Lin Dong felt wronged.
He felt he had been falsely accused.
He really had no idea that those wooden boxes were full of...
Who in their right mind put those things in wooden boxes and locked them?
Lin Dong could only suffer in silence.
But when he saw the one with lace trim...
He knew Nalan Yanran would never let this go until one of them was dead!
"Ugh, what a mess!"
Lin Dong rubbed his temples and sighed.
It seemed he could only improve his strength as quickly as possible to keep Nalan Yanran from defeating him at the three-year agreement.
Fortunately, the college entrance exam was coming up soon.
Once he entered one of those institutions of higher education, he would have access to more resources.
With that thought, Lin Dong prepared to end this exploration.
The Xiao Clan.
After telling his father about the broken engagement, Xiao Yan returned to his little courtyard, gritting his teeth.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Xiao Yan punched the wall over and over, his eyes filled with bitter frustration!
I'm always like this!
Hiding behind my big brother, time after time!
Making him shield me from everything, again and again!
He's already on the verge of crossing swords with the Misty Cloud Sect!
Yet I'm still a useless cripple who can't even condense Dou Qi!
Forever stuck at three-stage Dou Qi!
"I have to help my big brother!"
Gritting his teeth, Xiao Yan lowered his fists, then clenched them again. His gaze hardened with resolve. "If Dou Qi won't work, then I'll train my body until I can stand up to the Misty Cloud Sect!"
Xiao Yan recalled how his big brother had held his own against a Da Dou Shi without any Dou Qi.
That opened up an entirely new path for Xiao Yan!
If my big brother can do it without any Dou Qi, I should at least have a slight advantage with my three-stage Dou Qi.
If he can do it, there's no reason I can't!
With that thought!
Xiao Yan began throwing punches to train his body!
Bzzzt!
Yet the moment he threw his first punch, the space around him began to distort!
"Huh?!"
Xiao Yan's eyes widened in disbelief.
Is my punch really that powerful?
"Young man!"
As Xiao Yan stood there bewildered, a weathered voice with unmistakable pride suddenly rang out. "Do you want to become stronger?"
Ding! The mysterious old mentor had come online!
[Ding! This secret realm exploration has ended. All gains have been brought out!] [Ding! Your affinity with the Child of Destiny has surpassed its limit. Time in the Battle Through the Heavens Secret Realm is now accelerating!]
"Time in the secret realm is accelerating?!"
Lin Dong stared wide-eyed at the system notifications, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Normally, time in a secret realm and time in reality passed at a one-to-one ratio.
But once time in the secret realm began accelerating...
That ratio would fall out of balance.
And that imbalance had both advantages and disadvantages.
The biggest disadvantage was that Awakeners would find themselves severely short on exploration time!
With the original one-to-one ratio, even if an Awakener only had one hour to explore, they would still spend that same hour of the same day with the Child of Destiny.
That hour was incredibly valuable.
Their interactions were highly efficient.
But once the ratio fell out of balance...
An Awakener might spend an hour there today, only to log in tomorrow and find that ten days or even half a month had passed for the Child of Destiny!
Interacting once every half month, for just one hour at a time, would make those interactions far less effective!
To give the most straightforward example!
Only three days might pass for Lin Dong, while Nalan Yanran had already lived through three years and was preparing to fulfill the three-year agreement!
Fight Nalan Yanran in three days?
The mere thought sent a chill through Lin Dong.
That was the biggest disadvantage of the imbalance!
But there were advantages too!
Time acceleration was relative.
The faster time passed in the secret realm, the faster the Child of Destiny would grow!
Perhaps when Lin Dong logged in again ten days or half a month later, he would see the Flame Emperor striding through the sky!
Given his current relationship with Xiao Yan, he would definitely be able to reap every last Heavenly Dao reward, to the point of overflowing!
It was a mixed blessing, then.
With that thought, Lin Dong took the Spirit-Cleansing Strength-Fixing Pill out of his Storage Ring.
He had originally planned to wait a while before using it.
But with the college entrance exam approaching and time accelerating in the secret realm, he had to use every means available to increase his strength.
That way, he would be prepared for any unexpected trouble in the secret realm.
Looking at the amber-colored Spirit-Cleansing Strength-Fixing Pill, Lin Dong swallowed it without hesitation!
The cool, smooth pill slid down his throat with almost no resistance. The instant it reached his stomach, it dissolved.
A soothing, hot current burst outward from his dantian, surging along his meridians into every part of his body.
Unlike ordinary pills, it did not rampage violently through him. Instead, it felt like warm water soaking into his bones.
The aches and exhaustion that had accumulated throughout his secret realm exploration, along with the fatigue deep in his muscles, melted away as swiftly as snow meeting fire.
The heaviness in his limbs vanished. Strength welled up through his flesh, muscles, and bones, as though every trace of accumulated fatigue had been drawn out of him, replaced by an endless supply of stamina!
The injuries Lin Dong had suffered in his fight with Ge Ye rapidly healed.
At the same time...
Another cool stream surged straight into his mind and sea of consciousness.
Lin Dong's tangled thoughts were smoothed away, leaving his sea of consciousness clear and lucid. His mind became intensely focused, and his thoughts moved faster and more clearly!
His formerly jumbled thoughts became orderly in an instant.
The warm current flowed throughout his body, filling him with stamina, while his sea of consciousness remained clear and calm.
Lin Dong let out a long breath of stale air and clenched his fists. They brimmed with solid physical strength, and his eyes shone brightly, without a trace of his earlier irritation or fatigue.
[Ding! You have successfully used the Spirit-Cleansing Strength-Fixing Pill. Stamina +50!] [Ding! Your spirit has increased by 30!]
"It really does live up to its reputation as a top-grade fourth-tier Spirit-Cleansing Strength-Fixing Pill."
Feeling the changes in his body and reading the system notifications, Lin Dong could not help praising it!
He quickly opened his personal stat panel:
[Awakener: Lin Dong] [Level: 9 (1/2964)] [Stamina: 115] [Spirit: 91] [Strength: 145] [Speed: 65] [Stat points: 0] [Learning points: 2] [Skills: Breath Concealment Art, True Sight Eye] [Equipped fruit: Azure Dragon Fruit (Heavenly Blessing version)] [Bound world: Battle Through the Heavens] [Owned items: Storage Ring, Myriad Forms Chant, Zombie Tears, Silent Sleeve Arrow, ???'s silver coin]
Seeing that his stamina had exceeded 100, Lin Dong could not help checking the fruit panel as well:
[Beast-Man Form (locked)] [Unlock requirements: Stamina 100 (met), strength 250 (not met), speed 100 (not met), spirit 80 (met)]
Seeing that he only needed to meet two more requirements to unlock the beast-man form, Lin Dong nodded with a smile.
He was eagerly looking forward to the Azure Dragon Fruit's beast-man form.
"Captain! Captain!"
Just then, Lin Dong heard urgent shouts from outside the Secret Realm Room. "Zhou Gong?"
He knew Zhou Gong would not rush over to disturb him like this unless something serious had happened.
Without hesitation, Lin Dong closed his stat panel and hurried over to open the door.
"Captain! Something terrible has happened!"
The moment Zhou Gong saw him, he got straight to the point. "Bai Ruoxue is in trouble!"
Before you continue