16: Chapter 16: The Inheritance is Complete, The Final Chapter of the Secret Realm: Embarking on the Return Journey

Inside the palace of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Mausoleum, the aftershocks of the fierce battle gradually dissipated. The residual black energy from Wang Hu's explosion was slowly purified by the white light emitted from the Celestial Fox Demon Core, turning into wisps of green smoke that merged into the air. Lin Zhou withdrew his fist, his blood and Qi surging within him. With his Physical Body strength at the King-Rank Early Stage and the initial Mind-Cultivation Technique of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Art circulating, he had only suffered some tremors in the head-on clash just now and was otherwise unharmed.

After Qin Yue, Su Ye, and Ye Ying consumed the pulp of the nine-turn soul resuscitation fruit, their pale faces turned rosy at a speed visible to the naked eye. Their severed Meridians and damaged internal organs healed rapidly under the nourishment of the rich life essence. Liu Yiyi held the remaining small half of the fruit, carefully placing it into her Storage Pouch, her eyes filled with lingering fear and relief.

“That was truly a narrow escape.” Su Ye stretched his muscles and bones, letting out a series of crackling sounds. Looking at the mess on the ground, he said with lingering fear, “That Wang Hu's Demonic Path evil technique was truly bizarre. If it weren't for Lin Zhou's quick reactions, we probably would have all perished here.”

Ye Ying leaned against a stone pillar, wiping the bloodstains off his dagger. Hearing this, he gave a rare nod, his gaze toward Lin Zhou filled with recognition. Previously, he had some doubts about Lin Zhou's strength, but now he was completely convinced—to be able to slay a Pseudo-King Rank enemy with a cultivation of lv.27, this achievement was enough to be called stunning even in the entire history of Jiangcheng Martial Arts University.

Qin Yue walked slowly to Lin Zhou's side, her gaze falling on the Celestial Fox Demon Core floating in mid-air and the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Art scroll on the jade platform. Her brows furrowed slightly as she said, “The power contained in these two supreme treasures is too immense. Your current cultivation is likely insufficient to fully control them. If you rashly absorb them, you might very well bring disaster upon yourself.”

Lin Zhou raised his hand to touch the ancient patterns on the scroll, feeling the profound power flowing within, having already made a decision in his heart. The System's notification sound rang out just at this moment:

[Ding! Detected ancient Legacy treasures—Celestial Fox Demon Core and Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Art. Do you wish to proceed with Fusion and absorption?]

[Fusion Prompt: The demon core contains the Celestial Fox Origin power, and the technique records ancient demon cultivation arts. After Fusion, you will obtain the embryonic form of the Celestial Fox Physique and unlock the new talent Nine-Tailed Clone. However, the Fusion process requires enduring an extremely strong energy impact. It is recommended to proceed in a safe environment.]

Lin Zhou's gaze hardened, and he looked up at everyone: “This place is not suitable for a long stay. We should first collect the Legacy and make further plans after leaving the mausoleum. The time for the Secret Realm trial is also nearly over; it's time to head back.”

Everyone nodded in succession. Having experienced consecutive major battles, everyone's nerves were highly strung, and they indeed needed to find a safe place to rest and reorganize.

With a thought, Lin Zhou stored the Celestial Fox Demon Core and the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Art into the System storage space—this was the exclusive space of the Divine-Grade roguelike system, which was more stable than an ordinary Storage Ring and could perfectly isolate the aura of supreme treasures, avoiding unnecessary greed from others.

Subsequently, he searched the palace carefully again and discovered a hidden compartment next to the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox's coffin. Inside were hidden dozens of Demon Crystals containing pure spiritual power, three ten-thousand-year-old soul-calming herb plants, and a set of Teleportation Jade Pendants engraved with spatial runes.

“These Teleportation Jade Pendants should be able to take us directly out of the Secret Realm.” Lin Zhou picked up the jade pendants and handed one to each person. “With these, we won't have to risk crossing the outer regions of the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts again.”

Su Ye took the jade pendant, weighed it in his hand, and grinned. “Lin Zhou, you're still the best. This trip to the Secret Realm has been a bumper harvest for us!”

Liu Yiyi played with the jade pendant, her face full of an excited smile. “Once we get back, we'll definitely take first place in the trial rankings! By then, those who looked down on us will surely have their jaws drop!”

Just as everyone had packed their spoils of war and was preparing to activate the Teleportation Jade Pendants, a violent tremor suddenly came from the palace ceiling. The entire mausoleum began to shake, cracks spreading rapidly across the stone walls as rubble fell incessantly.

“Not good! The mausoleum is collapsing!” Ye Ying's face changed, and he shouted in a low voice, “The aftershocks of the battle just now must have damaged the mausoleum's Formation. Activate the jade pendants and leave quickly!”

Lin Zhou did not dare to delay and immediately crushed the Teleportation Jade Pendant in his hand. In an instant, a dazzling white light wrapped around his body, and a powerful spatial force enveloped him. Qin Yue and the others also crushed their jade pendants one after another. Five white lights lit up in the shaking palace, like stars piercing through the darkness.

