19: Chapter 19 Earth-Rank Secret Realm

During the fall, a gentle, invisible force enveloped every student, separating them evenly, slowing them down, and finally landing them steadily on the ground.

[Strongest AFK Lying-Flat System offline! strongest check-in system online!]

[New location detected: Earth Rank Secret Realm - Zhongmen Secret Realm]

[Reward has been sent to mail]

The surrounding forest was deep and dense, shrouded in mist, making one feel inexplicably oppressed. Coupled with the vague school exam rules, Li Fan lowered his head to ponder.

"Although my Qi Refining Perfection Realm should be fine in this school exam Secret Realm."

"Still, it's better to be steady."

Most of the participating students hadn't even broken through Qi Refining; he was an anomaly among them.

His strength was definitely a step ahead, but he was afraid of any unexpected trouble. With a thought, he opened the System interface.

[hard training points: 220]

These were the points accumulated from the past ten days of AFK lying-flat, plus triggering the strongest face-slapping system.

He casually clicked on the reward just issued by the strongest check-in system.

[Human Key]

[hard training points: X100]

"What is this thing?" Looking at the key in the System space, Li Fan looked confused, so he clicked on the item description.

[One of the three keys: Heaven, Earth, and Human. Collect all to open the gate.]

Seeing the description, Li Fan understood instantly. Although he was a lazy salted fish who didn't like to use his brain, he wasn't stupid.

"Does it have anything to do with this Secret Realm called the Zhongmen Secret Realm?"

The rewards from the strongest check-in system were generally related to the location. Since this place was called the Zhongmen Secret Realm, the key must be closely related to the Secret Realm itself.

"I'm still missing two. Where am I supposed to get those? Can I still trigger a check-in? Brother System."

Seeing that the System didn't reply, Li Fan didn't hold out much hope. If he didn't rely on the System for the other keys, who knows how long it would take to find them.

Thinking about the hard training points, including the newly received reward, his hard training points reached 320, which was just enough for the consumption of breaking the limit in Qi Refining.

Without much hesitation, Li Fan directly consumed 300 hard training points.

In an instant! The scene of Spiritual Qi sweeping and pouring in... did not happen. It was as plain as a game leveling up from level 10 to 11. Except for Li Fan himself being able to feel the multiplication of the values, there was no ripple in the outside world, not even a breeze.

"My 300 hard training points! Do you know how long I saved for that?"

This wave of emotional value was indeed not delivered well. He thought that breaking the limit in Qi Refining would have some heavenly light and colors, or golden lotuses springing from the ground.

Just as he was complaining to himself, in the darkness, a vast and ancient phantom of the Dao appeared deep in his consciousness.

He subconsciously called out its name. "Path of Heavenly Talent"

This path was extremely special, and only Cultivators who broke through their own Realm shackles in each era were qualified to step onto it. Anyone who ascended this path would be gifted with the Luck of the Heavenly Dao.

Li Fan originally thought that there would be very few people on such a Heaven-Defying Dao. But when his Divine Sense swept over, he was shocked to find that there were many Cultivators on the Path of Heavenly Talent.

He considered himself a Prodigy rarely seen in a thousand years, but looking across the entire path, Prodigies seen once in ten thousand or a hundred thousand years were everywhere, all struggling to move forward on the Dao...

Thus, on the Path of Heavenly Talent, only a wisp of Luck as thin as a thread was separated and circled Li Fan a few times before disappearing into his body.

"Fine, at least my strength has indeed improved." Li Fan swallowed his saliva. The heroes of the world are truly... "I should go find Luo Qingqian first."

He took off into the air, following the direction they had scattered in the air earlier.

According to common sense, controlling Spiritual Qi to fly requires at least the Foundation Establishment Realm. But Li Fan's Spiritual Qi was incomparably vast, far exceeding ordinary Qi Refining Cultivators. By relying on the massive push of Spiritual Qi, he could force himself to take off. It was a case of "brute force flying."

"Something is happening." After flying over the treetops for a while, Li Fan noticed movement not far away. So he lowered his altitude, hovered among the leaves, and slowly approached.

Not long after, through the interlaced leaves, several figures in the forest below came into view. Three men and one woman. He didn't recognize the men, and as for the woman, Li Fan wished he didn't know her either. "Why is it Qian Zhenzhen?"

[strongest check-in system has gone offline, strongest face-slapping system has come online]

"Salted fish saves the beauty? This again?" Hearing the System switch, Li Fan wanted to slip away on the spot. But on second thought, although Qian Zhenzhen was arrogant and unreasonable, her feelings for him were genuine. It wouldn't be good to just stand by and watch. "Forget it, I'll go over and see."

