The First Boss Dies

As the fluctuations deep within the secret realm grew stronger, those two terrifying auras swept across the entire space, impossible to conceal any longer.

The examinees scattered throughout the trials all went pale at the same time and stopped what they were doing.

"What a terrifying aura!"

"It's coming from the center of the secret realm!"

"It has to be the final boss and a great opportunity!"

Figure after figure raced toward the center of the secret realm like mad, each desperate to get there first.

The siblings Lin Chen and Lin Yue exchanged a glance, activated their talents, and sped toward the center as well.

Within the dense forest, Xing Yao remained silent.

He slowly adjusted his condition and reined in his aura.

The next instant-

Xing Yao activated Invisibility!

His figure vanished into thin air, leaving not even a trace of his aura behind.

Rather than sprinting like the others, he used Invisibility to sneak soundlessly toward the center of the secret realm.

This sight sent the livestream outside the secret realm into an absolute frenzy!

Though the viewers could not see Xing Yao himself, they could clearly see the minimap on the trial's main screen-

The dot representing Xing Yao was moving toward the center of the secret realm, quietly, steadily, and without haste.

That was, of course, Xing Yao himself.

"Holy shit! He's gone! But his dot's still moving!!"

"Invisibility! That's definitely an invisibility ability!!"

"Everyone else is charging in openly, while Brother Yao's sneaking over!"

"That's so underhanded! I love it!!"

"The stream's blowing through the roof! Aaaah!!"

Commentator Gu Yan slammed the table and cried out involuntarily:

"Viewers! Contestant Xing Yao actually possesses an invisibility-type talent! The naked eye can't track him-we can only determine his position from his wristband signal on the minimap!"

Su Wanqing's eyes were also filled with shock, her voice trembling:

"Is he going to seize the initiative alone and face the hidden boss before everyone else arrives?!"

Xing Yao continued steadily through the darkness. While invisible, he even kept the sound of the wind to a minimum.

He could clearly sense those two awakened auras drawing closer and growing more terrifying, like two volcanoes on the verge of erupting, their pressure making it hard to breathe.

Meanwhile, on the minimap, the dots representing the other examinees were swarming in from every direction.

Some moved extremely fast, while others traveled together. All of them wanted to reach the center first, claim the first kill, and monopolize the opportunity.

Only Xing Yao moved ahead of everyone else like a soundless shadow.

The livestream's popularity had already surged to first place across the internet, and the barrage of comments was so dense that the picture was impossible to see.

Everyone was spamming frantically:

"Go, Brother Yao! Don't even leave them any scraps!"

"First come, first served! The boss is yours!"

"Stay invisible and turtle till the end! Win so hard it goes numb!"

"Waiting for Xing Yao to solo both bosses!!"

The thick fog at the center of the secret realm had begun to churn restlessly.

The outlines of the hidden bosses flickered in and out of sight within the fog.

And that invisible figure was just one final step away from the ultimate battlefield.

Still invisible, he paused briefly to sense his surroundings, then slipped soundlessly behind a towering tree and crouched down steadily, concealing himself completely in its shadows.

He did not rush to snatch the bosses or fight for the opportunity.

His sole choice at that moment was to steady himself first and do everything he could to restore his depleted energy.

Ever since entering the secret realm, he had swept through ferocious beasts, fighting intense battle after intense battle. More than half his energy had long since been depleted. Before facing two hidden bosses of unknown strength, even the slightest recklessness could lead to fatal consequences.

Xing Yao closed his eyes and focused, his aura steady and restrained. With Invisibility and recovery working together, he almost became one with the entire forest.

On the minimap, his dot stopped quietly at the edge and no longer moved.

This sight sent the livestream boiling over once again.

"Holy shit? Brother Yao's not charging in? He's camping in the brush to recover?"

"Steady! So damn steady! That's how a top-tier expert thinks!"

"Everyone else is rushing to their deaths in the center like lunatics, while Brother Yao turtles up and heals!"

"Waiting until the stage is built before stepping onto it-now that's the full big-picture mindset!"

Commentator Gu Yan could not help nodding in admiration. "Calm, rational, and completely unaffected by outside distractions! Xing Yao's combat mentality already far surpasses every other examinee in his cohort! Recovering before entering the fight is the most correct choice!"

Su Wanqing's eyes were filled with admiration as well. "Others covet a momentary advantage, but he's preparing for the final fight to the death. That temperament is terrifying."

Meanwhile, inside the secret realm, large numbers of examinees were still rushing toward the center, desperate to get there first, with footsteps, breathing, and energy fluctuations rising one after another.

A short while later, his energy was fully restored.

Xing Yao rose again and slowly stepped into the center of the battlefield, maintaining Invisibility.

