Mist Forest

After upgrading his skills, Xiao Fan only had 70 Core Power left, which could still be used to buy a few attribute points at a critical moment.

He took a look at his character information.

ID: Jiu Chen

Level: 4 (0/10000)

HP: 460/460

MP: 4864/4864 (+4409)

Strength: 10

Intelligence: 14

Spirit: 14

Agility: 22

Constitution: 20

Trait: Saint

Skills: Halo of the Saint, Gift of the Saint 3

Equipment: None

Core Power: 70

Additionally, Xiao Fan had not yet used the five Free Attribute Points granted upon reaching level four.

Now that his mana was approaching five thousand, and each use of Gift of the Saint required 80 points, these reserves, combined with natural regeneration, were enough for him to use the skill over 60 times.

With everything prepared, the Xiao Fan Team left the Novice Village.

Watching their retreating figures, Blade Shadow was filled with worry:

"Boss, are we really not going to help? With Jiu Chen's talent, once he grows, he might actually be able to clear the level ten Trial Land with us."

Wind Snow Traveler shook his head: "Now is not the time to help him."

Blade Shadow rolled his eyes: "When is the time? When they can clear the Secret Realm on their own? Or when they fail the clear and die inside the Secret Realm?"

Wind Snow Traveler: ...Alright, that's enough.

"Only if he can clear the Secret Realm will it prove he is the teammate we are looking for." Wind Snow Traveler's gaze remained fixed on Xiao Fan's retreating back.

Blade Shadow didn't understand: "If he can lead four level four novice Players to clear a Secret Realm, with that kind of terrifying ability, would he even need to look for us for the level ten Trial Land by then?"

"Can't we go look for him then?" Wind Snow Traveler countered.

Blade Shadow: ...No wonder you've managed to survive in Zone 18 until now; you're nothing but schemes from head to toe!

The entrance to the Secret Realm was in the heart of the Southwest Forest.

To be safe, before entering the forest, Xiao Fan followed his usual routine of picking and planting flowers to increase his mana.

Looking at the vibrant Seven-Colored Flowers, Xiao Fan couldn't help but sigh.

As expected of flowers in Cloud Sea; despite being picked and planted, planted and picked every day, these Seven-Colored Flowers were still thriving.

He decided that once his mana broke the ten-thousand mark, he would temporarily spare these poor flowers.

On the way to the Secret Realm, their team encountered a few Diamond Behemoths.

Xiao Fan didn't even need to use his skills; Garfield Without Fat and the other three took care of them in a few quick strikes.

They were no longer the people they once were.

Back at level two they could kill you, and at level four they could insta-kill you.

That's just how strong they were!

"This should be it."

Xiao Fan stared at the white vortex in front of him, which was about two meters in diameter.

The light currents at its edges surged and flowed like liquid, emitting a hazy glow.

The center of the vortex was a pitch-black deeper than ink and more void-like than the night, resembling a cosmic eye slowly opening, coldly watching the world.

It matched the Secret Realm entrance description given by Wind Snow Traveler perfectly.

"Brother Chen, let's hurry in."

Garfield Without Fat was somewhat impatient.

They were terrifyingly strong right now!

"Mm."

Xiao Fan nodded and, following Wind Snow Traveler's instructions, placed his hand on the vortex.

A system prompt suddenly popped up before him.

"Confirm entry into the Secret Realm Mist Forest?"

"Confirm."

The next second, the bodies of Xiao Fan and the other four vanished from where they stood.

When their vision cleared again, Xiao Fan found that they were standing in the middle of a forest.

Above them, there was no sunlight and no night sky, only an endless expanse of darkness.

The forest was shrouded in a layer of grayish-white mist.

One could only see the looming silhouettes of towering ancient trees, standing like silent giants amidst the haze.

Gnarled tree roots broke through the soil, their surfaces covered in thick layers of moss.

The surroundings were abnormally quiet, devoid of any sound.

The atmosphere was somewhat eerie, and Zai Zai hugged his arms, unable to stop himself from shivering.

"This place is a bit terrifying."

Xiao Fan felt it was actually fine; when he played games in his past life, he had seen scenes far more bizarre than this.

The only difference was that back then he was using a computer, while now he was experiencing it firsthand.

If one had to talk about the gap, there was indeed a slight difference.

"Brother Chen, what do we do now?"

Having arrived in this strange place they had never encountered before, Garfield Without Fat and the other three subconsciously looked to Xiao Fan, waiting for his command.

Xiao Fan furrowed his brows tightly.

Although Wind Snow Traveler had told him about the scenes inside the Secret Realm before, Wind Snow Traveler and his team had relied on their level advantage to brute-force their way in.

If their team dared to do that, they would likely be wiped out in an instant.

"If only we had an Assassin, they could scout the path and lure the monsters."

Xiao Fan sighed inwardly. He almost wanted to dictate the Professions for this game himself.

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Fan added all five of his unused Free Attribute Points into Spirit.

Once his Spirit reached 19 points, Xiao Fan instantly felt a distinct change.

"Garfield Without Fat, shoot in the direction I point in a moment. Everyone else, get ready to attack and wait for the mobs to come over."

"Got it." Garfield Without Fat nodded, gripping his large white bow with an exceptionally serious expression.

His aim had actually always been decent; it was only because his own Strength attribute wasn't high enough that he couldn't hit anything at the start.

Later, he listened to Xiao Fan and allocated his points into three Strength and two Agility, so now, even if it wasn't one hundred percent, he could hit his target at least eighty percent of the time.

Xiao Fan didn't dare to move forward, but fortunately, after his Spirit reached 19 points, he could vaguely sense the positions of the monsters.

"Garfield Without Fat! That direction!" Xiao Fan pointed his finger toward a large tree ahead.

"Right."

The distance was a bit far, so Garfield Without Fat used the skill Charge.

"Whoosh~"

Everyone heard the sound of the arrow embedding itself into the wood.

He missed.

Garfield Without Fat awkwardly scratched his head.

"Brother Chen, sorry."

"Don't talk, prepare for battle!"

Xiao Fan said in a low, hushed voice.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the group saw four spiders sprinting toward them at high speed.

Those spiders were pitch-black; if they hadn't each been the size of a cat, they might not have even been visible to the naked eye.

Name: Dark Spider

Level: 3

HP: 300/300

"Huh? Such low health, they're not even as strong as the level 3 Fierce Beast Green Wood Wolf."

After seeing the information on these monsters, Zai Zai felt the heart hanging in his chest drop by more than half.

They had even hunted a level 5 Fierce Beast Thunder Leopard before; would they be afraid of a puny level 3 spider?

"Watch my Chrysanthemum Spear!"

Already accustomed to being the first to draw aggro, Zai Zai raised his white long spear and prepared to charge forward.

"Zai Zai, don't!"

Seeing Zai Zai's movement, Xiao Fan's expression changed, and he hurriedly spoke out to stop him.

But he was still a step too late; Zai Zai had already charged out over two meters.

"Damn it!" Xiao Fan cursed to himself.

Sure enough, the next second, eight more Dark Spiders rushed out from the forest.

Xiao Fan's previous guess was correct: the distance between the Players and the volume of their noise both determined the number of mobs they would attract.