Chapter 121 – Holy Crap, Yuan!

When the pillar of light shot into the sky, the various Lords still inside the Secret Realm rushed over upon hearing the news.

From a bird’s-eye view, one army after another could be seen rapidly converging toward the core of the Secret Realm, the location of the light pillar.

Many Lords also dispatched flying units for reconnaissance.

For a time,

harpies, War Falcons, giant bats, gargoyles, griffins, and all sorts of monstrous creatures took to the skies, conveying various messages through their cries.

Half an hour later, Mu Yuan also led his team to the site of the light pillar, observing the various armies from a distance.

Among them were the young female Lord, the giant Lord, and the ordinary Lord he had encountered before.

Among the other Lords, he also spotted a somewhat familiar figure.

After a moment’s thought, “Oh, isn’t that the Great Sun Lord, ranked… what was it again?”

During the trial, the Great Sun Lord had a Sharpshooter equipped with luxurious gear, leaving a deep impression on Mu Yuan.

Compared to back then, the Great Sun Lord’s army had become countless times more extravagant.

There were at least a dozen Sharpshooters dressed in luxurious attire, likely equipped with rare-grade gear. Three of them stood out with even more extravagant equipment, their armor shimmering with a faint golden glow, making Mu Yuan suspect they were rare three-star Archers.

There were also several Imperial Guards, several mages,

and elemental creatures, ‘Lava Snakes,’ slithering around the perimeter.

The Great Sun Lord made no attempt to conceal his forces.

Disregarding Rank factors, his current lineup was the most extravagant, standing out prominently among the gathered Lords.

“Damn that privileged brat!”

“What’s the use of all that extravagance? Most of his units haven’t even reached Professional Tier yet. It’s all for show.”

“But give him a few more months to develop, and the Great Sun Territory will easily surpass you and me, effortlessly. Is this the value of a top-tier newcomer? Even now, the Great Sun Lord’s power is not to be underestimated. If we veteran Lords aren’t careful, we might suffer a defeat.”

“However, the real opponents are still those few!”

Inside the Secret Realm, a total of seventeen Lords had gathered.

Most were veteran Lords, with a few being newly advanced Lords.

For instance, the young female Lord had stopped at a relatively distant position, observing from afar, seeming less confident in her own strength.

A few other Lords adopted similar postures, likely newcomers who had already felt the gap in power during their exploration of the Secret Realm.

In contrast, the Great Sun Lord didn’t seem like a newcomer at all, appearing flamboyant, confident, and looking down on everyone.

As a genuine newcomer himself, Mu Yuan didn’t get too close either. He merely observed from a distance through the Hurricane Falcon’s vision.

A pale yellow light pillar enveloped a total of over thirty Treasures.

Etched on the light pillar were numerous Xuanhuang runes, dissipating bit by bit like an hourglass. Once the runes completely vanished and the barrier opened, the struggle for the Treasures would begin immediately.

However,

「Prompt: You have entered the Core Realm.」

「Prompt:…」

An intangible rule-based prompt echoed in their minds.

To obtain the Treasures here, one must abide by the rules—specifically: Arena battles. Each Treasure corresponds to one Arena, and ownership is determined through one-on-one PK defense matches.

Under a Lord’s command, each strong unit can only enter the Arena once.Mu Yuan’s expression was slightly peculiar. “Could it be that the champion duel mode of the Xuan Nation was copied from here? The difference is that this place is enveloped by the power of rules, allowing fights to the death without actual fatalities.”

However, the area outside the arena remained an unrestricted environment, unlike the safety of the Challenge Realm. Lord Mu wouldn’t let his guard down because of this.

His entire body remained encased in the tightly sealed Fearless Knight Armor, leaving no gaps.

A lord wearing silver armor stepped forward and declared loudly, “Everyone should be clear about the rules of the core area by now. Let’s proceed according to the regulations. If anyone attempts sneak attacks or disruptions, I, Wang Wang, will be the first to oppose it! What do you all think?”

Wang Wang, the Wangtian Lord.

An official lord, several veteran lords present had connections with Wang Wang.

They all voiced their agreement.

The new lords naturally had no objections—they were more afraid of being ambushed themselves.

Thus, a simple agreement formed: anyone who violated the rules would be collectively attacked and expelled from the Secret Realm. Following Wang Wang’s lead, the lords took turns introducing themselves to demonstrate their commitment to the agreement.

After all, breaking the agreement might mean facing collective attacks, but the real consequence was ruining one’s reputation in the lord community.

“Giant Stone Lord.”

The young man with the giant ace card stated thus.

Liu Cheng of Boulder Territory! He held some renown even among veteran players, with his giant having several notable battle achievements.

“I-I’m a new lord, Yu Siyu of Misty Rain Territory.”

