183: Chapter 182 [Thor]? [The Great Monkey King]? [Videofolnir]?

Chapter 182 [ Thor, the God of Thunder ]? [ Ventilation Great Sage, Macaque King ]? [ Vedfolnir ]?

In front of the large viewing screen in the square in Gaoping City.

"What kind of skill is that big monkey of Sun Po casting anyway? Even if it is a control-type skill, Sun Po should summon other cards to make up for the damage output, right?"

"Not sure. Something might be wrong with Sun Po. Looking at his odds, it seems everyone is not optimistic about him. That beauty just now was willing to throw over thirty million at him anyway."

"The beauty who threw over thirty million earlier killed quite a few monsters during the [ Huzhang ] calamity and is very strong. Maybe she has unique vision?"

"That is Sun Po's teacher, of course she believes in him. But Sun Po is already hundreds of points behind first place, and every single point is a purple-tier monster! How is he supposed to catch up?"

"It is possible. Didn't you see that in the screens of other contestants, basically no monsters have been encountered for a long time?

Only here at Sun Po's side, although Sun Po hasn't made a move, those giant apes haven't dispersed either. As long as these giant apes are killed later, some points can be caught up."

Just as people were discussing, the holographic avatars of various contestants on the stage vehicle dimmed.

Two lines of large characters were projected in the sky above the stage vehicle, one reading: "The first stage has closed betting!!"

Beneath this line of large characters was a 24-hour countdown.

Down below, some people were still regretting not placing their bets in time.

"Ah!! I just took out my fixed deposit!! I still wanted to add more bets to Qin Wudao, why did you close the betting on me!!"

"What a pity, Qin Wudao!! Such a great opportunity to get rich was right in front of us, but I couldn't add more!!"

"Is that countdown the opening time? Didn't the staff initially say the opening time would be seven days later?"

Yang Xinyue also looked at the two lines of characters in the sky, but she didn't dwell on the so-called betting countdown.

That money came because of Sun Po in the first place, and since it was wagered on Sun Po, there was nothing to say if it left because of him.

Of course, the most crucial thing was that Yang Xinyue understood Sun Po and felt that he would not lose.

But seeing the four characters "First Stage", she had some faint guesses in her heart: "First Stage? Could there be other stages? Is this competition not purely a secret realm exploration, and will other stages have new formats?

It seems this Penguin Company is indeed extraordinary; they seem to have a deep relationship with the authorities and have some prior understanding of the competition process."

Just as other contestants had explored for nearly half an hour, there was finally some movement on Sun Po's side.

[ Wuzhiqi ] opened his eyes and spoke at the same time: "Master, apologies. Some things happened to me earlier, making you wait for a long time."

——

Sun Po was extremely curious at this moment and asked: "It's fine. I am more curious why these [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s stopped attacking us and can accompany us here in a daze?"

Just as Sun Po finished asking, those [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s moved again. Just as Sun Po was about to pick up the meteor spear to respond, he discovered that these [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s were not charging at him.

Taking advantage of the lightning flashes in the giant tree jungle, Sun Po saw these [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s grabbing huge vines one by one and swinging back into the dense forest, about to leave.

[ Wuzhiqi ]'s voice sounded simultaneously in Sun Po's mind: "Master, come up quickly and keep close to them. These [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s are friends, not enemies."

As he spoke, [ Wuzhiqi ] summoned a water cloud. Although Sun Po had doubts in his heart, he quickly leaped onto the water cloud first.

[ Wuzhiqi ] stood proudly at the top of the water cloud, and the water cloud automatically flew forward, directly chasing those [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s.

Behind his head, a ring of water glowed with cyan divine light, and the scenery of a great river faintly appeared within the ring.

Beside his body, water ribbons exuding cyan divine light fluttered, making [ Wuzhiqi ] look a little less ferocious and a lot more like an immortal with otherworldly grace.

[ Wuzhiqi ] didn't know when he had learned this art of riding clouds. Riding the water cloud, his speed carrying Sun Po was not slower than the [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s swinging on vines through the dense forest.

[ Wuzhiqi ]'s voice sounded in Sun Po's mind: "Master, this matter is arcane to describe. The moment you summoned me, I sensed a familiar aura.

Immediately after, a voice rang in my ears. It saw through my origin as a [ Six-Eared Macaque ] at a glance and claimed to have old ties with the previous generation of [ Six-Eared Macaque ]. Seeing that our strength was not trivial, it wanted me to help it.

I originally didn't want to pay attention, but it said that these [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s were all its monkey descendants and that it could control these [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s so they wouldn't attack us, and they could even serve as our assistants.

