"Xue Can," his eyes twinkling,
"The one who hurt this kid is just the right body for me to possess."
"However, there are too many experts causing interference in the outside world. I need to find the right opportunity to act."
He closed his eyes, sensing something in the darkness.
"Beep!"
"Xue Can" pressed the call button, and soon a nurse walked in.
"Mr. Xue, do you need something?"
"Bring me some food, I want meat, the more the better." The young man in the hospital bed bared his teeth, revealing a kind smile.
"Okay."
For a moment, the nurse was mesmerized by his smile and then, blushing, she left the ward.
At this time, no one was aware that Xue Can had been replaced by another person, with a great demon sealed two thousand years ago now residing within the shell of his body.
...
Three hundred li outside Sichuan Martial Arts University, there is a mountain called Mount Huju.
It got its name for its resemblance to a crouching ferocious tiger. There were rumors among the people that every year, on the night of the fifteenth of the first lunar month, the roar of the tiger king could be heard from the mountain.
Today, Mount Huju is no longer trespassed by humans—it has been taken over by ferocious beasts. Various mutated creatures roam the forest, and ordinary martial artists dare not set foot in this place.
"Boom!"
Mount Huju, silent for many years, suddenly shook violently. Countless ferocious beasts were startled and began roaring.
"Rumble——"
The mountain trembled, boulders tumbled down, and countless towering trees crashed to the ground with soil attached.
"Crack!"
A thunderous noise shattered the silence.
The earthquake affected a thousand li radius, with the entire Sichuan Province feeling the tremors from this location.
Mount Huju split down the middle, cleaving in two.
A black beam of light surged from the depths of the abyss, forming the illusion of a black ferocious tiger that roared in the direction of the capital of Sichuan Province before dissipating.
The might of the tiger not only failed to subdue the beasts of the mountain but instead provoked the naturally vicious creatures to frenzy.
One after another, they rushed into the fissures in the mountain.
After numerous beasts entered the cracks, no sound emerged, a deathly silence prevailed.
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh——"
Rainbows of light flew over from the surrounding cities, each emitting a powerful aura. Every bird and beast encountered along the way was annihilated by the impact, and they soon reached the skies above Mount Huju, coming to a halt and revealing their forms.
The middle-aged man who arrived first had an honest face—it was Principal Shi Kai of the Sichuan Martial Arts University, who had rushed over promptly upon sensing the disturbance.
He focused his eyes as he stood in the sky, looking down at the split Mount Huju.
"Principal Shi, could it be that Mount Huju also hides an ancient secret realm?"
Standing behind Shi Kai were three men and a woman, around fifty or sixty years old. They were all city lords from cities within Da Chuan Province, possessing the strength of First-Grade Experts, seasoned powerhouses of Great Xia Country.
In fact, without a First-Grade cultivation level or higher, they would not be able to arrive at the scene this quickly, clearing all flying beasts in their path to investigate the incident.
Shi Kai furrowed his brows and threw a punch downward.
The howling fist wind surged with the Power of Heaven and Earth, creating a gust that blew away all the dust, revealing the scene beneath the fissure.
"See for yourselves."
The four First-Grade city lords looked down and their pupils contracted.
"This..."
"What's going on here?"
"I've never seen a secret realm emerge in such a way."
At the bottom of the ravine, an ancient palace stood, and in front of it was a black stone tiger. However, the stone tiger was not in a crouching posture, but its hind legs were folded on a lotus pedestal, its forelimbs forming a mudra, dressed in sumptuous robes, with a majestic bearing.
The city lords were flabbergasted, having never seen such an odd sight.
"Among the ancient secret realms that have reemerged, there have been monks in robes, or Heavenly Venerables in Taoist gowns, even emperors in dragon robes, but never such a bizarre black tiger."
"Yes, there must be something unusual beneath here."
Shi Kai frowned slightly and after pondering, said:
"There are old legends that if an emperor bestowed titles on the mystical beasts of the mountain, they could transform into Mountain Lords and Deities, blessing the land."
"Maybe what has reawakened is a remnant of a Mountain Lord."
"A Mountain Lord?" The four First-Grade city lords looked at each other before smiling and saying, "Principal Shi still knows such secrets? Truly impressive."
Shi Kai shook his head.
"I told you to read more books on normal days, but you just wouldn't listen."
"Now, as the speed of the spiritual energy revival increases, it's feared that soon the upper limit for cultivation will no longer be First Grade, and various secret realms will also begin to revive one after another. You need to study ancient texts more on normal days, so that in the face of special situations, you won't be totally clueless."
"Understood."
