4: Blacksmith Linus

"Adventurer, you look like a Ghost Swordsman. Luckily I ran into you, otherwise, I might have been killed by those Goblins," the girl said softly.

"Uh... I am a Ghost Swordsman. So those green-skinned monsters are called Goblins?" Jian Wuxie recalled the character he had chosen.

He continued to ask, "Seria, are you also here for the Secret Realm trial? Which Sect are you from?"

Seria smiled and said, "I live nearby. Come with me, I'll take you to the village where I live first."

Jian Wuxie followed Seria out of the forest and arrived at a small village. Jian Wuxie was shocked upon entering the village.

"Is this a Secret Realm trial? Are all the people here illusions?" Jian Wuxie looked at the girl leading the way, feeling a bit disappointed.

The girl led Jian Wuxie to a treehouse and said sadly, "This is my home. Some terrifying monsters suddenly appeared in the nearby forest, Jian Wuxie, can you help the villagers drive those monsters away?"

Jian Wuxie's heart softened as he saw Seria's pleading look. He quickly said, "No problem, I'll go right away!"

Seria covered her mouth and chuckled, "Hehe, don't rush. You don't have any weapons or armor. How about this, go find Uncle Linus, the village blacksmith. Tell him I sent you, and he'll give you some weapons and armor."

Jian Wuxie arrived at the blacksmith's shop and saw a burly uncle, shirtless, hammering a piece of iron.

Jian Wuxie stepped forward to explain his purpose, and the uncle laughed heartily.

"Haha, Adventurer, Seria is right, you need a good set of equipment."

Linus took out a set of equipment and handed it to Jian Wuxie, saying, "With your current strength, this set of equipment will be useful. Take it."

As Jian Wuxie received the equipment, a light screen appeared before his eyes.

[You have obtained a Worn Deerskin Set. You have obtained a Worn Katana.]

Jian Wuxie was shocked again. From childhood to adulthood, he had entered countless Secret Realms for trials, but he had never seen a Secret Realm like this, which gave such a strong sense of immersion.

Jian Wuxie put on the armor and longsword, and suddenly felt a significant increase in the strength within his body.

Jian Wuxie curiously wanted to check the acquired equipment, and suddenly a light screen reappeared before him, displaying the names and basic information of each piece of equipment.

"Oh? This Secret Realm even designed specific information for armor and weapons, how interesting. So wearing armor can increase my resistance to attacks," Jian Wuxie thought in surprise.

Uncle Linus laughed heartily, "Haha, you look very energetic after putting on the equipment!"

"Adventurer, go straight from here and you'll reach Loran Forest. It used to be the habitat of the Elf Clan, but I don't know when, the elves suddenly disappeared, and many ugly monsters appeared. If you can defeat them, come back and I'll forge you a good weapon!" Linus said to Jian Wuxie.

Jian Wuxie suddenly heard a name he hadn't heard in a long time: 'Elves!'

He remembered his father once saying that in the Western Realm of the Canglan Continent, there was a very powerful race called the Elf Clan.

"This Secret Realm even incorporates elements of the Western Realm races? I'm becoming more and more interested."

Jian Wuxie immediately walked towards Loran Forest. Not long after entering, he indeed saw many green-skinned monsters wandering in groups of three to five.

"These must be the 'Goblins' Seria mentioned. They're nothing special!" Jian Wuxie thought to himself, but he showed no mercy with his hands. Relying on his excellent combat talent, he rushed forward and killed the monsters in a few strikes.

Jian Wuxie wandered through the forest when he suddenly discovered a Goblin much stronger than the others.

That strong Goblin was protected by a dozen smaller Goblins, and it carried a broken basket on its back, containing who knew what.

He immediately charged forward, cutting down the first few Goblins with a few slashes. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and his whole body was pushed back half a step by a huge force.

Jian Wuxie focused his gaze and saw that it was the largest Goblin that had thrown a stone, which had hit him squarely in the chest.

"Damn it, this monster is quite despicable, it even throws stones to ambush!"

Jian Wuxie guarded against the stones thrown by the large Goblin while killing all the other small Goblins.

Looking at the lone strong Goblin remaining, Jian Wuxie chuckled, "Hehe, this time there are no other monsters to interfere. Prepare to die!"

Jian Wuxie charged forward with his sword. The moment his longsword struck the Goblin, Jian Wuxie felt that this Goblin's body was much tougher than the other Goblins.

Several of Jian Wuxie's attacks landed on its body, yet only left a few shallow scratches.

Just as Jian Wuxie was shocked, the strong Goblin suddenly became agile. Not only did its movement speed increase, but it also instinctively dodged his attacks.

The stones, which it had previously thrown only once every half a day, suddenly became as dense as raindrops.

This made Jian Wuxie, who had lost his Realm, uncomfortable, and he could only retreat to create distance.

What Jian Wuxie didn't notice was that the Throwing Goblin was smirking mischievously.

That's right, this Goblin was being possessed and controlled by Lin Chuan, who had activated the System's function.

Jian Wuxie, who had retreated a long distance, was just about to rest and recover his stamina when, unexpectedly, the Throwing Goblin chased after him.

Three stones struck Jian Wuxie with immense force. Jian Wuxie cried out, suddenly felt his vision go dark, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in that void space.

[You have died. Current revival coin count is 0. Please exit the Secret Realm.]

Jian Wuxie sighed as he looked at the prompt, then directly exited the Secret Realm trial.

Outside the Secret Realm trial, Xiao Hongyuan and many onlookers saw Jian Wuxie emerge and immediately walked up to surround him.

Xiao Hongyuan first looked at Jian Wuxie's expression and asked, "Junior Brother, how was it?"

One of the surrounding Disciples also asked, "Yeah, how was that Secret Realm? Did you clear it?"

Jian Wuxie shook his head with a somewhat stiff expression, then turned to Lin Chuan and said, "Isn't your Secret Realm design too unreasonable? Not only did it suppress my Realm, but it also made that Goblin Chief's strength so high!"

Lin Chuan pouted and said disdainfully, "What's high? Tell me what's high. It's always been like this, okay..."

Lin Chuan's smooth barrage of words left Jian Wuxie speechless. Finally, Lin Chuan delivered the critical blow, "In short... if you're weak, practice more!"

Jian Wuxie, full of defiance, shouted, "You did it on purpose! You suppressed my Realm to that of an ordinary person, yet designed that Goblin Chief to be so powerful. No one can pass!"