The young female lord they’d encountered earlier spoke.

As soon as she finished, a new lord exclaimed in a low voice, “That’s the Misty Rain Lord ranked 36th on the Golden List! They say she’s incredibly wealthy!”

“With just over a dozen lords here, we’ve gathered three Golden List prodigies! The Great Sun Lord, Misty Rain Lord, and Lord Lu Renyi. I never thought I’d have the chance to share the stage with these future powerhouses!”

The lord community was relatively small after all.

Both Misty Rain Lord and Lord Lu Renyi had been recognized even before announcing their titles.

The truly inconspicuous ones, blending into the background like extras, were the remaining new lords serving as narrators and supporting roles—completely unknown and unremarkable.

Including, but not entirely limited to, Mu Someone.

Young Liu Cheng looked over, frowning as if deep in thought.

The young female lord Yu Siyu cast her gaze his way.

The utterly ordinary, unrecognizable black-armored Mu Yuan pondered briefly before slowly uttering a few words, “Newcomer, Tianyuan.”

Suddenly, it was as if a mute button had been pressed.

Silence fell over the Secret Realm.

A few lords found the name “Tianyuan” vaguely familiar, while most were abruptly startled.

The Great Sun Lord whirled around, eyes wide and fixed intently, burning with intense light.

“You’re the Tianyuan Lord?!”

Shock—the Tianyuan Lord was actually here…

Some lords’ minds were already composing thousands of words of commentary.

Young Liu Cheng’s eyes widened further: You weren’t pretending to be young—you really are a fresh face?! But he felt his internal injuries worsening, as if his chest had been brutally pierced, unable to recover.

Orz!

Young female lord Yu Siyu: I fought giants alongside Tianyuan!

Not long after,

Bang~!

The final rune on the pale yellow light pillar vanished like flowing sand. The light pillar then shattered, revealing… ‘small light pillars’ containing various treasures inside.

A lord immediately stepped forward, lightly tapping a finger, causing rule power to descend and form a battlefield.On the battlefield, a female gunslinger wearing a cowboy hat and holding two flintlock pistols stood proudly, waiting for challengers to step forward.

“If no one challenges within ten minutes, it will be considered a victory.”

At the same time, within the rules of the battlefield, death was impossible, and all statuses would be restored after the battle, eliminating the possibility of attrition warfare.

Confident lords who were determined to secure a specific treasure immediately sent their main generals into the fray.

The battles between generals and generals had already erupted.

“Tianyuan Lord, fight me!”

Who are you?

Not familiar.

How childish.

Mu Yuan pondered his tactics. There were over thirty treasures, and he was just a weak, pitiful new lord—there was no way he could obtain them all.

He had to make choices; he had to prioritize.

His indecisiveness was about to act up!

Of course, a few options could be directly ruled out, such as the rare Three-Star Remnant Souls like “Nature Spirit,” “Netherworld Ghost,” and “Djinn,” which were highly contested by veteran lords.

Their acquisition difficulty was second only to the Hero’s Token and the Secret Realm Key.

“You want this blueprint, right?”

The Great Sun Lord wore an expression that said, “I’ve seen right through you,” as he strode directly to the pillar of light marking the “Miracle Blueprint: Training Ground (Rare).”

Here, a general from another lord’s household was already present.

It was a Halberdier.

Without hesitation, the Great Sun Lord sent out an archer clad in resplendent golden armor. As soon as he appeared, his arrows shot out like a machine gun, rat-a-tat-tat.

Triple Shot! Charged Arrow!

He simultaneously displayed two skills, proving himself to be a rare Three-Star Archer. Moreover, equipped with two or three rare-grade items, the arrows he fired trailed flames and erupted with explosive force upon colliding with the Halberdier’s long halberd.

Blinding flashes of fire erupted continuously.

The Halberdier, having charged only halfway, fell dead amidst the barrage of explosive arrows.

The Halberdier’s master, a veteran lord who had been here for over half a year, wore an extremely grim expression. “His archer’s rank isn’t high. If it weren’t for… if it weren’t for his overwhelmingly luxurious equipment, how could my Halberdier…!!”

But the Great Sun Lord paid him no further attention, instead fixing his burning gaze on the black-armored figure in the distance. “Come, fight me! Don’t back down!”

This Training Ground blueprint was indeed one of the treasures Mu Yuan had his eye on.

It could enhance the focus of troops during training and speed up their energy recovery.

It was useful for ordinary troops.

For “exceptionally talented troops” who had awakened self-awareness, its value was even greater.

So, he stepped forward.

Surrounded by generals like Deadbone.

He reached out and touched it.

Lu Liu, ranked among the top four in Tianyuan and clad in black armor, stepped onto the battlefield.

(End of Chapter)