110: Chapter 111: Exclusive Secret Realm

If this were a secret realm in the Xia Country, Lin Muyang might have left a mark or information at the entrance indicating his presence, and typically, no one would forcibly intrude to interfere. This was an unwritten tacit understanding among Class Transferees in the Xia Country.

But this was Kimchi Country.

The other party's rules and style of conduct were naturally different from those of the Xia Country. They had their own understanding of so-called priority, and might even be more forceful about it.

However, for Lin Muyang, the impact wasn't significant. It was merely an extra procedure, just a bit more troublesome.

“First, I need to get rid of those two scouts inside.” Lin Muyang made a decision after a brief thought. Since he wasn't the first Class Transferee to enter the secret realm, he temporarily didn't have the authority to lock the entrance. This meant that during their clearing process, new Class Transferees from Kimchi Country might continuously pour in, causing interference or even conflict.

The simplest solution was to ensure only his own people remained in the secret realm.

“Xiao Wan, release two ‘Nether Eyes’ to scout the path ahead.” Lin Muyang signaled to the Yama Maiden beside him.

Gui Wanwan’s lips curled slightly, revealing a faint, somewhat chilly smile that matched her pale complexion. The phantom of the scythe in her hand, seemingly condensed from shadows, swayed gently as she raised her other slender, pale hand.

Gray light flowed from her fingertips, and a fist-sized, ethereal eyeball with pupils burning with deep blue flames quickly took shape, floating silently above her palm. This was the ‘Nether Eye,’ composed purely of Nether Power; it was difficult to see with the naked eye but could perceive souls and energy.

Two seconds later, another ‘Nether Eye’ quietly emerged.

With a slight thought from Gui Wanwan, the two invisible ‘eyes’ drifted forward like ashes scattered by the wind, disappearing into the two main frost-covered passages deep within the cave. Scenes along the way, energy fluctuations, and the distribution and attributes of monsters were all clearly fed back through a special link.

“The first section seems to be all ice-attribute monsters...” Lin Muyang shared the perception and frowned slightly. This made him a bit disappointed, but it was expected, given that the entrance showed a scene of ice and fire meeting.

“Since it's called ‘Ice and Fire Dual Heavens,’ there should be a fire-attribute area.” He maintained his expectations.

Just then, the current number of people on the secret realm information panel suddenly jumped from ‘3/8’ to ‘4/8’.

Someone had entered.

Through the blurred perception of the entrance shared by the Nether Eye, Lin Muyang ‘saw’ a figure pass through the blood-red vortex. It was a middle-aged male Class Transferee from Kimchi Country, wearing a dark baseball cap, casually chewing gum, and carrying a heavy long-handled double-edged battle-axe. The equipment on his body emitted a strong glow, clearly of high quality.

This person was one of the teammates called in by the two scouts inside the secret realm. His purpose was clear—to find the uninvited intruder and either negotiate or expel them.

However, when he stepped into the cave where ice and fire intertwined and his vigilant gaze swept forward, he froze.

There was no one.

Only dozens of meters away were the two passage entrances covered in deep blue ice, and in front of the passages were seven or eight monsters that looked like giant bears with snow-white fur, emitting a biting cold Aura—Level 97 Epic-Rank Monsters, ‘Mutated Snow Bears,’ dozing on the ice. They lay there quietly, not looking disturbed at all.

“Where is he?” the man in the baseball cap wondered suspiciously. “Did he go in that fast? A-Zhe and the others only could because they have earth-burrowing skills... Could this guy have similar means?”

Though puzzled, his movements weren't slow. He stepped forward a few paces, stood in a relatively open spot, raised his volume, and shouted into the empty cave in the language of Kimchi Country: “Friend! Our team discovered this secret realm first and is organizing a clear! Please leave immediately, smida! Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite!”

His voice echoed in the empty cave, mixed with the faint sound of ice crystals cracking and the low surge of distant lava, but there was no response.

Just as he frowned, preparing to shout again or ask the scouting teammates inside via the team channel—

A sudden change occurred!

The seven or eight Mutated Snow Bears that had been lying lazily in front suddenly stood up in unison without any warning! Their lowered heads lifted, and their previously dull bear eyes suddenly lit up with a violent blood-red light! Almost at the same time, the gazes of all the snow bears, as if drawn by a magnet, locked onto the man in the baseball cap standing near the entrance!

“Roar—!!”

A low roar broke the silence of the cave as the massive bear bodies reared up, their heavy paws striking the ice with a dull thud. Then, these seven or eight Epic-Rank Monsters actually sprinted on their thick limbs simultaneously, like an out-of-control avalanche, charging madly toward him! Ice shards splattered under their feet, and the cold air carried a murderous intent toward him!

