Challenge Secret Realm

That night,

Mu Yuan had gone through several sets of broadcast calisthenics, yet he was still full of energy. Sitting in front of the computer, he carefully controlled the mouse and slowly tapped the keyboard, afraid he might accidentally damage them.

Perhaps the Nine Profound Nurturing Fluid was sufficiently high-end. The entire enhancement process was gentle and meticulous. Combined with his heightened mental strength and improved control over his body, he had yet to suffer any embarrassing incidents like smashing the table or snapping his chopsticks.

If it had been one of those "more cost-effective" inhuman treasures, he might already have demolished the house by now.

It was worth mentioning that after his mental strength had risen dramatically, Mu Yuan hardly needed a mouse or keyboard to play games anymore. With a thought, his game character would move accordingly, and when he spoke, the game character would speak as well. It was convenient and quick.

Of course, he still could not do without the computer as a medium.

But logging into the Tai Xuan Forum still required a mouse and keyboard, so he could not help being extra careful.

"The Goblin Camp definitely has to be wiped out as soon as possible, but I can't let those Goblins disrupt my development pace."

He had two main purposes in exploring the outside world. The first was to eliminate major threats like the Goblin Camp, so that enemies would not swarm in all at once during the Lord Trial.

The second was to search for and obtain rare treasures that could enhance his strength.

The second point was more important than the first. As long as he was strong enough, he could completely ignore the strength of the monster groups around him.

When the time came, he could wipe them all out together.

Many paid strategy posts on the forum mentioned how to find these rare treasures.

After passing the Resource Assessment, he had even obtained an advanced guide from the Association. It mentioned the treasure grounds, opportunities, and other things that might exist around a newcomer's territory, listing them one by one.

"Let's skip monster gathering grounds and Remnant Soul Projection Points for now and talk about treasure grounds that are rarer and more valuable, such as Ancient Architectural Ruins and temples."

"That's right. The Eternal World once possessed ancient civilizations, and not just one. Some of those civilizations were incomparably brilliant, and even the slightest remnants of them possessed extremely high value. As for temples... it is said that they retain the power of ancient gods who have already fallen. If a lord can find such a treasure ground, there's a high chance they can obtain an enhancement blessing or a Miracle Blueprint."

"However, all of the above involve quite a few uncertainties. There might be nothing inside the Ancient Architectural Ruins, while the temples may have completely lost their former glory. But there's one type of treasure ground where entering guarantees a reward. That is the Challenge Secret Realm."

Challenge Secret Realms were unfamiliar territory to many veteran players. They were said to be an extremely special type of secret realm, formed by the rules of the Eternal World as a reward secret realm for high-potential players.

Something akin to a gift from heaven and earth.

There were two types: fixed secret realms and random time-limited secret realms.

The Xuan Kingdom's official forces seemed to control the entrances to several fixed secret realms. Of course, those were still too far away for newcomers like them, and most veteran players were not qualified to enter Challenge Secret Realms either.

As its name suggested, random time-limited Challenge Secret Realms could appear anywhere in the world, then disappear after remaining for a period of time.

"Among the Challenge Secret Realms, there's a small category called the Newcomer Challenge Secret Realm, which only newcomer lords can enter."

"This is a typical low-difficulty, high-reward secret realm with no danger whatsoever. Its entrance may randomly appear around the territories of stronger newcomers, and it only appears during the period before the trial begins. Newcomers with sufficient strength can give it a try. Don't miss this opportunity to obtain a gift from heaven and earth."

"It's worth mentioning that although there is no danger inside the Newcomer Challenge Secret Realm, numerous monsters often lurk outside the secret realm entrance. Only after eliminating these monsters can one truly enter the secret realm. Therefore, even if newcomers discover the secret realm entrance, they must act within their means. If they lose a large number of troops because of it, it may not be worth the price."

"So usually, only the small group of the most outstanding newcomers can enter this Challenge Secret Realm."

Mu Yuan stroked his chin.

His territory could be considered a relatively strong newcomer territory, right?

This material also included an illustration of the Challenge Secret Realm entrance.

--An ancient Gate of Space-Time stood upon the earth. Within it, a Space-Time Vortex spun.

Its appearance was fairly distinctive, but he had to beware of the secret realm entrance being hidden in some Mountain Hollow. He would have to pay close attention from now on.

Eternal World,

Mu Yuan was pulling iron fragments and wooden spikes from the Light Player Armor embedded in his body one by one, then looking around. The other troop types' equipment was also badly worn. The worst off was the sentry, whose shield had been shattered until only less than half remained.

But it did not matter. The Evolution Points would take care of it.

The sentry whose equipment had suffered the most damage and the archer with the most severe injuries were precisely the individuals he had previously tested as having "slightly superior aptitude."

Perhaps this was what it meant for Heaven to bestow a great responsibility upon someone: first, it had to wear down their equipment and torment their bodies.

Well, considering that evolution could also repair injuries, Mu Yuan merely gave the archer some basic bandaging and treatment. Stabilizing the injuries was enough.

The territory had only just been established, and funds were tight. The archer would understand.

"Let's begin."

Before the Lord Altar, Bone Two, Bone Three, Duolai, and other troops who had gained intelligence had all come to watch. Deathbone was absent, however, as he was still working hard to manage the territory's affairs.

Mu Yuan walked up to the battle-worn sentry and lightly pointed a finger at him from a distance.

Buzz--

The radiance of a miracle descended. The sentry bathed in white light and began his promotion.

"Ding!"

"Notification: Your troop 'Sentry (Common Star★★)' has undergone a transformation after bathing in the light of a miracle and has been promoted to 'Imperial Guard (Rare Star★).'"

"Notification: Your troop Imperial Guard has learned the skills 'Shield Strike' and 'Guard.'"

The white light of evolution quickly faded. Standing before him was a Rare Troop Type, an Imperial Guard clad in dark blue full-body armor, with his face firmly concealed beneath a visor.

He held a spear and a large shield as before. A blue eagle with spread wings was carved into the heavy shield, which stood over a meter—nearly two meters—tall.

This shield gave Mu Yuan a great sense of security.

So did the Imperial Guard's skills.

Shield Strike could be left unmentioned. It was an ordinary offensive skill—not weak, but Mu Yuan's role for the Imperial Guard was to provide protection. Even though Great Lord Mu could already fight a level-seven Skeleton Soldier, he still needed several strong men guarding him whenever he went out.

Safety first.

Guard was a rare defensive skill.

His Imperial Guard was only a level-two newbie, so he would not be able to use the skill until tomorrow at the earliest. Mu Yuan switched to the forum and looked up some information.

"Using the Guard skill not only greatly increases the user's defense, resistances, and ability to withstand attacks for a short period of time, but also spreads the light of protection outward to protect important targets."

Only a small number of Imperial Guards could indeed awaken this skill.

Naturally, Imperial Guards with the Guard skill had far greater tactical value than the Shield Strike Imperial Guards next door. But every single Imperial Guard in Mu Yuan's territory had it.

He found a video showcasing this skill being used by an Imperial Guard.

On the screen, an Imperial Guard in dark blue armor planted his large shield into the ground at a slight angle. In the next moment, the blue eagle on the shield seemed to come alive, spreading a pair of energy wings several meters long. The energy wings closed tightly around the target beneath them, sheltering it.

This skill was both cool and practical.

Its protective power was indeed far greater than that of the Skeleton Warriors and the like.

"If I had ten Imperial Guards protecting me, how would an assassin deal with me?"

Mu Yuan was very satisfied.

At that moment, as he pointed into the distance, the archer next door also completed his evolution.