The mysterious masked woman?

Just as Luo Yu was wondering how his sister would punish him...

A familiar female voice rang out. "Luo Yu? Sorry to keep you waiting."

Luo Yu turned toward the voice and saw someone approaching in a white adventurer's outfit, wearing a white mask with red markings.

Judging by her long, dark hair and slender figure, Luo Yu guessed she was a young woman.

But with her face hidden behind a mask, he wasn't ready to assume her gender, even if her smooth voice had a mature, feminine quality.

"Who are you?" Luo Yu asked, looking at the masked person in confusion.

"I'm your client, Xu Ying," the masked woman introduced herself.

Realization dawned on Luo Yu, followed by curiosity. "We've never met before. How did you know I was Luo Yu?"

Xu Ying chuckled. "You're quite famous in Jiang Li now."

"I heard you even crushed the Kisame Hoshigaki inheritor from Seven Bays."

"When I learned President Bai had accepted my commission on your behalf, I knew this trip to Silverwood Peak was in the bag."

Luo Yu froze at her words.

Was he really that famous already?

Xu Ying took a small glass vial from her Storage Scroll. It was filled with a faint purple glow.

"This is a small vial of dimensional aura. Once you absorb it, you can stay in the Secret Realm for an hour."

"Let's try to finish within an hour. If we run over, that's fine too. I've got a few more vials."

As she spoke, Xu Ying handed the vial to Luo Yu.

Secret Realms came from other planes, so once people from Blue Star entered one, their physical strength would rapidly deteriorate until they died.

Only by absorbing dimensional aura could they maintain their condition and move freely inside a Secret Realm, just as they could on Blue Star.

Luo Yu accepted the vial, uncapped it, and downed the dimensional aura inside.

A warm sensation immediately flowed through his body.

Other than that, he felt nothing.

Calcium in a blue bottle. Calcium that tastes good.

"Let's go," Xu Ying said once Luo Yu had finished absorbing the dimensional aura.

"Don't you need dimensional aura?" Luo Yu asked, puzzled.

He had been waiting for Xu Ying to take off her mask while absorbing hers, so he could see whether she was a pretty young woman with a sweet voice.

"I absorbed mine beforehand," Xu Ying explained.

She seemed to have prepared in advance to avoid revealing her face.

Left with no choice, Luo Yu shrugged and followed her to a Teleportation Device.

Xu Ying took out her third-stage Genin badge and placed it on the device to scan it.

Then she tapped the device's screen, confirming Silverwood Peak as her destination Secret Realm.

"Ding! Coordinates: Silverwood Peak. Minimum access requirement: Genin."

"Access confirmed!"

As the device sounded its confirmation, Xu Ying vanished from before it in a flash.

Luo Yu copied her, scanning his badge to verify his identity before selecting his destination Secret Realm.

The next moment...

Without any warning, Luo Yu appeared in an unfamiliar wilderness.

Before him stood a massive, ancient stone pillar engraved with the Flying Thunder God Formula.

This was a teleportation anchor developed using the principles of Flying Thunder God.

To return to Blue Star, they had to use these teleportation anchors.

The area surrounding the stone pillar was protected by walls erected around it.

Several wooden cabins stood nearby among the trees, forming a cozy camp.

Besides the other Ninjas who had arrived at Silverwood Peak through the teleportation site, there were also dozens of Ninjas in military uniforms.

Curious, Luo Yu used his Sharingan to examine these Ninjas serving directly under the Land of the Dragon's military.

He discovered that the chakra within their bodies ranged from 150 to 200.

A handful who looked like officers even had over 500 chakra.

In other words, most of these Ninjas were between second-stage and third-stage Genin in strength.

The officers commanding them were bona fide Chunin.

This force was considerably stronger than the troops stationed outside Jiang Li, who were all Apprentice Level.

Seeing his curiosity, Xu Ying kindly explained, "This is the initial teleportation anchor for arrivals from Blue Star to Silverwood Peak."

"If Mutant Beasts destroy the teleportation anchor here, the Ninja Association has to send people to build it again."

"Otherwise, we won't be able to reach this place through the Teleportation Device."

"And rebuilding a teleportation anchor is a real hassle, so the country simply stations troops here to guard it and perform regular maintenance."

"Ordinary Ninjas also use this place to rest and recover."

"If a beast tide breaks out in the Secret Realm, this is their safe haven too."

"After all, with Chunin-level officers stationed here, they can hold out for a while no matter how many Genin-level Mutant Beasts come at them."

After listening carefully to Xu Ying's explanation, Luo Yu gave a faint smile. "Sorry, this is my first time here, so I'm a little curious."

"By the way, what powerful Mutant Beast are we going to compete with for those high-grade resources?"

Although all Luo Yu knew was that Xu Ying was a third-stage Genin, he could sense that she was no ordinary third-stage Genin.

She had to have at least a white legacy.

That meant Luo Yu needed to learn about the Mutant Beast that even Xu Ying wasn't confident she could defeat.

Then he could prepare a suitable strategy in advance.

When Luo Yu finally asked the crucial question, Xu Ying's voice grew solemn. "A Wind Demon Ape."

A Wind Demon Ape? What the hell was that?

Hearing a trace of fear in Xu Ying's voice, Luo Yu was thoroughly puzzled.

He quickly took out his phone, opened the Ninja Association app, and tapped Secret Realm Bestiary-Silverwood Peak.

Then he opened the Mutant Beast category.

Every Mutant Beast that lived in Silverwood Peak immediately appeared in a list.

The Wind Demon Ape was listed first.

Mutant Beast name: Wind Demon Ape

Quality: White

Stamina: 400-500

Chakra: 300-450

Drops: Kamatari summoning item (fragment), Kamatari summoning item, Nameless Inheritance specializing in Wind Release, Nameless Inheritance specializing in Wind Release (fragment)

Friendly reminder: The Wind Demon Ape's stats approach Chunin level. Ninjas below Chunin are advised not to attempt subjugation!

(For more details on the Wind Demon Ape, click this link.)

After reading the Wind Demon Ape's bestiary entry, Luo Yu admitted he was a little rattled.

The standard stat value for a Chunin was 500, while a third-stage Genin's was 200.

Once a Wind Demon Ape's innate racial potential reached its limit, it would have only 50 less chakra than a first-stage Chunin.

How the hell was that any different from a Chunin-level Mutant Beast?

And it was white quality on top of that.

Was he going to have to use Hell's Turmoil again?

He had no desire to experience that hollow feeling after unleashing all the energy stored within his body in one go.

Sure enough, every seemingly wonderful mission had a nasty trap waiting behind it.

Still, that was hardly surprising. After all, the best possible drop from killing a Wind Demon Ape was a summoning item for the Summoning Beast Kamatari.

Using it would immediately establish a blood contract with a sickle weasel from another world named Kamatari.

After learning the Summoning Technique, he could summon Kamatari to fight alongside him.

Incidentally, as a white-quality Summoning Beast, Kamatari was extremely formidable.

Not only was Kamatari agile, but with training, Kamatari could also master various types of Wind Release Ninjutsu.

Wind Release's sharp cutting power and wide attack range made Kamatari outstanding among Summoning Beasts of the same quality.

With such generous drops, of course the Wind Demon Ape would be just a teensy bit stronger.