I felt that if it were true, that wouldn't be bad either. After all, we are not familiar with this secret realm. With the help of these [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s, our efficiency in finding monsters can be greatly enhanced.

Moreover, the favor it wants us to help with does not conflict with our goal of accumulating points, so I agreed to it, and in the past half-day, I've gathered a lot of useful information."

After hearing this, Sun Po somewhat doubted whether this was true. After all, what [ Wuzhiqi ] said was indeed too arcane.

If it weren't for the fact that [ Wuzhiqi ] possessed the bloodline of the [ Six-Eared Macaque ], known for [ Understanding All Things ] with the ability to listen to the sounds of destiny, and wouldn't be easily fooled, Sun Po would have suspected that it was being duped, and thus ordered it to forcefully slaughter its way into this dense forest in his own way.

Sun Po still asked somewhat incredulously: "You mean, we just entered this secret realm and then encountered a group of purple-tier [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s?

Then the moment I summoned you, someone in your ear said they wanted your help, and could also direct these [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s to help us?

It's equivalent to us having a group of guides plus thugs right after entering this secret realm?"

[ Wuzhiqi ] said: "Master, not only that, that voice also told me that this secret realm is named the [ Fenglei Mountain Range ], and told me everything about which powerful monsters are inside, where their locations are, what their weaknesses are, and so on. Furthermore, these [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s will help us deal with these monsters together.

But after we finish killing the monsters and accumulate enough points, we must help it deal with a divine monster whose strength is roughly around [ Gold 2-Star ]."

Sun Po thought to himself that it was equivalent to entering the secret realm, standing still, and having someone send you a full-map walkthrough plus thugs? And finally, a big bonus pack of points delivered right to your door?

As for the [ Gold 2-Star ] divine monster, Sun Po had already regarded it as a big points gift package.

After all, after reaching the Gold tier, a difference of even one star is a massive leap in strength. Although Sun Po had never fought a divine monster of Gold quality, let alone the Gold quality monsters from the Outer Domains.

But whether it was [ Wuzhiqi ], the ancient deity inheriting the divine position of the [ Water God of Huai River ], or [ Zhong Kui ] / [ Huang Chao ] who integrated the identities of [ Heavenly Star ] and [ Yin Deity ], or even [ Overlord Xiang Yu ], the strongest human after the ancient era, none of Sun Po's main combat cards were pushovers. With the three of them joining forces, Sun Po felt that it was not impossible to fight.

[ Wuzhiqi ] continued: "Master, while in the Inner Domain, I always felt that my ears did not hear many things very clearly, but after coming to the Outer Domain, my ears seem to hear farther and more clearly."

Sun Po guessed: "Perhaps the Outer Domain is closer to the [ river of destiny ]? That's why your ears can hear more?

Or perhaps the life forms in the Outer Domain are inherently different from those in the Inner Domain, making the sounds of their destiny clearer?"

With insufficient information, Sun Po could only make a slight guess and could not be certain, but this was a good thing after all.

The [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s were still advancing ahead by swinging on tree vines, while [ Wuzhiqi ] drove the water cloud, following along with Sun Po as they shuttled through the fog-shrouded forest.

Sun Po asked: "Did the existence commanding the [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s ever tell you whether it is a human or a monster? What is its title?"

[ Wuzhiqi ] said: "It only said it had old ties with the previous [ Six-Eared Macaque ] and originally was unwilling to state its title, but I still managed to discern its origin.

It is a soul residing within a broken blade. By listening to the sound of its destiny, I seemed to hear that it was called the [ Ventilating Great Sage ] during its lifetime.

But I could not hear who killed this [ Ventilating Great Sage ]; I only heard some fragmented information: eagle screeches, thunder, [ Vedfolnir ], and an electronic voice saying 'I am [ Thor, the God of Thunder ]'."

Sun Po felt this sounded a bit magical.

The soul of the [ Ventilating Great Sage ]? [ Vedfolnir ]? [ Thor, the God of Thunder ]? And an electronic voice?

Are the secret realms in this Outer Domain this unhinged? Do you even hear what you're saying?

Sun Po constantly persuaded himself that [ Wuzhiqi ] possessed the [ Six-Eared Macaque ] bloodline, had the ability to listen to the sounds of destiny, and must be right.

But wasn't this a bit too outrageous?

Regarding these three, Sun Po had some understanding of them in his past life.

The [ Ventilating Great Sage ] was a character in [ journey to the west ], a great demon whose true form was a macaque, styling himself the [ Ventilation Great Sage, Macaque King ].

He once swore brotherhood with great demons such as [ Sun Wukong ] and the Bull Demon King to resist the Heavenly Court together, and was titled the [ Ventilating Great Sage ].

