2: Chapter 2 Going Mad! You chose the Classic of Mountains and Seas world?

"To sum it up in one sentence, do not choose the Classic of Mountains and Seas!"

"Otherwise, when other people go for trials, they gain strength and fortuitous encounters, and they go to defy the heavens and change their fate! If you go, you'll either starve to death, die of thirst, or perhaps be attacked and killed by an unknown creature..."

The classroom fell silent for a fleeting moment.

Only Lin Ye took a deep breath.

Starve to death?

Die of thirst?

Attacked by an unknown creature?

Pages of the Classic of Mountains and Seas flashed rapidly through his mind.

Starvation? At the beginning of the Classic of Southern Mountains, the Yaoyao Mountain has Zhuyu, which looks like leeks with blue flowers, and eating it prevents hunger.

Death by thirst? Also in the Classic of Southern Mountains, the Ying River originates there, flowing southwest into the Chi River, containing much white jade, and its water is drinkable.

Attacked by unknown creatures...

Now that was indeed a problem.

But among the more than four hundred kinds of strange beasts in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, well over half of them were docile, non-aggressive, and even beneficial to humans.

However, if someone entering knew nothing, fleeing or attacking upon seeing a strange beast, then they would indeed die quickly.

But if one knew which ones could be approached and which ones to stay far away from...

Lin Ye's heartbeat accelerated.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas was the source of Great Xia mythology, the homeland of all gods, and a barbaric era where demon emperors roamed and fierce beasts ran rampant.

Any random blade of grass in there could be a heavenly treasure!

In his past life, he was a graduate student majoring in archaeology, and he had spent a period doing specialized research on the Classic of Mountains and Seas with his advisor.

His advisor was a leading authority on domestic ancient literature, obsessed with the Classic of Mountains and Seas throughout his life, and left all his notes to him before passing away.

Those notes were densely annotated with scriptural textual research, the habits of strange beasts, and deductions of geographical locations...

Therefore, to others, reading the Classic of Southern Mountains was like reading a travel journal.

But when Lin Ye read the Classic of Mountains and Seas...

It was a treasure map!

"Jingle bell..."

The last class ended.

Qu Xianghong packed up his lesson plans, while Lin Ye remained seated in his original spot without moving.

The people in the classroom left in twos and threes, eventually leaving only him and a girl with a ponytail.

The girl was called Su Tang, the original body's best friend, and she was currently leaning against his desk picking at her fingers.

"Lin Ye, what do you think I should choose? My mom wants me to choose the Psionic Plane, saying it's stable. My dad wants me to choose the Necronomicon, saying its ceiling is high. But I actually want to go to the Beast Pact, where I can pet fluffy things..."

"Then go to the Beast Pact," Lin Ye said.

"But that plane has the second highest mortality rate!" Su Tang said with a bitter expression, "Second only to that ghost place, the Classic of Mountains and Seas."

Lin Ye didn't speak.

Su Tang continued to mutter: "How can there be such a bizarre world with a zero survival rate? Isn't that even harder than winning the lottery?"

"It might be even harder than that," Lin Ye said.

Su Tang curled her lips, laid on the desk in silence for a moment, and suddenly raised her head to look at him.

"Lin Ye, I heard about something a few days ago."

"Hm?"

"A senior from the Beast Pact Plane told me that that world actually split from an even older world. If one can find the source of that world... the contracted spirit beasts will be much stronger. But nobody knows where the source is."

When she said this, her eyes were sparkling.

"Do you think I should take a gamble and go look for that source?"

Lin Ye's heartbeat skipped a beat.

Beast Pact was a world of spirit beasts, while the Classic of Mountains and Seas was originally the master of all beasts!

Is it possible that the source Su Tang mentioned was the Classic of Mountains and Seas?

"Right..."

Su Tang suddenly remembered something, "Which world are you going to?"

"I haven't decided yet."

Lin Ye packed his things and stood up, ready to leave.

"Alright."

Su Tang sighed, "I recommend you choose the Beast Pact with me. Of course, if you choose something else, I'll support you too. I hope we both successfully return alive, complete the assessment, and become true trials-takers!"

Lin Ye nodded, "We will. Go back early."

"Mm-hmm!"

Su Tang looked at the retreating figure of Lin Ye, "Oh right Lin Ye, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Coming back alive is the most important thing. If you don't do well by then, and if I do well, then I'll cover you!"

