Otherworld

As Meng Bo's words fell, he suddenly lunged at Lin Xia.

"Thump!"

Lin Xia, with a cold expression, caught Meng Bo's fist, as big as a sandbag.

If they were united, perhaps there would be a sliver of hope.

But this guy actually chose to attack him?

He didn't want to say anything more to such a foolish person. He sidestepped and delivered a fierce kick, making Meng Bo cry out in pain as he stumbled back, clutching his abdomen.

But just then, Lin Xia frowned. He sensed an aura attacking him from behind.

"Damn it!"

Lin Xia quickly turned to defend himself, but it was still a step too late.

The Ghost-Light Lion's claws still managed to slash five bloody marks across his arm!

As expected of a LV5 wild monster, just one basic attack made Lin Xia grit his teeth and scream. His health bar visibly plummeted, disappearing by half in the blink of an eye!

Fortunately, he was an SSR-class Awakener. If he were an ordinary Awakener, he might have died from this single blow!

This also made Lin Xia deeply aware that he had no room for error and absolutely could not take another hit!

Death in a Secret Realm was death in the truest sense of the word!

Seeing this, Meng Bo became even more convinced that he would not leave here alive.

So, he used all his strength and lunged at Lin Xia once more.

Facing an attack from both front and back, Lin Xia wanted to leap into the air but found that his Dance in the Sky Technique was unusable.

It was then that he realized this Secret Realm was artificially created!

Because only artificial Secret Realms would include some [rules] or [restrictions].

Lin Xia's breathing gradually grew heavier, his body temperature began to rise. "Why does all the bad luck happen to me?"

After a complaint, he dodged to the side, evading a lion's pounce.

Immediately, the next one lunged, and Lin Xia dodged again.

Every time he brushed past a lion, he could feel the intense chill emanating from the ghost fire on their bodies.

But strangely, despite the cold, the ghost fire burned Lin Xia's clothes.

After repeating this a few times, Lin Xia's clothes were tattered like a beggar's, burned to shreds, while the group of lions surrounded him.

"What!?"

At this moment, Lin Xia was shocked to discover that Meng Bo, on the outer edge of the lion pride, was being ignored by the lions as if he were air!

Their fierce gazes were fixed only on him.

Seeing this, Meng Bo also looked confused, but then his face lit up with excitement. "See? Even the monsters know you're going to die before me!"

The next moment, as if reaching a tacit understanding with the lion pride, he leaped up simultaneously and launched an attack towards Lin Xia.

Meanwhile, outside the Secret Realm.

Xie Feng sighed with a grave expression and slowly said, "I hope the children don't turn on each other, otherwise... they truly won't have a sliver of hope."

Hearing this, everyone asked why he said that.

"If the children work together, they might be able to hold on until we blow up the Secret Realm. But if they fight amongst themselves, it will trigger a hidden mechanism..."

Xie Feng rubbed his forehead and reluctantly said, "The monsters will prioritize attacking the stronger Awakener. After dealing with the strong one, they'll turn back to deal with the other Awakener!"

Everyone was shocked to hear this.

They had never heard of this hidden mechanism. After all, artificial Secret Realms were a product of recent years; in their youth, such things didn't exist.

However, after the initial shock, most of them regained their composure, believing their children wouldn't engage in infighting.

Only Meng Dahai looked worried, trembling as he sat on the ground, constantly praying for Meng Bo's safe return.

As Wu Ziyang entered the Otherworld, a miraculous sight greeted his eyes.

He seemed to be in the vast universe, except that the various planets that should have existed were replaced by square, transparent, independent spaces.

These six-sided spaces, like products of a higher dimension, interconnected and extended in all directions, creating a dazzling spectacle.

Here, Wu Ziyang was no longer bound by gravity. He could not only run straight upwards but also run vertically downwards!

And within these transparent, independent spaces were scenes from various Secret Realms.

Wu Ziyang could clearly see the current predicaments of his classmates.

In some Secret Realms, lions were prowling through dense forests, roaring like predators as they chased fleeing classmates.

In some Secret Realms, the lion prides stood motionless. Judging by the two corpses at their feet, the battles here had already concluded.

Wu Ziyang couldn't help but jest, "It's a good thing this is an artificial Secret Realm. If it were a real one, these children's corpses would have long been devoured by the lions."

Soon, he saw the Secret Realms where Zhu Tingyu and Liu Yucheng were located.

They were fighting side by side with their partners—or, to be more precise, engaging in a tug-of-war focused primarily on retreat.

It was clear that Zhu Tingyu and Liu Yucheng were not stubborn; they knew full well they were no match for the Lion Pride.

Yet, it was easy to see they were in a sorry state, their stamina seemingly on the verge of exhaustion.

However, Wu Ziyang had no time to concern himself with that; he had only one goal, and that was Lin Xia.

After crossing through several more spatial rifts, Lin Xia's figure finally appeared.

Wu Ziyang frowned as he watched Lin Xia in a precarious position, struggling to fend off a gang assault.

Because he discovered that Meng Bo, that guy, was actually attacking Lin Xia!

"How can there be such an idiot?"

Wu Ziyang muttered to himself and began to quicken his pace.

Just as the Secret Realm where Lin Xia was located drew closer, he suddenly came to a halt.

"Damn it."

Wu Ziyang narrowed his eyes coldly, his grip tightening on the hilt of his blade.

He stared at the shadow that had appeared out of thin air before him, cursing its ancestors down to the eighteenth generation in his mind.

This shadow possessed a human-like form, yet it lacked any facial features.

Over thirty years ago, on the very day Wu Ziyang became an Awakener, he had run into this shadow the moment he entered the Otherworld.

The shadow claimed to be the Guardian of this place, declaring that anyone who entered must be executed by its hand.

Wu Ziyang included.

Wu Ziyang had never understood this; since entering the Otherworld was a result of his own awakening power, why was he being treated as an intruder?

Of course, this shadow did not appear every single time.

For instance, during the time he ambushed Lin Xia at the school, it had not shown itself.

"Heh heh, look at you, an old man playing at being young..."

The shadow's voice was eerie, nearly impossible to decipher without careful listening. It sneered while manifesting a pair of blades in its hands that resembled Wu Ziyang's own. "Do you think the slaughter caused by your return to youth goes unnoticed? Heh heh, I see it all clearly, including how you treated those infants..."

"Is that so?" Wu Ziyang listened to the threatening words without a hint of panic, retorting with sarcasm: "And what if you do know? You're still trapped in this 'cage' for a lifetime... just like a guard dog!"