual power but cannot make cards. They can only obtain battle cards through secret realm exploration, store purchases, or asking for help.
A Repairer, also known as a "Medicine Jar".
Since ancient times, battles have been dangerous, especially against demons and Card Craftsmen. A card could be damaged in a fierce battle.
Although most problems can be solved through spiritual cultivation and calling the true name, there are always some tricky little troubles that can only be handled by a "Medicine Jar".
An Enhancer is actually a branch of Card Craftsman.
Like a Card Printer, it is a helpless move under the condition of "not fully meeting the requirements to become a Card Craftsman", mostly for civilian Card Craftsmen.
Due to lack of knowledge and lack of mentorship, they cannot establish a complete worldview and character storylines. They can only write follow-up stories for some already formed cards.
They take this opportunity to learn continuously, striving to become a genuine Card Craftsman. It is a rather inspiring professional group.
"Card Craftsman." Chronicle answered without hesitation.
"Are you in your senior year of high school?" the man asked again.
"Yes." Chronicle nodded.
"It's been less than a month since the start of senior year, and your teacher said you have the foundation to enter the secret realm… Your talent can be compared to Bai Ziliang."
After saying this, the man laughed, "You may not have heard of this name. When I was in school, he was undoubtedly the top student in our grade in the city. I don't know how he's doing now."
Seeing the man's half-admiring, half-envious expression, Chronicle smiled and said, "I'm quite familiar with Brother Ziliang. He was the city's top scholar three months ago, ranked in the top ten in the province, chose Night University, and just started school a few days ago."
"No wonder it's him."
Seeing the man's sigh, Chronicle smiled and didn't reveal the recent troubles of this "Land of Peach Idol". He picked some highlights and slowly narrated.
Everyone in the carriage listened with interest.
They were all in the same grade as Bai Ziliang, when there was no concept of top classes or key classes.
However, with their not-so-high talent, they couldn't get any good resources, and the gap with the top students gradually widened.
Out of desperation, they joined the Town Abyss Army during the New Year.
Now, eight or nine months later, they, who have been somewhat disconnected from the outside world, are naturally curious about these "familiar anecdotes".
Chronicle was very patient and kept talking all the way.
It wasn't until the transport vehicle passed through the gate formed by the twisted peach tree branches that he stopped narrating, instead summoning Seven Brothers and Eight Brothers to calmly observe the surroundings.
About half a minute later, the grey fog began to seep through the tarp and into the carriage. He quickly put on the secret realm exclusive helmet.
The heavy fog is coming!
(End of Chapter)