Chapter 21: Do I Look That Old?

"Wait a moment."

Bai Pu and Li Ling hadn’t gotten into the car yet when they heard Wu Chen’s voice from behind.

"General Manager Xiao Wu, is there something you need?" Bai Pu greeted him.

Wu Chen stared at Bai Pu: "I have a proposal. I hope you will consider it carefully."

It seemed that Wu Chen had calmed down.

"I heard you’ve signed a contract with the Divine Strategy Army. I hope you can change your contract and join the Superstar Alliance. The Superstar Alliance will cover any penalty costs." Wu Chen said seriously, not at all joking.

"Do you think that’s possible?" Bai Pu asked in return.

"Regarding Source Blood, the Superstar Alliance has the deepest research. Currently, in the ’Boundary Land’ controlled by the Superstar Alliance, there’s still the foundation of Evolutionary Source Blood stored—the living tissue of the Primordial Heart! Don’t you desire to obtain it?"

Wu Chen’s words were tempting, "Joining the Superstar Alliance would make you one of us. As long as you achieve enough merit, one day you can transplant that piece of heart tissue, make a giant leap in strength, elevate to a Hero Profession or even an Enhanced Hero Profession, all are common occurrences.

"You also don’t need to worry, because the one most compatible with the Source Blood constitution is you. That piece of heart tissue is poison to others, but for you, it’s of heaven-defying help, who else could it be given to if not you?"

Hero Profession!

Equivalent to the powerful Awakened template of a Native Leader, it is the ultimate goal that countless Awakened covet! A powerful Hero Profession Awakened has the strength to even challenge a Native Leader like Blood Hand Colun single-handedly.

Li Ling felt a bit worried. To be honest, even she was tempted by such conditions.

Bai Pu’s gaze remained clear. He patiently listened to Wu Chen and shook his head, saying: "General Manager Xiao Wu, since you don’t need that piece of heart tissue, why not sell it to me? As for joining the Superstar Alliance, forget it. I’m not turning back."

"You—"

Wu Chen took a deep breath, his expression turning unfriendly. He gritted his teeth and said: "Bai Pu, don’t forget, there’s still a clause in the clinical medical agreement... After you die, your remains are to be donated to the Superpower Group free of charge!"

Li Ling interrupted him: "Are you threatening someone from the Divine Strategy Army?"

"This is not a threat. I am merely stating a fact."

Wu Chen smiled coldly, "Let me state a second fact... In the Spirit Realm, our Superstar Alliance’s power is far superior to the Divine Strategy Army! The Spirit Realm is a lawless zone, neither the military nor the government can intervene!"

Bai Pu gently stopped Li Ling’s rising chest, opening his mouth: "Actually, I quite like the Spirit Realm too, because the Spirit Realm Will is very fair... So what if the Superstar Alliance is strong? The Spirit Realm Planes I can match with are all low-level, intermediate and advanced Awakened cannot enter."

Ultimately, Wu Chen was cautious of Li Ling, not daring to say more harsh words to let onlookers witness, he just pointed his finger at Bai Pu twice in the air, leaving a sentence "You have guts," and then turned around and left.

A military green jeep traveled at a steady pace.

"The advantage of the military’s Awakened forces is their large numbers, strict discipline, and uniform skills and equipment, giving them a crushing advantage in group operations in the real world.

"The drawbacks are obvious too; the military lacks top-tier Awakened with talent and strength because top experts are often eccentric, prefer high degrees of freedom, and cannot stand the constraints of militarized management."

Li Ling looked at Bai Pu’s perfectly curved profile and slowly explained:

"Tickets are needed to teleport to the Spirit Realm, and one ticket only allows one team to enter! Forming an Awakened team requires a high amount of Spiritual Points or rare team-building items. The military’s advantage of large-scale warfare has no place to be exerted in the Spirit Realm, leading to the military’s weak influence on the various Spirit Realm planes compared to large organizations that have been cultivating for years."

"So... this is why the Divine Strategy Army was established?" Bai Pu asked.

"Yes, the Divine Strategy Army is an attempt by the military to see if they can attract talented Awakened by adopting a more free system to make up for the military’s lack of top-tier power."

Li Ling said somewhat helplessly, "Unfortunately, the dignified image of the military has long been deeply rooted in people’s hearts, and the top-tier Awakened we want to recruit directly refuse as soon as they hear about the Divine Strategy Army’s background. Therefore, although the Divine Strategy Army has been established for many years, it hasn’t achieved the expected results."

Bai Pu thought to himself, that’s true, if I didn’t urgently need a backer, I wouldn’t have joined so readily either.

Li Ling took a deep breath, her white shirt rising up high before slowly shrinking back.

Gathering her spirits, she said, "However, five years ago, Divine Strategy Army already changed its approach, determined to select potential and talented Awakened from among low-level ones and cultivate them into top-tier power in the Genius Camp! You emerged as an Enhanced Elite, and a rare Tank Profession at that, I certainly can’t miss recruiting you."

"Five years ago? Then the first batch of trained talents should have shown results, right?" Bai Pu said.

Li Ling nodded: "The first batch of geniuses from the Genius Camp formed the ’Divine Strategy Team’, and this year they’ve already entered the Grade A league. You caught the last train of the second batch."

"The Superstar Team, sponsored by the Superpower Group, seems to be a giant in the Super League." Bai Pu said. The Grade A league, in terms of influence, couldn’t compare with the Super League; the former was domestic amusement in Huaxia, while the latter was an international competition.

"Yes, you still need to be careful, as Wu Chen said, the influence of the Superstar Alliance in the Spirit Realm is much larger than that of the Divine Strategy Army."

"I’m not worried about the Spirit Realm, I’m worried about the real world." Bai Pu interjected, "If they can’t beat me in the Spirit Realm, they might target me in the real world."

"You don’t seem anxious, do you have a countermeasure?" Li Ling asked.

"Yes, there’s one approach, which is to raise my real-world notoriety." Bai Pu said, "The story that happened to me is actually quite fascinating. Can you direct some promotional resources towards me? The more famous I get, the less likely the Superstar Alliance can make a move against me in the real world."

"Promotional resources are extremely valuable. Real-world notoriety relates to the roulette lottery rewards, especially the quality of tickets, no Awakened would take it lightly. Within our Divine Strategy Army, we also need a large number of Honor Points to exchange for promotional resources."

Li Ling shook her head and said, "I can make an arrangement for you to have one or two exclusive interviews, but reaching a level that could deter the Superstar Alliance requires maintaining extremely high notoriety, which is impossible without years of sustained promotion."

"Then there’s only one last resort."

Bai Pu leaned back tactically, lying on the seatback in the rear seat, "Let me take the college entrance exam."

"Take the college entrance exam?" Li Ling was momentarily taken aback.

"Yes, being the top scorer on the college entrance exam brings a huge boost in notoriety. Please ask the organization to help solve the education issue, I dropped out of junior high and lack the qualifications to take the exam." Bai Pu said.

"It’s not a question of qualifications... The college entrance exam is a ’world event’ in the real world, even recognized by the Spirit Realm Will! The Spirit Realm Will will pay attention to the fairness of the college entrance exam and grant world event rewards to Awakened who perform well in it!

"Your education issue is easy to settle, just do a supplementary test to prove you have an equivalent high school education; but what about your age? High School exam regulations state candidates must not be over 18 years old! This cannot be tampered with."

Bai Pu was speechless, pointing to his nose: "Do I look that old? I’m only 17 this year."