Lin Ye's footsteps paused slightly. He turned his head and looked at the brightly smiling Su Tang, "Thank you."

After finishing, he turned and left.

Three days later.

Global Universities Otherworld Binding Day.

The playground was packed with people. Twelve plane gates emerged from the ground, whirlpools swirling inside them, with the corresponding world icons floating at the top.

The students formed square formations and stepped forward one by one.

The vice president stood on the high platform and called names.

"Li Feng, Magus Guild Plane!"

The plane gate swung wide open, and the person disappeared.

"Wang Qian, Psionic Plane!"

Another one disappeared.

The queue inched forward bit by bit.

Su Tang was lined up a few rows ahead of Lin Ye. When her turn came, she took a deep breath, walked onto the stage, and reached out to press against the gate panel.

She turned her head, glanced in Lin Ye's direction, and opened her mouth.

"Then I'll choose first, Lin Ye."

"Go ahead, come back alive."

"Pui! Can you say something auspicious?"

Then she turned back.

"I choose the Beast Pact Plane!"

A flash of light inside the gate, and Su Tang vanished.

It was finally Lin Ye's turn.

He walked forward a few steps, and whispers sounded around him.

"Who is this? Why aren't they nervous at all?"

"Seems to be Lin Ye? His grades are quite ordinary."

"He'll probably just pick a safe world to coast by."

Lin Ye walked to the front of the plane gate.

The vice president lowered his head to glance at the list: "Lin Ye? Which world do you choose?"

Lin Ye didn't answer immediately.

He reached out his hand, pressing his fingertips against the gate panel.

The cool gate panel had a faint glow flowing under his palm. He closed his eyes, and many images flashed through his mind.

Three years ago, when his advisor handed him that stack of manuscripts before passing away, his withered fingers tapped on the yellowed paper pages.

"Xiaolin, the Classic of Mountains and Seas is not a myth. It is the true record of another world by our ancestors..."

Lin Ye opened his eyes.

"I choose..."

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas Plane."

On the playground, it fell silent for an instant.

Then it exploded into chaos.

The vice president's pen dropped to the ground, making a crisp "click" sound.

"You... say that again?"

Below the high platform, Qu Xianghong suddenly stood up from his chair, his face turning pale!

"Lin Ye!! Calm down! That is not something to play with!!"

The queuing students erupted in an uproar.

"F*ck! What did he say?!"

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas? That Classic of Mountains and Seas with a zero survival rate?!"

"He's crazy! Is this person sick in the head?!"

"With so many good worlds not to choose, why must he pick the worst one to throw his life away?"

A girl in the front row whispered: "Perhaps... he has his reasons..."

She was immediately retorted by several people around her at the same time: "What reason my ass! How many of those who went to the Classic of Mountains and Seas didn't have a reason? Last year, that senior sister even said she dreamed of a sacred mountain guiding her there! And what was the result?!"

Qu Xianghong had already rushed to the front of the stage, but was stopped by security guards.

He shouted toward Lin Ye: "Lin Ye, you're still young, don't be impulsive! Choose something else, it's not too late!"

The vice president also recovered his wits and stared at Lin Ye: "Student, I'll give you one more chance. Choose again."

Lin Ye stood there, facing everyone's gazes.

Terror, mockery, incomprehension, anger.

He didn't speak.

He simply pressed the hand resting on the gate panel a bit further forward.

The plane gate vibrated.

The next moment, an off-white door swung wide open in front of him, engulfing him head-on and swallowing him in.

The door panels closed, and the person was already gone.

Left on the playground were only the vice president stunned in place, Qu Xianghong's livid expression, and the buzzing discussions filling the venue.

"It's over."

"It's over, it's over, another one."

"What was his name? Lin Ye, right? Was his brain stimulated, making him suicidal?"

"In a few days, his name will probably appear on the death list."

Someone shook their head.

"What a pity."

"Of all things to choose."

"He just had to pick that ghost place, the world with the most barren resources among the twelve planes."

On the high platform, that off-white door had completely dissipated, as if it had never existed.

And right where the gate was, beside the icon of the Classic of Mountains and Seas Plane, the number of participants changed from [ 0 ] to [ 1 ].

Seven days.

Seven days later, either come out.

Or... there will never be an after!