Although the four of them were all First-Grade experts like Shi Kai, they were reprimanded without showing any temper.
Because not all First Grades are the same.
Shi Kai didn't say any more, "Your cultivation levels are not high enough; wait here for me, I'll go down and take a look."
Having said that, Shi Kai, with his high-level skills and boldness, turned into a streak of light and plunged down alone, heading to investigate in front of the palace.
"Principal Shi, we'll go down and help you!" One of them was about to follow him down, but was stopped by someone next to him.
"Why the hell are you stopping me?"
"Why do you think Principal Shi is keeping us here?"
"Why?"
"He probably thinks we're a burden, and you don't have the self-awareness to realize that."
Therefore, the four of them didn't act rashly and watched intently below, waiting for Shi Kai to return.
It wasn't long before the streak of light returned.
"What's the situation, Principal Shi?"
Shi Kai replied gravely, "There's nothing unusual in the square in front of the palace down below, but the interior of the palace should be where the Secret Realm is located, a world unto itself, with the main gate as the entrance."
"Do we know which grade this emerging Secret Realm is?" someone asked.
Shi Kai held up three fingers.
"A Third-Grade Secret Realm, we can't enter."
Upon hearing the answer, the four of them were greatly disappointed and shook their heads,
"A Third-Grade Secret Realm, seems that this Mountain Lord wasn't much in life."
Since the revival of spiritual energy around the world, various ancient existences' secret realms have begun to revive and manifest, and the entrances are all strangely unique. After exploration, martial artists have discovered that there are cultivation level restrictions to entering Secret Realms, and those with a higher cultivation level than the restriction cannot enter.
The more formidable the restricted cultivation level of the Secret Realm, the greater the opportunities hidden within.
World martial artists have summarized that the restrictions of a Secret Realm are likely related to the cultivation level of its owner in life. The higher the owner's cultivation level, the more stable the leftover Secret Realm, able to withstand entry from high-ranking martial artists, while the others couldn't enter.
Shi Kai shook his head,
"The higher the level of the Secret Realm, the more dangerous it is. Third Grade is just right; it can be an experience for the students of Martial University, adding one more opportunity."
The other four smiled bitterly; after all, they were not the principal of Martial University and were not concerned about its affairs.
And yet, now they couldn't leave.
Every time a Secret Realm appears, the powerful beings of nearby cities must guard it, to prevent ordinary martial artists from entering out of curiosity and getting hurt or thieves from breaking in and stealing treasures from inside the Secret Realm.
Shi Kai took out his phone to inform the headquarters of Great Xia Martial University about the appearance of the Third-Grade Secret Realm. The headquarters would immediately notify all Martial Universities in the country and dispatch Third-Grade and below elite warriors to explore the Secret Realm and train.
The dangers within a typical Secret Realm wouldn't generally exceed the Secret Realm's own cultivation level restriction; the main danger comes from enemies from various nations who might infiltrate later.
After all, in the early stages, the power of one nation might be enough to guard a Secret Realm, but in the later stages, as forces from different sides arrived and exerted joint pressure, it would have to be opened for all.
That's the same reason Qin Qi and his team could enter secret realms in other countries while abroad.
Just then, the mobile phones of Shi Kai and the other four First-Grade City Lords rang almost at the same time.
"What's up?" Shi Kai answered the phone.
A hurried soldier's voice came from the other side.
"Principal Shi, all the ferocious beasts in Da Chuan Province have gone mad due to an earthquake and are starting to assemble, showing signs of launching a beast tide to attack the cities. Please return immediately to take charge!"
"Alright, I'll be right back."
Shi Kai made a quick decision and looked at the other four, who had also received the news.
"You four as well, immediately return to set up defenses in your respective cities to counter the beast tide."
"Principal Shi, if we all leave, then there will be no one to watch over this Secret Realm."
"Maybe leave one person here..."
Shi Kai frowned, interrupting,
"No, everyone goes back. Having one more First-Grade expert to defend will prevent a large number of soldiers from dying."
"Secret Realms are inanimate, but people are alive; we can talk about the Secret Realm later."
"Understood," the four of them said, their gazes sharpening as they promptly dispersed in four directions; Shi Kai took one more look below, then left without any hesitation.
Sichuan Martial Arts University Villa.
Luo Yu was not indulging in a life of luxury but was sitting cross-legged in cultivation.
He allocated half of his Divine Soul Power within the Azure Stone Lotus space to absorb a hundred strands of Golden Origin Force, evolving his own techniques.
His phone suddenly vibrated continuously, bringing him back to his senses as he checked it...