The moment his body was pulled by the spatial force, Lin Zhou subconsciously looked back. He saw the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox's coffin slowly opening amidst the tremors, and inside the coffin was actually an entirely red Crimson Bead, emitting a faint aura of fire. But before he could take a closer look, the massive suction force swept him into the spatial tunnel.

After a bout of dizziness, Lin Zhou's body landed heavily on a familiar plaza. Looking up, it was exactly the Secret Realm plaza on the back mountain of Jiangcheng Martial Arts University. Many students and mentors had already gathered around, each face carrying a mix of exhaustion and excitement, clearly having just emerged from the Secret Realm.

As the white light of the teleportation faded, Qin Yue, Su Ye, Liu Yiyi, and Ye Ying also appeared beside him one after another. As soon as the five of them landed, they immediately attracted the gaze of the entire field.

For no other reason than the fact that the auras on the five of them were simply too powerful. Especially Lin Zhou; although he only had a cultivation of lv.27, the faint Demonic Qi and sharp Killing Intent lingering around him actually made many Grandmaster-level mentors feel a hint of pressure.

Even more eye-catching was that each of their Storage Pouches was bulging, clearly indicating a bountiful harvest.

In the crowd, several members of the External Aid Teams who had been taught a lesson by Lin Zhou before saw him and turned pale with fright. They subconsciously shrank back, fearing they would be recognized by him.

The General Instructor in charge of the Secret Realm trial walked over quickly. His sharp gaze swept over the five of them, and when he saw the faint King-Rank pressure on Lin Zhou, a flash of astonishment crossed his eyes: “The five of you actually managed to come out of the core area of the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts alive. Simply incredible!”

Qin Yue stepped forward and took out a Jade Slip recording the number and Rank of the exotic beasts they had hunted, handing it over. “Instructor, this is our trial record.”

The General Instructor took the Jade Slip and injected spiritual power to check it. When he saw the information recorded within—'Killed King-Rank Peak exotic beast Nine-Life Demon Cat,' 'Slew one Pseudo-King Rank Cultivator,' 'Three Grandmaster-level experts'—his pupils suddenly constricted. The expression on his face turned from calm to shock, and finally to disbelief.

“This... is this real?” The General Instructor's voice trembled slightly as he stared intently at the contents of the Jade Slip. “You actually killed the Nine-Life Demon Cat? That is an overlord-level existence of the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts!”

His voice was not small, and the surrounding students and mentors heard it clearly, instantly triggering a massive uproar.

“What? They killed the Nine-Life Demon Cat? How is that possible!”

“That's a King-Rank Peak exotic beast! Even if Grandmaster-level experts teamed up, they might not necessarily be able to defeat it!”

“Lin Zhou... it's Lin Zhou again! This freshman is just too terrifying!”

The discussions came rushing in like a tide. Everyone's gaze focused on Lin Zhou—there was shock, envy, awe, and some hidden jealousy and Killing Intent in the shadows.

Lin Zhou, however, was completely indifferent to this. He looked up at the sky where sunlight filtered through the clouds, the warm light shining on him, finally allowing his tensed nerves to relax.

During this Secret Realm trip, he had soared from lv.15 all the way to lv.27, his Physical Body had broken through to the King-Rank Early Stage, he had obtained Divine-Grade talent fragments, fused with the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Art, and harvested countless Heaven And Earth Treasures. This trial was undoubtedly a perfect transformation for him.

But Lin Zhou also knew that this was not the end.

The matter of killing the school's mentor would sooner or later be uncovered; the Demonic Path forces behind Wang Hu would also never let the matter rest; there was also that Crimson Bead he had glimpsed in the mausoleum, and the Celestial Fox Legacy within the System that had yet to be fused...

Countless clues intertwined, portending an even greater storm that was about to arrive.

Qin Yue seemed to see through his thoughts. She walked to his side and said softly, “No matter what dangers lie ahead in the future, we will face them together with you.”

Su Ye patted Lin Zhou's shoulder and laughed loudly, “That's right! From now on, we are your die-hard teammates! Whoever dares to mess with you will have to get through me first!”

Liu Yiyi and Ye Ying also nodded one after another, their eyes filled with determination.

Looking at the teammates beside him, a warm current surged in Lin Zhou's heart. He grinned and clenched his fist. “Good! Then let the storm come even more fiercely!”

The General Instructor snapped back to his senses, looked at the five members of Lin Zhou's team, and solemnly announced: “After verification, Lin Zhou's team hunted the highest Rank of exotic beasts and harvested the most valuable resources in this Secret Realm trial, winning first place! The rewards will be presented in the School Auditorium in three days!”

As the words fell, a burst of warm applause erupted from the entire field.

Sunlight spilled over Lin Zhou's body, casting his shadow very, very long.

He knew that the legend belonging to him had only just begun its prologue.

And the tranquility of Jiangcheng Martial Arts University was also about to be completely shattered.