"Transformation Cards are different from an Awakener's evolution. They force an Awakener's body to mutate through external means, raising their combat power in the process.
Cards like these often come with side effects—the so-called fatal weaknesses.
But Qin Tianyu hid his weakness well. I couldn't find it in the recordings...
So make sure you observe him closely during the fight!"
Zhu Tingyu looked serious, her tone firm. She was afraid Lin Xia wouldn't take her words to heart.
"That thing's a huge skeleton?"
Lin Xia watched Qin Tianyu's transformation in the video, looking incredulous.
If Zhu Tingyu hadn't told him, he'd never have guessed that the white skeleton towering over a building was Qin Tianyu...
After all, the skeleton didn't look human. It looked more like a monster shaped like Godzilla!
Just then, Lin Xia glanced at the time. He wanted to keep listening to Zhu Tingyu, but he still had to grind Secret Realms to level up and make sure he got enough sleep.
The competition started at ten tomorrow morning, after all.
Time was tight.
"Next, I'll tell you about the Cards Qin Tianyu has."
Zhu Tingyu kept her head bowed, wearing the focused expression of a top student as she spoke earnestly.
But Lin Xia scratched his head and gave an awkward smile. "Um, I've got something to take care of. I'll study your notes carefully... I'm off!"
He was practically running as he said it.
By the time Zhu Tingyu reacted, Lin Xia had already vanished.
"Hmph!"
Zhu Tingyu stomped her foot in anger. She was more upset that Lin Xia didn't appreciate her efforts than that he'd left.
What really angered her was how carelessly he was treating his opponent!
Of course, Zhu Tingyu also felt a little disappointed.
She hadn't even gotten the chance to tell him, "I believe you can win!"
"I don't think he's the type to underestimate his opponent."
Zhu Ledong appeared behind Zhu Tingyu and gently patted his daughter on the shoulder. Looking in the direction Lin Xia had gone, he smiled faintly. "He must have his reasons. We just need to believe in him. That kid always seems to have something to do with 'miracles.'"
Zhu Ledong had stayed away so that his daughter could spend some time alone with Lin Xia.
But he hadn't expected Lin Xia to leave his own charming princess behind to do something else... That boy really didn't know how to appreciate romance!
Real Secret Realms were never located in cities or densely populated areas.
That was precisely why they were called Wild Secret Realms.
"Whoosh—!"
Lin Xia had just stepped out of the portal.
A fresh, damp scent filled his nostrils.
He stood in a lush green forest.
The entrance to the Level 7 Bronze Realm lay just ahead.
It was a copper-colored portal floating in the air, slowly spinning like a black hole.
For some reason, there wasn't another soul in sight.
A sign stood beside the Secret Realm:
[Bronze Realm: Awakeners level 1–10 are advised to challenge.]
[Silver Realm: Awakeners level 10–20 are advised to challenge.]
[Gold Realm: Awakeners level 20–40 are advised to challenge.]
[Platinum Realm: Awakeners level 40–60 are advised to challenge.]
[Diamond Realm: Awakeners level 60–90 are advised to challenge.]
[Master Realm: Awakeners level 90–100 are advised to challenge.]
[Grandmaster Realm: Awakeners level 100–500 are advised to challenge.]
[King Realm: Awakeners above level 1,000 are advised to challenge.]
Lin Xia knew that fantastical feats like challenging opponents at higher levels could only happen in Artificial Secret Realms.
In a Wild Secret Realm like this, challenging one above your level was no different from throwing your life away!
The level displayed for a Secret Realm only referred to its ordinary monsters. The monster boss was always one level higher.
For example, the boss in the Level 7 Realm Lin Xia was about to enter was actually Level 8.
"Web novels have led me astray!"
Lin Xia murmured to himself. In countless web novels, the protagonist could challenge higher-level Secret Realms as easily as anything.
But in this world, Wild Secret Realms had a special buff.
If the Realm detected that a challenger was at least two levels below its boss, it would inflict an undispellable negative buff on the Awakener, reducing all attributes and damage dealt!
And every time Awakeners left a Secret Realm, they entered a cooldown of varying duration, preventing them from entering another one for a while.
The cooldown was three times longer at night.
The cooldown for a Level 7 Bronze Realm was three hours.
Assuming he gained 50% of the experience needed on each trip into a Secret Realm,
Lin Xia would reach Level 8 in just six hours.
The next moment, a ring of light appeared beneath his feet.
"Whoosh—!"
And with that, Lin Xia vanished from the circle of light.
Lin Xia first smelled sulfur—the sharp, bitter, choking stench of burning metal.
Then his vision gradually cleared.
He found himself standing on a rock barely large enough for three adults.
Red magma flowed all around it, sometimes churning, sometimes still. Now and then, sparks leaped up, releasing a thick sulfurous haze.
As far as he could see, rocks of the same size were scattered across the magma. Though spaced apart, they were all exactly the same distance from one another, as if deliberately arranged.
[Fall into the magma and your HP will be depleted within 3 seconds!]
[This damage ignores defense!]
A warning appeared before Lin Xia's eyes.
This was one of the [Rules] built into the Secret Realm.
"Pss..."
Bubbles began rising from the magma.
The next moment, one human-shaped monster after another, with snakes' bodies, emerged from the molten rock.
[Flame Snake (LV7): Extremely fast. If its fangs bite you, you will suffer a continuous burning buff.]
The monsters charged at Lin Xia without the slightest hesitation.
"That sudden?!"
For the first time, Lin Xia understood the appeal of the saying, On a real battlefield, there's no time to catch your breath.
He was confident he could beat the monsters, but he wasn't in a hurry to do so.
He wanted to use this chance to find out how strong Thin Buu was!
The next second, he pulled out a Card.
The Card dissolved into drifting particles, and before long, a gray, slender Thin Buu appeared, wearing a blue cape.
"Do as you please. Leave no one alive. Kill them all!"
After giving the order, Lin Xia used the Dance in the Sky Technique to fly into the air and find the perfect vantage point.
"Heh heh..."
Thin Buu let out a strange chuckle, a sinister, eerie smile spreading across his face.
Seeing that Lin Xia had flown out of their attack range, the Flame Snakes turned their attention to Buu on the rock.
"Whoosh—!"
Wrapped in a blast of scorching wind, a Flame Snake shot toward Thin Buu like a red bolt of lightning.
Thin Buu didn't dodge. He stood there dumbly, like a toy, and didn't even blink.
Just as the Flame Snake's fangs were about to touch his throat,
Thin Buu's sluggish movements suddenly exploded into action!
He shot out his right hand and clamped it precisely over the Flame Snake's face.
"Crack!"
A sharp snap rang out, and the Flame Snake's fierce charge came to an abrupt halt. Its massive body writhed violently in midair, but it couldn't break free from the hand that looked slender yet was as hard as steel.
"Heh heh heh..."
Thin Buu slowly raised his head, wearing that signature, bone-chillingly amused smile.
He looked at the prey struggling in his hand. His five fingers, like steel nails, slowly began to close.
"Squish—!"
With a muffled burst, the Flame Snake's head was crushed into a pulp. Scarlet blood mixed with bits of brain matter sprayed out, splattering Thin Buu's face.
But he looked delighted, as if admiring his own masterpiece...
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