66: The truth about the professional college entrance examination!

The most core area of the Barren World, known as the forbidden zone within forbidden zones—the Dragonfall Nest.

The terrain here is extremely peculiar; it's not the scorching volcanoes or treacherous peaks one might imagine, but a boundless Bone Wasteland, formed by countless colossal, metallic-sheened, dark-golden bones piled up!

These bones are unimaginably huge; a single rib is like a spanning mountain range, and a section of a spine is like a towering peak.

The air is filled with an ancient, desolate, majestic, and death-filled scent.

The earth is dark red, as if soaked and solidified by endless dragon blood.

At the center of the Bone Wasteland, stands a magnificent nest naturally formed and guarded by countless colossal dragon bones.

The nest itself is more like a gigantic throne, built from dragon bones, reaching up to the sky!

Upon the throne, slumbers the ruler of this realm—The Bone Monarch·Odun!

It is not a traditional flesh-and-blood giant dragon, but a bone giant dragon—conceived, fused, and finally born from the essence of countless ancient, powerful dragon bones over long ages and under the special rules of the Barren World!

Its size is immeasurable; merely lying on the throne, its height exceeds a thousand meters!

Its skeleton is not pale, but exhibits a heavy, restrained, dark-golden luster that seems to absorb all light, covered with profound and complex natural magic patterns, and flowing with dark-red energy Veins like molten lava.

On its massive skull, two curved dragon horns, like twisted mountain ranges, pierce the sky.

Its eye sockets are deep and currently closed, but they seem to contain two deathly star systems on the verge of eruption; the mere unconsciously emanating pressure is enough to freeze the souls of Gold-level powerhouses!

Around its massive bone body, countless greyish-white dragon soul phantoms, filled with resentment and unwillingness, linger, emitting silent wails, forming a suffocating deathly force field.

Each of its long and heavy breaths (though it has no flesh, the pulsation of its energy core is like breathing) causes the entire Bone Wasteland to tremble slightly, and space to ripple. Outside the Dragonfall Nest, a vast area radiating tens of thousands of kilometers... known as “Thousand Dragon Valley” and “Bone Wasteland,” are the territories of Alduin's subjects and kin.

In the sky, they blot out the sun! Tens of thousands of various dragon-shaped magical beasts soar and circle.

Bone Wyverns: Smaller in size, with wingspans ranging from tens to dozens of meters, composed entirely of greyish-white bones, swift in action, spewing deathly breath with corrosive and soul-eroding effects. They are the most numerous aerial cannon fodder.

Shadow Dragons: Their bodies are between solid and shadow, skilled in stealth and ambush, their claws and breath possess strong shadow-eroding effects.

Lava Wyverns: Their bodies are covered with dark-red lava carapaces, dragging scorching tail flames when flying, spewing high-temperature lava flows, they are powerful aerial assault units.

Storm Dragonhawks: Possessing the body of a giant dragon and the head and talons of a hawk, their wings can stir up destructive storms and thunder.

Thorny Land Dragons (Aerial Variant): A few Thorny Land Dragons with the ability to fly, their bodies are covered with venomous spikes, spewing poisonous mist and barrages of spikes.

On the ground, countless powerful dragon-descended magical beasts also lurk:

Armored Earth Dragons: Like moving fortresses, covered with incredibly thick bone plates or metallic scales, possessing terrifying strength, they are the absolute main force for ground charges.

Fissure Dragon Beasts: Possess extremely thick forelimbs and digging claws, capable of easily tearing the earth, creating abysses and traps.

Venomous Dragon Lizards: Relatively smaller in size but extremely fast, their bodies secrete highly toxic mucus, and their spewed venom has terrifying corrosive and neuro-paralyzing effects.

Thorny Land Dragons (Ground): Numerous, like tanks covered in thorns, charging recklessly.

Dragon-blooded Behemoths: Various gigantic magical beasts contaminated by dragon bloodlines, such as dragon elephants, dragon rhinos, etc., possessing immense strength and thick hides.

All these dragon-shaped and dragon-descended magical beasts are at least Peak Silver in strength, with Gold-level existences being ubiquitous, dotting the skies and lands of the Bone Wasteland and Thousand Dragon Valley like stars.