At such a level, he could also be considered a regional demon king, but this [ Ventilation Great Sage, Macaque King ] had little screen time in the original work and was relatively mysterious.

As for the giant eagle [ Vedfolnir ], its fame might not be high, but its background was much bigger.

The giant eagle [ Vedfolnir ] came from Norse mythology. Legend has it that it perched between the eyebrows of an unnamed giant eagle, and this unnamed giant eagle perched at the top of the World Tree, [ Yggdrasil ], standing far apart and opposite to the black dragon Nidhogg resting at the roots of the World Tree, [ Yggdrasil ].

[ Vedfolnir ] meant "Storm-Eroder" in Old Norse, and this giant eagle's abilities in legend were also related to storms.

Legend has it that when [ Vedfolnir ] flapped its wings between the eyebrows of the unnamed giant eagle, gales would blow across the entire Nine Realms for three days and three nights, causing the entire Nine Realms to become dark and gloomy, obscuring the sun and moon.

And [ Vedfolnir ] could see everything it wanted to see within these gales; even [ Odin, the Allfather ] in Norse mythology needed to consult it.

Finally, [ Thor, the God of Thunder ], this one was even more well-known. He was the god of thunder and strength in ancient Norse mythology, and also presided over war, agriculture, weather, and fertility.

He was the son of [ Odin, the Allfather ] and Jord, the husband of the giantess Jarnsaxa and the goddess Sif, and the father of Magni, Modi, Thrud, and Ullr.

He was one of the principal deities of the Aesir clan. The ancient Norsemen of Sun Po's past life worshipped Thor as the ruler of the sky and the strongest deity.

They considered [ Thor, the God of Thunder ] to be the most powerful and forthright deity among the Norse gods, as well as the only one who was always ready to fight giants.

Legend has it that in ancient times, the main duty of [ Thor, the God of Thunder ] was to protect the safety of the Asgardian divine realm and human homes, preventing giants from invading.

Thunder was the roaring sound of [ Thor, the God of Thunder ] driving across the sky; lightning splitting giant trees falling from the sky was the flash emitted by [ Thor, the God of Thunder ] throwing Mjölnir.

In the Norse mythology well-known to Sun Po in his past life, this figure could be considered a true top-tier celebrity, whose fame was not even inferior to [ Odin, the Allfather ] of Norse mythology.

However, what was going on with the electronic voice saying "I am [ Thor, the God of Thunder ]"?

Could [ Thor, the God of Thunder ] be a mechanical lifeform?

But the divine eagle at the top of the World Tree? The principal deity controlling thunder? The demon king from Eastern mythology—at least the first two came from the same mythological system, but where on earth did this [ Ventilation Great Sage, Macaque King ] come from?

Mythological creatures from both China and the West appearing simultaneously in the same secret realm was something Sun Po had never heard of in the Inner Domain.

Secret realms in the Inner Domain were generally related to their names; even just hearing the name of a secret realm allowed one to roughly guess which monsters might be encountered inside.

For example, in the [ Chibi Purgatory ] secret realm, the entities that appeared were generally related to the figures from the legends of the Battle of Red Cliffs, such as Zhou Yu, Huang Zhong, or Zhuge Liang, all of which were possible.

And in the [ Jinshan Temple ] secret realm, Sun Po indeed encountered the White Snake, the Green Snake, and a monk named Fahai.

But in the Outer Domains, what kind of place was this [ Fenglei Mountain Range ]? Lacking a prototype reference, Sun Po found it difficult to make a reasonable estimate of it.

However, looking at it now, although the [ Fenglei Mountain Range ] secret realm sounded like it had both principal deities and creatures from Norse mythology as well as the residual soul of a demon king from Eastern mythology—appearing like a tangled mess—Sun Po still felt that there were some external manifestations.

For example, in this [ Fenglei Mountain Range ] secret realm, the fierce winds and thunder filling the giant tree jungle where he currently was located were very likely related to this giant eagle [ Vedfolnir ] and [ Thor, the God of Thunder ].

And the reason why this [ Ventilation Great Sage, Macaque King ] could control these [ Wind-Roaring Giant Ape ]s and transmit messages with [ Wuzhiqi ] was probably related to his title of [ Ventilating Great Sage ].

But all this was just guesswork without actual evidence. If he really wanted to figure out the truth, he would still have to find the location where [ Wuzhiqi ] heard the voice.

Sun Po suddenly remembered a very important matter, and he asked again in his heart: "Then did you ask this residual soul of the [ Ventilation Great Sage, Macaque King ] whether it discovered other humans in this secret realm? Or rather, other contestants?"