The air at the center of the secret realm seemed to ignite. The lava boss swept its massive claws across the battlefield, its scorching waves of air flinging great swathes of rubble aside and instantly turning towering ancient trees to charcoal. Terrifying pressure swept in every direction, leaving every examinee present deathly pale.

Lin Chen and Lin Yue charged onto the battlefield immediately, holding nothing back.

Lin Chen's brow was tightly furrowed, his gaze sharp as a blade and his face taut. Lightning surged wildly around him, purple-gold bolts coiling about his body before transforming into dozens of thick lightning dragons that crashed against the lava boss's scales, blasting sparks across the sky. Every strike carried tremendous force. His jaw was clenched tight, revealing a ferocity that refused to admit defeat as he constantly dodged beneath the boss's massive claws, searching for the deadliest position to deal damage.

"Yue'er, restrain its movements!"

Lin Chen shouted in a low voice, his offensive growing even more violent.

Lin Yue looked cool and serious, her delicate brows slightly furrowed and her gaze focused and steady, without the slightest panic. She pressed both hands to the ground, and emerald-green Wood Manipulation Power erupted. Countless thick, tough vines burst from the earth, frantically coiling around the lava boss like giant pythons. Her lips were lightly pressed together, her expression utterly serious. The vines were constantly melted by the extreme heat, then constantly regrew. Even as her face grew slightly pale, she gritted her teeth and persisted, creating the most stable conditions for her brother to deal damage.

Their coordination was seamless, and for a time, they actually kept the boss's offensive firmly suppressed.

The surrounding examinees also unleashed their full power. Ice blades, fireballs, wind blades, earthen spikes... Skills of every kind poured down on the boss like a torrential rain. The battlefield roared without pause, and heaven and earth changed color.

"Rewards are calculated by damage percentage! Don't hold anything back!"

"This is a hidden boss! Miss this chance and there won't be another!"

Shouts rose one after another. Everyone's eyes went red as they frantically poured out damage, heedless of everything else.

Lin Chen's gaze burned, his fighting spirit soared to the heavens, and his face was filled with certainty of victory. There was only one thought in his mind-I have to claim the highest damage. This is the glory of the strong.

Yet just as the fierce battle reached its most heated point, Lin Chen suddenly frowned. A clear flicker of confusion and incomprehension crossed his eyes, though his hands never stopped moving.

Where was Xing Yao?

In such an important boss fight, such a crucial contest for points, why had that terrifyingly powerful young man who had crushed everyone along the way still not appeared?

With his strength, there was no way he would miss an ultimate opportunity like this.

The longer Lin Chen fought, the more puzzled he became. His gaze kept sweeping his surroundings, filled with obvious bewilderment and surprise, yet he never caught sight of that proud, aloof figure.

He would never have imagined that Xing Yao was currently less than ten meters away from him.

Invisible, Xing Yao was like a phantom that did not exist in this world.

He gave off no light, no aura, and even his spatial fluctuations were perfectly concealed.

More terrifying still, he had perfectly combined Teleportation with spatial wormholes-

One instant he was behind the boss; the next, he flashed through a miniature wormhole to appear beside its head. His black spear thrust silently out, piercing a weak point in a gap between its scales with precision. Another flash, and he appeared out of thin air at one of its joints, landing another vicious critical hit.

No sound, no trajectory, no warning.

He was like a god of death weaving through the void. Every appearance brought a lethal strike, and every disappearance left no trace.

His spear tip pierced its molten blood, yet left not even a trace of a splattered drop.

At that very moment-

The lava behemoth suddenly let out an utterly frenzied roar. Lava erupted from its entire body as it entered an enraged state!

Boom-!!

A violent wave of air swept across the battlefield. Several nearby examinees had no time to react before the terrifying shock wave blasted them away. Their wristbands instantly lit up red, and they were forcibly eliminated!

The sudden turn of events left everyone dumbfounded.

"What's going on?! The boss suddenly enraged?!"

"That's not right! With the little damage we've dealt, there's no way we could've dropped its HP below 50%! It hasn't reached the enrage threshold!"

"This makes no sense! It completely defies reason!"

The examinees retreated repeatedly in fright, their faces filled with confusion and terror.

Lin Chen also abruptly pulled back his attack. His expression darkened, and his eyes grew intensely grave, filled with shock, suspicion, and incomprehension, his brows knotted into three deep vertical furrows.

In all his battles up to that point, he had never seen a boss enrage early while its HP was still healthy.

Lin Yue's delicate brows drew tightly together, a hint of confusion and wariness in her eyes. She drew a soft breath and murmured, "Strange... what exactly provoked it?"

Her lovely face was filled with uncomprehending astonishment.