They collectively guard the central Dragonfall Nest, maintaining a reverence and submission to The Bone Monarch·Odun on the throne, stemming from their bloodline and the depths of their souls.

At this moment, in the core area of the Thousand Dragon Valley, on an altar constructed from gigantic dragon bones.

Dozens of Beastmaster High Priests, clad in primitive robes made of dragon hide and bones, their faces painted with eerie oil, are frantically dancing around a fiercely burning soul fire emanating an ominous blood-red glow at the center of the altar, chanting ancient and blasphemous incantations.

Around the altar, mountains of broken corpses of human examinees and magical beasts are piled up!

Intense bloodlust and soul resentment are being extracted by the altar's power, continuously pouring into the soul fire, and then, through some profound connection, transmitted deep into the Dragonfall Nest, attempting to hasten the awakening of their revered “Bone God,” or... to provoke it!

“Roar!!!”

Seemingly sensing the large-scale sacrifice and the intense spatial fluctuations from outside, in The Bone Monarch·Odun's tightly closed, abyss-like massive eye sockets, two points of dark-golden light, like supernova explosions, suddenly ignited!

A Transcendent-level pressure, clearer, more domineering, and more filled with destructive will than before, erupted from the Dragonfall Nest like an awakening world-ending tsunami, sweeping across the entire Barren World!

“Crack!”

“Boom!”

The already cracked sky was torn open again with several even larger fissures!

The earth, like a cookie trampled by a giant, split into bottomless ravines!

Countless weaker magical beasts directly exploded under this pressure!

“It's awake! The great Bone God has awakened!”

The Beastmaster High Priests let out fervent cheers, their dancing growing even more frenzied.

“Target confirmed! Transcendent-level Bone Giant Dragon! Energy response rapidly escalating! Reaching the peak of early Transcendent-level! It's awakening!”

Zhao Tieying, leading the main force of the "Dragon Slaying" Legion, had just passed through the spatial passage and arrived at the edge of the Bone Wasteland when he immediately felt this world-destroying aura, and an urgent report came from the monitor in the communication channel.

Zhao Tieying's eyes were sharp as blades, staring intently at the dark-golden energy pillar rising like a colossal sky-pillar in the distance, and the slowly lifting, immeasurably huge bone skull at the pillar's source.

“Accelerate! Objective: Dragonfall Nest! Disrupt the sacrifice before it fully awakens! Attack!”

Zhao Tieying's voice, amplified by the loudspeaker, resounded throughout the entire Iron Legion.

“For the Professional Association!”

“For the future!”

“Charge!!!”

This name, shouted by Zhao Tieying in his charge command, is precisely the peerless treasure that the high-level officials of Dragon Country are coveting, even at the cost of tens of thousands of young Professional's lives!

It is not a natural mineral, but rather star marrow that The Bone Monarch·Odun, over long ages, using its Transcendent-level power core as a furnace, continuously absorbed and purified the free stellar essence of the Barren World, then fused it with the vast life essence and rule fragments from countless ancient giant dragons contained within its own bones, finally condensing into an energy crystal in the deepest part of its entrenched nest... beneath the Bone Throne!

Its form is like a flowing, concentrated dark-golden star river, with countless tiny, star-like shimmering points within, emitting a gentle yet immeasurably vast energy fluctuation, containing unimaginable mysteries about the essence of life and the rules of power.

The efficacy of star marrow is truly heaven-defying!

It can gently and permanently enhance a Professional's talent star rating!

Talent star rating is the cornerstone that determines the upper limit of a Professional's potential!

A single star difference can be the chasm between a mortal and a legend!

And star marrow is the key that can unlock the shackles of talent!

Although the effect varies from person to person, and the degree of enhancement is not infinite, and it requires special alchemy or array assistance to be safely absorbed, this is enough to drive any force to madness!

More importantly, star marrow is not a one-time consumable!

The very existence of The Bone Monarch·Odun is like a natural “star marrow generator.”

As long as it remains entrenched in the Dragonfall Nest, continuously absorbing stellar essence and life essence, the star marrow vein will slowly and continuously regenerate!

Although the speed is slow, this is a sustainable path to higher talents!

This is the true, deepest, and unspoken purpose of the Professional Association placing the “Professional College Entrance Examination” in this numbered X-7 Barren World!