Li Fan landed on the ground, converged his aura, and walked out.

The three men saw Li Fan walking over calmly, looking like he was about to help those in need. But there was no hostility; instead, they looked happy, hurried over to meet him, and behaved in an extremely ingratiating manner.

"Are these people this discerning? So sensible." Li Fan wondered to himself.

Unexpectedly, the three rushed directly behind him, exhaled a breath, their faces full of relief. "Big shot, you have to be careful. That woman... is a Devil Head, not to be trifled with!"

"Oh no!" Li Fan cursed silently. It was his preconceived notion. He forgot that Qian Zhenzhen had already broken through to Qi Refining, and her strength was far beyond that of ordinary candidates. He then turned around, ready to run away.

"Stop... right there, Young Miss!" Qian Zhenzhen saw someone suddenly appear, thinking it was some blind person, but she didn't expect it to be Li Fan who had delivered himself to her doorstep.

Seeing that he was alone, without Luo Qingqian by his side, the anger in Qian Zhenzhen's heart subsided a little.

However, she persisted in asking the previous question, demanding a clear answer. "Why! Don't! You! Talk! To! Me!"

Li Fan had no choice but to shrug it off. "My business doesn't need your concern."

As soon as these words came out, before Qian Zhenzhen could speak, the three men behind Li Fan immediately started to flatter him wildly. "Damn! Big Brother is so domineering, he dares to stand up to the daughter of the Qian Family!" "Awesome!" "Kill her, Big Brother!"

Li Fan's mouth twitched wildly, but seeing the rising hard training points, he simply let the three flatter him, too lazy to stop them.

But these words completely ignited Qian Zhenzhen's anger. She swept a cold glance at the three of them, her tone unfriendly. "You three, I'll remember you. Say one more word, and when the school exam is over, you'll see what happens."

The three instantly fell silent, covering their mouths tightly, not daring to breathe.

Seeing the hard training points stop jumping, Li Fan was unhappy instead. "Don't be afraid, with Brother Fan looking after you, she is no match for me."

As soon as this was said, one of the hot-headed youths immediately echoed, "Did you hear that! My Brother Fan said he could beat you! What's so great about the daughter of the Qian Family!"

However, there was a smart one among the three. He quickly cupped his hands, his posture respectful. "Brother Fan is bold and domineering. May I ask which Family you come from? It would be good to interact in the future."

Watching the steadily rising hard training points, Li Fan followed suit, raised his hand to return the salute, and said in a calm tone, "Yan High School Xuan Class, Li Fan."

Upon hearing this, the flattery on the three's faces vanished, and their expressions became visibly indifferent and distant. "Since you two know each other, we won't disturb you. We'll take our leave first."

After saying this, the three made a move to run away, but how could Qian Zhenzhen let them go so easily? "Hand over your points tokens first."

The three looked at each other, looking confused. "Young Miss Qian, we don't have any points tokens."

"You don't have them either?" At this moment, Li Fan was also surprised. He had originally thought that since he was a special case for fairness, the school exam hadn't issued him a token. He didn't expect that none of the candidates had points tokens.

"We really don't!" The three immediately turned out their pockets and personal belongings, clean and empty, without anything looking like a token. Ordinary students generally didn't have storage Magical Artifacts.

"Strange, how exactly did the officials arrange this?" Qian Zhenzhen frowned and whispered.

Li Fan's mind turned quickly, and he whispered his deduction. "There must be a way to obtain the tokens. Since they won't be issued uniformly, the probability is high that they must be obtained within the Secret Realm itself, either by hunting Yao Beasts or exploring dangerous places."

The three on the side saw that Li and Qian were both thinking, so they looked at each other and slowly moved their feet, moving away from the two bit by bit.

Just as Li Fan was about to guess something, Qian Zhenzhen suddenly realized. Who cares where they come from? When others have them later, just go rob them, and that's it. For now, it's more important to do the real business.

So she said that sentence again. "Why don't you talk to me?"

Li Fan was helpless. Can you stop, Young Miss? Don't you see we are in the middle of a school exam? "Because I don't want to."

"Why don't you want to?"

The three nearby saw Qian Zhenzhen and Li Fan at loggerheads, figuring that they had no time to pay attention to them, so they took larger steps, almost reaching the nearest tree.

"Qian Zhenzhen, I'll tell you straight, we are not suitable for each other." Li Fan wasn't one to talk in riddles, so he just exploded. "You are the only heir of the Qian Family, the Family power is intricate and tangled, involving countless interests. And I, just want to be a leisurely Cultivator safely and steadily." "We can never become Dao Companions!"

