Chapter 54 – Consciousness Descends

‘Deadman Greatsword (Rare)’

‘Description: Once the sword of a great knight, buried with him in the Valley of Sighs, later transformed into a Treasure Sword through erosion by undead energy.’

‘Effect: Contains sharp and resilient properties, and enhances the destructive power of undead energy.’

The greatsword had a dark silver base with black patterns crawling across it. Even when first drawn, faint wisps of undead energy drifted from it, casting a gloomy pall over the surroundings.

As a rare-grade weapon, this Deadman Greatsword far surpassed the neighboring Shaman Staff in both appearance and practicality.

The Shaman Staff was practically the lowest tier of rare-grade equipment. Mu Yuan guessed its rare rating came solely from its built-in Fireball skill.

However, Fireball wasn’t particularly useful—it could only handle weak opponents and couldn’t finish off any formidable enemies.

“Deadbone doesn’t lack offensive skills. The buff effects of this greatsword suit him perfectly. Moreover, treasure-grade weapons can withstand more of Deadbone’s energy output, allowing him to fully unleash his power.”

Even when Deadbone evolved into an elite-grade unit, this Deadman Greatsword would remain usable for a long time.

Because the standard equipment for elite-grade units still lacked special effects—they were just more durable and sturdy than warrior-grade or commander-grade gear.

Deadbone took the greatsword, and with a wave of his hand, billowing black smoke coiled around the blade, churning endlessly.

Mu Yuan then picked up the Blacksmith blueprint.

‘Blacksmith (Rare)’

‘Description: A production-type building capable of ore processing, equipment repair, equipment manufacturing, and processing. Requires an intelligent unit to operate. If the operator lacks forging expertise, the Blacksmith can only produce a limited number of simple weapons and equipment.’

‘Requirements: Basic Materials 0/some; Soul Crystal 0/3; Black Iron Stone 0/50; Conversion Crystal 0/1.’

The Blacksmith was undoubtedly crucial—an indispensable building for any territory.

The weapons and equipment he had previously ordered were produced in Blacksmiths or similar buildings from other territories.

Most importantly, the main material required for the Blacksmith—the ‘Conversion Crystal’—was one of the three rare-grade materials he had acquired in the past few days.

If he wanted, he could build it today.

“With the Blacksmith building, we won’t need to discard the tattered armor from the Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Soldiers. We can collect and repair them for continued use, saving me a significant amount of expenses.”

“Additionally, even without forging expertise, the Blacksmith can still produce throwing spears, arrows, and sharpen standard Bone Spears to make them more lethal.”

As for the requirement of an intelligent unit operating it? This might be challenging for other new lords, but for him, it was easy.

Mu Yuan was quite satisfied with the Blacksmith blueprint.

In the future, this building could also provide him with a steady stream of income.

With that in mind, he stopped dwelling on the poverty of the Goblin Camp. He had forgiven it.

…

While the Blacksmith blueprint was good, the nearby Challenge Realm Gate was even more promising.

Mu Yuan switched back to the forum to check, but there wasn’t much new information about Secret Realms. At this stage, too few second-generation heirs had entered Secret Realms, and only a handful had shared their experiences.Meanwhile, discussions about the ‘Strongest Rookie of This Season’ grew increasingly heated on the forums. Some busybodies had gathered information from various sources to compile a ‘Top Ten Rookie Kings’ list, complete with specific rankings and their respective achievements.

Mu Yuan glanced at it and let out an exclamation like a casual observer, “Wow, so impressive~”

He didn’t dwell on it long before switching back to the game and arriving before the Secret Realm Gate.

Two ancient square stone pillars stood tall on the ground. Though only about ten meters high, they seemed like Pillars of Heaven, guarding the slowly rotating spacetime vortex that resembled a starry whirlpool in the center.

「Secret Realm Gate (Special)」

「Remaining Time: 6d11h」

「Hint: Only rookie Lords may enter this Secret Realm.」

An hourglass-like phantom hovered high above the Secret Realm Gate, its sands trickling down moment by moment.

Recalling the various data and information about Secret Realms from the forums, Mu Yuan left a small number of troops behind to guard the area. He then summoned Deadbone, Dolai, and other Generals, and under their protection, stepped into the massive spacetime vortex.

……

Dizziness, tremors.

When Mu Yuan opened his eyes, what greeted his vision was a deep starry sky and a vast platform. The pure white platform stretched far into the distance, without a speck of dust in sight.

He could feel the solid texture of the ground beneath him and the gentle breeze brushing against his cheeks.

Looking down, he saw black light armor covered with numerous scratches and his gloved hands, which were stained with some blood.

He clenched his fist tightly—good, very flexible.

Of course, this wasn’t his real body entering the Secret Realm; this was a projected form. His true self remained seated before the computer, gazing at his in-game avatar.

He timely lifted his head, and their eyes met.

Holy moly!

“Even though I’ve read the materials and was mentally prepared, experiencing consciousness projection for the first time still feels unbelievable.”

Apart from the attire, the game character was identical to his real self. Even though he had just gone through a major battle, even though his armor was stained with grass fragments and blood, it couldn’t conceal his dignified appearance and talented inner self as Lord Mu.

Because the character was a projection of his real self. As reality strengthened, the projection would grow accordingly, but not vice versa.

Hence, truly Advanced players would personally enter the Eternal World—only then could they seize the Opportunity to grow stronger.

For now, he had only entered with his consciousness.

Around him, Deadbone and Dolai were nowhere to be seen. Mu Yuan wasn’t worried, as he had received a vague prompt the moment he set foot here.

The waiting area was accessible only to Lords and Heroes; other troops would remain on standby in a temporary Mark Space, to be summoned by the Lord when the Challenge began.

As for the rest…

“Boom—”

In the distance, on the central Challenge Arena of the Secret Realm, a figure was violently thrown out, crashing against the high wall formed by a light screen, leaving behind only a puddle of human-shaped mush.

This was a Lord, and beside him lay his troops, already completely annihilated.

Mu Yuan: “???” Was it always this intense right after entering?

But the next moment, a glow of rules descended, resetting time as it restored the mages, griffins, giants, and other troops to their original state. The rookie player who had just died violently stood up again, without a single stain of blood on him.

He was instantly kicked out of the arena.

Challenge over.

The massive Challenge grounds, enveloped by numerous light screens, dissolved into countless points of light and vanished.”Challengers only need to silently recite to initiate the challenge at any time. Everyone has three challenge opportunities. The challenge is considered failed if the Lord dies.”

Mu Yuan received this prompt as if from the void.

He did not immediately start the challenge.

He had just set foot in this Secret Realm, and this was his first time having his consciousness descend here. There were still many things he needed to figure out.

Moreover,

Mu Yuan looked into the distance about a few hundred meters away. Besides the player who had just been defeated, there was a third player inside the Secret Realm.

That person wore a moon-white mage robe, with the raised hood covering their entire face. Only from her graceful figure could one tell she was a female player.

After a moment’s thought, Mu Yuan pulled the mask attached to his helmet a bit higher.

The female player in the distance seemed to have silently recited the challenge.

In the next moment, the power of the rules descended, countless rays of light intertwined to form a vast challenge arena. Her figure vanished and reappeared inside the arena in an instant.

(End of Chapter)