“What?!” The man’s face changed drastically, his pupils shrinking. This was completely illogical! He was still over forty meters away from these snow bears, far from entering their normal alert range! Even if the monsters were rioting because they were attacked, their primary aggro target should be the attacker. How could they charge directly at him, who was clearly ‘harmless’?

Could it be...

An ominous thought flashed through his mind, and he instinctively wanted to retreat, touching the rotating blood-red secret realm vortex behind him, intending to exit first and then reconsider.

However, when his fingers touched the edge of the vortex, the expected sensation of teleportation did not occur. The vortex still rotated slowly, but it had no reaction to his touch, as if it were just a realistic mural!

“Can't leave?!” Cold sweat instantly seeped from his forehead and back. Being unable to leave a secret realm meant only one possibility—he had been judged by the secret realm as being ‘in a state of combat’!

But he hadn't attacked any monsters, and the monsters hadn't touched him yet... Where did this combat state come from?

There was no time to think! The Mutated Snow Bears were charging extremely fast, covering the dozens of meters in an instant! Their hideous fangs and claws entwined with frost power glinted with a lethal cold light in the dim cave.

“Shibal!” the man cursed fiercely, spitting out the tasteless gum. He gripped the long-handled battle-axe with both hands, holding it across his body. He knew it was too late to call for help, and it would take time for his teammates outside to hear the commotion and enter. Now, he could only face this group of frenzied Epic-Rank Monsters alone, with the odds stacked against him.

“Battle Cry! Smida!” He let out a muffled roar, his muscles bulging as a faint red light flashed over him, temporarily increasing his strength and defense.

“Earth-Shattering Impact! Smida!” Seeing the first few snow bears about to pounce, he slammed the heavy battle-axe onto the ice beneath his feet!

Boom!

A visible shockwave spread out in a ring, shattering the ice. The intense vibration threw the seven Mutated Snow Bears in front off balance, their massive bodies knocked into the air, and their charging momentum stalled.

However, there was one Mutated Snow Bear shrouded in a faint grayish-white halo that was completely unaffected by the ‘Earth-Shattering Impact.’ It roared and broke through the shockwave, its massive paw descending toward him with a whistle that tore the air! This snow bear had the epic-grade trait ‘Control Immunity’!

“War Shield!” The man had no time to dodge and roared as he activated his life-saving skill. A brilliant golden energy shield instantly condensed in front of him.

Bang—Crack!

The bear paw slammed solidly into the golden shield, producing a loud bang. The shield vibrated violently, its surface instantly covered in web-like cracks. It barely blocked the strike but shattered into light particles in the next second. The massive recoil made the man groan and stumble back two steps, his hands numbed.

“This guy's reactions and skill chaining aren't slow.” High in the air, in a state of absolute invisibility, Lin Muyang calmly looked down at the battle below. This Kimchi Country warrior was nearly level 100, his equipment was at least Sovereign-rank, and his combat experience was quite rich. Being able to respond quickly to a sudden attack by eight Epic-Rank Monsters of the same level alone indeed made him a skilled fighter.

On Blue Star, the threshold for clearing high-level (such as near level 100) epic-grade secret realms was relatively lower. This was because at this level, a Class Transferee's base attributes, skill levels, and equipment were all greatly improved. A team with an average of s-rank talents could challenge them with proper coordination. What truly gave various countries headaches were often those level 40 or 50 epic-grade secret realms—they required extremely rare S-rank or even SS-rank geniuses of just the right level to handle, and such geniuses were few and far between in any country.

But a lower threshold didn't mean there was no danger. Especially in a situation like this, facing a group alone.

Having lost his key control skill and life-saving shield, the remaining seven snow bears recovered from their brief suspension and closed in again. The man in the baseball cap fell into a true desperate situation. He swung his battle-axe with all his might, trying to block and parry, but two hands were no match for many, let alone sixteen bear paws.

In less than half a minute, while his defensive skills were all on cooldown and he didn't have time to gulp down a healing potion, one snow bear's claws tore open his side, and another's fangs bit hard into his shoulder...

The screams were quickly drowned out by the monsters' roars.

“Tsk, that’s a bit tragic.” Lilia grabbed Lin Muyang’s arm, hiding behind him and peeking out with half her head to watch the battle quickly end below, whispering a comment. There wasn't much pity on the Elf Princess's face; in her original world, the law of the jungle and death in battle were the norm. Aside from Lin Muyang, she lacked a sense of identification with other humans, especially since the other party wanted to seize a secret realm belonging to her master.

At that moment, one of the ‘Nether Eyes’ controlled by Gui Wanwan had already locked onto the two Class Transferees from Kimchi Country who were using earth-burrowing skills to sneak forward deep within one of the ice passages. They seemed to have learned of their teammate's tragic fate through the team channel and were hurrying back from underground.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Lin Muyang didn't even move; he just had a slight thought.

