257: Chapter 257 Outrageous Rule Settings

Chen Yi was also stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

"I see! After killing the Leader Demon Emperor, the rules of the secret realm actually come out to explain personally?"

He now completely understood what the phrase "a large amount of spiritual power gathering at the same point" in the system description meant!

The so-called large amount of spiritual power referred to a total spiritual power exceeding 3,000 points!

Well, that's perfect!

He was just worrying about finding a suitable reason to act alone, and this rule was like a pillow being delivered just as he was getting sleepy!

Chen Yi thought for a moment and deliberately used a speculative tone, saying loudly, "Everyone, quiet down! I have a guess! This 'total spiritual power must not exceed 3,000 points'—could it mean that within a small area of this ice field, if the combined spiritual power of the Beast Tamers and their Contracted Spirit Beasts exceeds 3,000 points, it will trigger the awakening of the Guardian Demon Emperor like just now, and draw an attack from a Monster Tide?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone came to a sudden realization.

"Right! It seems like that's exactly what's going on!"

"No wonder the advance teams from various countries didn't encounter such a terrifying beast tide before! As soon as we arrived, so many people gathered together and directly poked a hornet's nest!"

"So it's because our total spiritual power exceeded the limit, triggering the secret realm's defense mechanism?"

At this time, Wu Yuyang seemed to think of something, and his expression became somewhat strange.

He glanced at his own Spirit Beast Girls, did a rough mental calculation, and said, "Could it be—that guy Gu Fan actually knew this secret long ago, or vaguely sensed something, which is why he was so determined to act alone? Otherwise, how do you explain why he didn't bring any Spirit Beast Girl he has a Heart Soul Contract with?"

Upon hearing this, everyone thought about it carefully, and it indeed made sense!

A Beast Tamer of the sixth rank or higher has about 100 points of personal spiritual power and can contract six spirit beasts!

And a sixth-rank Contracted Spirit Beast generally has around 200 points of spiritual power.

This meant that a standard sixth-rank Beast Tamer plus his main spirit beasts would have a total spiritual power close to 1,300 points!

Considering they might level up in the secret realm or encounter other lone Beast Tamers, 1,300 points was exactly the optimal spiritual power value that wouldn't trigger the Monster Tide mechanism!

Acting alone was undoubtedly the best choice to circumvent this rule and reduce the risk of being attacked by a beast tide!

The reason they encountered wave after wave of Monster Tides this time was fundamentally because too many countries and teams had gathered in this area at once, and the total spiritual power far exceeded the 3,000-point warning line, which drew the Ice Prison Tiger Emperor and its subordinate army!

This reasonable explanation immediately gained the approval of the vast majority of people present.

"Exactly! It should be like that!"

"Combining the terror of that Monster Tide just now with this clear rule prompt, it's definitely correct!"

"Even that Leader Demon Emperor just now only allowed a one-on-one duel—thinking about it now, this secret realm is basically forcing us to be lone wolves!"

"Wait!"

Just then, a Cat-girl Spirit Beast Girl from the Southern Kingdom seemed to remember some detail and suddenly exclaimed, "When I was fighting just now, I clearly felt that the Ice Snow Tigers attacking me had very different strength levels!"

"Some felt like they were only at the early stage of the fifth rank, while others were ridiculously strong, close to the seventh rank!"

"I thought I had sensed it wrong at the time, but thinking about it now—could it be that the level and intensity of the attacking monsters are actually linked to our team's total spiritual power?"

"The higher the total spiritual power, the stronger the monsters drawn?"

This guess was like the final piece of the puzzle, instantly making the entire set of rules clear!

Many Spirit Beast Girls who had personally participated in the battle just now also chimed in after careful recollection.

"Yes, yes, yes! I felt the same way! The average strength of the Ice Snow Tigers encountered by our team seemed indeed weaker!"

"Same here! Although there were many of them, the high-rank ones weren't that dense!"

"It seems correct! The rules of this secret realm are that the higher the team's total spiritual power, the greater the number of Monster Tides drawn, and the higher the average level! If the spiritual power value exceeds the limit by too much, it will directly summon the Demon Emperor and its personal guard!"

---

Because of the total spiritual power limit, too many people cannot move in the same area at once;

Because of the challenge rule limit, they cannot gang up on the area leader;

The intensity of the attacking monsters is linked to the team's total spiritual power—

What kind of god-awful secret realm setting is this?

The geniuses from various countries, who now understood the truth behind the rules, were nearly having a mental breakdown and couldn't help but start complaining.

"How much does the designer of this secret realm love playing single-player games?"

"Brother, secret realms aren't designed; they appear along with Space-Time Rifts—"

"This is forcing us to compete internally and play on our own!"

"What a scam! If I'd known it was like this, who would have teamed up!"

Of course, complaints aside, now that they understood these deadly rules, no one wanted to experience that kind of desperate Monster Tide again.

Without almost any hesitation, the teams from various countries, including those from small countries that had temporarily huddled together, immediately began to part ways, dispersing in different directions to ensure each team's total spiritual power stayed below the safety line.

Wu Yuyang and Zhao Xin watched the surroundings suddenly become sparse and let out a long sigh: "Sigh, I thought I could take the juniors on an adventure and look out for each other. I didn't expect this secret realm to have such god-awful rules—"

Zhao Xin also said with a speechless face, "Yeah, now we can only go our separate ways. I hope you little rascals are smart enough not to fall in there!"

The two of them walked up to Chen Yi, Gao Wenyu, and Leng Wuhen, giving them a few careful instructions.

It was nothing more than paying attention to safety, acting within their capabilities, and seeking help in time if they encountered danger.

Then, they each took their own Contracted Spirit Beast Girls and chose different directions, setting off first to scout the way.

Luo Yuqing came up to Luo Shiyin, her pretty face carrying a hint of regret: "What a pity, Sister Shiyin. I originally wanted to follow you and have you carry me—now we have to separate!"

Luo Shiyin smiled and teased, "Can't you fly yourself? You still need me to carry you?"

"That's not what I meant—"

Besides them, Gao Wenyu, Leng Wuhen, and others also bid farewell to Chen Yi and the rest, each choosing a direction and embarking on a solo journey.

In the blink of an eye, the once bustling Ice Field Battlefield became much more lonely and empty.

Only Chen Yi, the eight Spirit Beast Girls by his side, plus Black Rose and Lilian as external members—a total of eleven people—remained in place.

Chen Yi scanned his girls' system interfaces and let out a helpless sigh.

He felt that sometimes his girls being too strong didn't seem to be entirely a good thing?