The three brothers had just reached the tree, ready to run away, but upon hearing Li Fan's explosive remarks, their footsteps stopped in unison, and they looked at each other again. "Shall we... listen a bit longer?"

At this moment, Qian Zhenzhen rarely didn't lose her temper. Li Fan's straightforward words struck deep into her heart. She herself couldn't tell how much of her initial insistence on making Li Fan her Dao Companion was genuine liking, and how much was to resist the Family's arrangements. At this moment, her heart was a mess.

As the only daughter of the Qian Family, her life had been planned out since birth. Hobbies, interpersonal relationships, cultivation routes, and even her future Dao Companion were all decided by her father, and she had never had any power to choose for herself. It was precisely because of this that she became exceptionally rebellious after reaching adulthood.

Learning that her father was going to force an arranged marriage, she ran away from home in a fit of anger, and it was precisely because of this runaway that she met Li Fan.

Qian Zhenzhen looked up at the sky, her eyes wide, her eye sockets slightly red, holding back tears. After a while, she spat out a powerless sentence. "You are right. If I force you to stay by my side, wouldn't it be the same as my father's behavior?"

She lowered her head, no longer looking arrogant, her tone lonely. "There are still ten days until the betting duel, I hope that when the time comes, I will still be able to see you." After saying that, she left without looking back.

Li Fan looked at her back, his expression complex. In his eyes, Qian Zhenzhen was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, holding power and wealth that others couldn't ask for in ten lifetimes. If it were him, he would have been having a blast. "This is what they call, the troubles of the rich, I suppose."

After sighing for a while, Li Fan glanced coldly at the three people watching the show behind the tree. "Don't talk nonsense about what you heard, or be careful of disappearing suddenly."

The three nodded vigorously, but who knows what they were thinking in their hearts. Li Fan didn't care; he should see how to get some points tokens.

Just when he had no clue, a team of Cultivators dressed in Xuanxing Department uniforms passed by in the air. Li Fan naturally noticed it, and he wondered, what exactly were these people from the Xuanxing Department doing?

At this moment, his thoughts, which had been interrupted by Qian Zhenzhen earlier, suddenly connected, and he suddenly realized. "I understand."

"The Xuanxing Department Cultivators have two functions. First, to save candidates who crush their tokens to save their lives. Second, to distribute points tokens."

After all, although the students in this Secret Realm have good talent, in the end, most of them are ordinary people. It is too ridiculous to really get tokens from Yao Beasts or dangerous places.

So Li Fan called out to the Xuanxing Department Cultivators not far away, asking for points tokens. "Brothers of the Xuanxing Department, do you have any points tokens?"

There were four Xuanxing Department Cultivators in the air. Under Li Fan's perception, it was one Golden Core plus three Foundation Establishment. Hearing Li Fan's casual and straightforward address, one of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators scolded from above. "Where did this brat come from? How dare you address this Immortal Master like that? Are you looking for death?"

Before the words fell, a cyan wind blade condensed out of thin air and slashed straight down at Li Fan. The Foundation Establishment wind blade looked scary, but Li Fan could feel that there was no killing intent, just a superficial display.

He dodged the attack calmly, and the person didn't make another move, like a fixed NPC.

"I'll spare your life. If there is a next time, go to the Yellow Springs and learn some manners from your Old Ancestor."

Li Fan was speechless. Are we playing roleplay now?

Among the three brothers behind the tree, there was one with a discerning eye. Guessing what was going on, he quickly ran out from under the tree shade and saluted. "I am just a Mortal, greetings to all Immortal Masters. It is a great honor to meet you today."

In the team, the Golden Core Cultivator nodded slightly. Although he looked young, he deliberately lowered his voice, making a hoarse sound, pretending to be profound. "Old man sees that your talent is okay. In the future, you can join my... uh..."

His voice paused, obviously forgetting his lines on the spot, and he casually added a sentence to gloss over it. "In the future, you can join my school exam Sect and become an Outer Sect Disciple."

Then he took something out of his arms. "Report with this Sect token."

Li Fan took a closer look, and his mouth twitched. Where is this a Sect token? The surface of the token clearly marked the number 10, which was clearly the points token for the school exam.

When the man excitedly caught the thrown points token, the next second, Li Fan's student terminal vibrated slightly, and the leaderboard page refreshed in real-time. At the top of the originally blank list, one person appeared. Relying on ten points, this person firmly occupied the top of the leaderboard for this school exam.

Seeing this, Li Fan opened his mouth slightly and asked tentatively, "Zhang Xiao?"

The man who was giggling while holding the points token immediately turned around and replied subconsciously, "Who is calling me?"