3: The first guest in the secret realm

Elder Yang of the Divine Sword Sect also stepped forward to exchange pleasantries with the Grand Elder.

Lin Chuan heard the Disciples below discussing: "How come only two Disciples from the Divine Sword Sect came?"

"The Divine Sword Sect has always focused on elite training and doesn't care about numbers. Do you know who that woman is?" another Disciple said.

Hearing this, Lin Chuan looked toward the woman. He saw a young lady dressed in red with a long sword hanging at her waist; her exquisite face was full of heroic spirit.

"That is the number one Prodigy of the Southern Territory, 'Xiao Hongyuan.' Rumor has it that her talent in the Sword Dao is extremely high, and she is on the verge of comprehending Sword Intent at such a young age. She is the Divine Sword Sect's precious treasure," the Disciple explained in a low voice.

Lin Chuan pricked up his ears to eavesdrop on the gossip the Disciples were discussing.

That Disciple asked again, "Who is that kid?"

The other Disciple, acting like a know-it-all, spoke directly: "That is the son of the Divine Sword Sect's Sect Master, named 'Jian Wuxie.' He is a ruthless character. Rumor has it that during the great war between the Divine Sword Sect and the Demonic God Sect three years ago, this boy slaughtered nearly a hundred demonic Cultivators alone, causing blood to flow like a river."

At this moment, the Grand Elder announced: "The Trial Convention begins now. All prodigies may choose their own Secret Realm. Once chosen, pay the fee to the Disciple in charge of each peak, then queue up in front of the Secret Realm to wait for entry!"

Lin Chuan saw all the prodigies arrive before the stone tablets. Looking up, he heard a Disciple exclaim in confusion: "Why is the Tianquan Peak Secret Realm free this year?"

"Are you stupid? That Tianquan Peak Secret Realm is abysmal every year. Entering it doesn't improve your strength at all, so people stopped going long ago. They probably just made it free," another Prodigy said with disdain.

Jian Wuxie asked in a low voice, "Senior Sister, which Secret Realm are you going to this year?"

Xiao Hongyuan gently stroked the long sword at her waist and said, "I shall go to the Thousand Sword Cliff Dao Enlightenment Secret Realm. I hope to comprehend Sword Intent soon."

Jian Wuxie nodded and said, "Then I shall go to Death Valley. Today, I must kill to my heart's content!"

Following the lead of the two prodigies, the Disciples of other Sects also began to pick their favorite Secret Realms.

Tianquan Peak had only Lin Chuan, so he had to stand before the stone tablet himself to wait for people to sign up.

Long queues quickly formed at the other four peaks, while only Lin Chuan stood before an empty space.

Peak Master Di Lan walked over at this time and mocked, "Is this the confidence you had that you would definitely make a profit within three months?"

Lin Chuan stood in place with a calm expression and said indifferently, "There is no need for Elder Yin to worry."

Peak Master Di Lan snorted coldly, "There are less than two months left. When the time comes and the Grand Elder isn't protecting you, you can wait for death!"

Lin Chuan looked incredibly calm on the surface, but in reality, he was panicking inside.

Lin Chuan suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Instead of waiting for a chance encounter, why not take the initiative?

Lin Chuan gave an evil smile and immediately said with a face full of disdain to the nearby Disciple responsible for statistics: "And these people are supposed to be prodigies? I think they're just mediocre, they don't recognize quality at all!"

The Disciple looked around in confusion and asked, "Huh? Are you talking to me?"

Ignoring the Disciple's confusion, Lin Chuan continued, "You think so too, right? Like I said, these so-called prodigies are just names without substance."

Jian Wuxie, who was not far away, heard Lin Chuan's words and immediately retorted: "What did you say?!"

Lin Chuan curled his lip and said, "Hmph, I said you don't recognize quality and are just names without substance."

Jian Wuxie was clearly enraged by Lin Chuan's words and cursed, "Who gave you the nerve? A mere Qi Refinement stage, yet you dare to be so reckless with your words!"

Lin Chuan shrugged and said, "I'm just telling the truth. It's true I'm at the Qi Refinement stage, but I dare to bet with you that among all of you so-called prodigies, not a single one can pass the Secret Realm I designed!"

At this time, Xiao Hongyuan walked over and said to Jian Wuxie, "Junior Brother, do not fall for his trap. He is merely trying to trick you into spending Spirit Stones to enter his Secret Realm."

She then turned to look at Lin Chuan and asked softly, "Which peak's Disciple are you, and which Secret Realm is your Revered Master responsible for?"

Lin Chuan looked at the two of them and smiled, "I am no Disciple. I am the manager of the Tianquan Peak Secret Realm. I'll leave my words here today: none of you 'prodigies' with hollow reputations can pass the Secret Realm I designed."

Jian Wuxie could no longer endure it and shouted directly, "How many Spirit Stones for your Secret Realm? I will pass it today just to show you!"

Lin Chuan was secretly delighted, but he said with an arrogant face, "It's written on the stone tablet. My Secret Realm is free. If you clear it, I will kowtow and admit my mistake to you!"

Hearing this, Jian Wuxie gritted his teeth and smiled, "Fine! It's a deal. Senior Sister, watch him for me and don't let him run away!"

Lin Chuan led Jian Wuxie and Xiao Hongyuan to the entrance of the Tianquan Peak Secret Realm. Turning around, he saw many Disciples from various Sects following behind to watch the excitement.

Lin Chuan smiled lazily, "This is my Trial Secret Realm, 'Dungeon.' Please, after you!"

Jian Wuxie did not hesitate and walked straight in.

As soon as Jian Wuxie entered the Trial Secret Realm, he felt the world spin. When he opened his eyes, he was standing in a void with a panel in front of him that read: Please choose your character!

Below, there were only two options: one was Ghost Swordsman, and the other was Fighter.

"Oh? So it's a Secret Realm where you play as someone else? Interesting!" Jian Wuxie thought to himself.

He looked at the two options, each corresponding to their respective images.

One was a wild youth holding a strange long sword, and the other was a muscular Martial Artist with bandages wrapped around his arms.

Jian Wuxie chose the Ghost Swordsman role without hesitation and wrote his real name, Jian Wuxie, in the blank space below the option.

Another wave of dizziness hit him. When he opened his eyes again, Jian Wuxie found himself in a forest. Before he could figure out the situation, he heard a young girl's cry for help from not far away.

"Is anyone there? Save me!"

Jian Wuxie did not hesitate and ran towards the direction of the sound. Pushing aside the dense forest, he saw several small, ugly, green-skinned monsters surrounding a beautiful young girl.

Jian Wuxie grabbed his long sword and charged in.

Reaching the monsters, Jian Wuxie subconsciously tried to execute his sword techniques, but he felt that there wasn't a single trace of Spiritual Qi in his Dantian.

"This Secret Realm actually suppressed my Realm?"

Without time to think too much, Jian Wuxie directly hacked at the monsters with his long sword.

Although Jian Wuxie had no spiritual power at the moment, his combat instincts accumulated over the years were still there. He killed all the monsters with a few easy slashes.

After those monsters died, they all turned into a burst of white light and disappeared, leaving no corpses. However, after one of the monsters vanished, it actually left a cloth bag on the spot.

Jian Wuxie picked up the cloth bag and opened it to find dozens of round gold coins inside.

At this time, the young girl walked up to Jian Wuxie and greeted him softly.

"Hello, Adventurer. My name is Seria. Thank you for saving me."

Jian Wuxie looked at the beautiful girl and blushed slightly, quickly saying, "Hello... my name is Jian Wuxie."