【Death Mark】—yet another God-Tier Aura that was rarely activated but had a special effect, quietly triggered.

An invisible wave swept through the secret realm. In the next moment, above the heads of the two Class Transferees—the Shadow Walker and the Elementalist—who were frantically traveling over ten meters beneath the ice, a hideous, blood-red skull mark that only monsters and Lin Muyang could see suddenly appeared without warning!

To the monsters within the secret realm, this mark was like a lighthouse in the night, emitting an irresistible attraction and hatred.

In an instant, with their burrowing location as the center, all ice-type monsters within a radius of several hundred meters—whether wandering snow beasts, lurking ice snakes, or a Frost Giant BOSS dozing in a small ice cave—all shuddered, their blood-red eyes instantly turning toward the ice layer below! They could clearly ‘feel’ that there were ‘mortal enemies’ there that had to be torn apart!

Roar! Hiss! Thump!

The roars and bellows of various monsters blended together. Frost breath, ice arrows, heavy earth spikes, and even massive ice spears thrown by the Frost Giant BOSS... countless terrifying attacks rained down like a deluge toward the ice layer where the two were hiding!

The hard, ten-thousand-year-old ice shattered and collapsed like fragile crackers under such a dense barrage. The protection provided by the earth-burrowing skill seemed laughable in the face of absolute power and numbers.

Beneath the ice, only brief and muffled cries and the explosions of skills were heard before things quickly returned to silence.

The current number of people in the secret realm quietly changed to ‘1/8’.

“Now it's quiet.” Lin Muyang looked at the information panel, his expression showing no ripples. To him, clearing potential interference was merely a necessary step to ensure the operation went smoothly. He didn't even need to do it himself; a few targeted Auras were enough to achieve his goal using the secret realm's monsters.

As for the deaths of these three Kimchi Country Class Transferees, it could only be attributed to bad luck. In this era, the relationship between Kimchi Country and Xia Country was already openly antagonistic; in earlier years, there had even been a malicious incident where Kimchi Country sent assassins to murder a SSS-rank genius from Xia Country. Being merciful to the enemy was being cruel to oneself and one's companions. Lin Muyang had no interest in, nor was there any need for, being soft-hearted toward those who might hinder him and were in an opposing camp.

After confirming there were no more outsiders, Lin Muyang immediately exercised his authority to lock the secret realm entrance. From now on, until they left or the secret realm closed, no one else would be able to enter.

“Speaking of which, if I activate the 【Space Interruption】 Aura, it should also achieve a similar effect of blocking the entrance and exit, right? It would just take up one more Aura slot.” This thought flashed through Lin Muyang’s mind, but he didn't dwell on it. Now was not the time to consider that.

He turned around and cast his gaze deep into the cave. Through Gui Wanwan’s shared vision, he had already seen that one of the ‘Nether Eyes’ had passed through the long frost area and finally reached a completely different world within the secret realm—it was a boiling lava lake nestled within snow-capped mountains! The scorching air waves almost felt like they were being transmitted through the Nether Eye’s link. In the lake and on the banks, a large number of fire-attribute monsters clad in lava and emitting high heat and violent Auras were wandering!

“Found it.” A trace of satisfaction flashed in Lin Muyang’s eyes. Ice and Fire Dual Heavens, true to its name. A large number of fire-attribute monsters meant a large number of potential fire-attribute epic gear, which, when decomposed, would yield the legendary-grade Fire Element Essences he urgently needed.

It was time to begin the real ‘harvest.’

Meanwhile, outside the secret realm, at the foot of the snow mountain.

The remaining two Kimchi Country Class Transferees stood before the blood-red vortex with ashen faces. They had just received system notifications of their teammates' successive deaths and watched helplessly as the secret realm entrance changed from accessible to an unshakable ‘Locked’ status.

“Bastard! Who exactly is it that dares to commit such a heinous act in the secret realm?” The shield-warrior man gritted his teeth, his fists clenched until they cracked.

“He even locked the secret realm... is he trying to wait for his teammates to arrive and monopolize this epic secret realm?” The female priest was still shaken, her voice carrying fear and anger. “Too malicious! Luring monsters to kill our people... no matter who he is, he must be made to pay the price!”

“That's right! I’ll contact the officials and the guild right now!” The shield-warrior pulled out his phone and quickly sent messages, his tone cold. “To dare to run wild on our Kimchi Country's territory, no matter who he is, don't think he'll have a good end!”

They could never have imagined that the person currently occupying that level 97 epic secret realm alone was not some powerful local competitor or evil organization they expected, but an uninvited guest from the distant Xia Country whom they viewed as an enemy.