The second boss appears

Little did they know that the one behind it all was Xing Yao, concealed in the shadows by Invisibility, constantly landing critical hits on its weak points.

Every attack struck the boss's most painful, sensitive nerve centers. Its health looked fine on the surface, but internally, it was severely wounded, driven mad by pain and forced to go berserk ahead of time!

The battlefield descended into chaos. The examinees hung back, no longer daring to approach recklessly.

Only Xing Yao still moved calmly through the heart of the raging storm.

Teleportation, wormholes, stealth, critical hits...

His damage continued to soar wildly, unnoticed and unopposed.

On the livestream screen outside the secret realm, the real-time damage rankings shifted furiously-

Lin Chen at 18%, Lin Yue at 15%, firmly holding the leading positions.

But the very next second, Xing Yao's name shot upward at a terrifying, absurd speed!

3%... 10%... 25%... 35%!

He crushed everyone along the way and went straight to the top of the damage rankings!

The livestream chat exploded sky-high, and both commentators sprang to their feet in excitement.

But inside the secret realm, Lin Chen, Lin Yue, and all the examinees knew nothing of this, nor could they hear a single sound from outside.

Not until the system-projected damage rankings slowly appeared in the sky.

Lin Chen instinctively looked up. His pupils abruptly contracted, his gaze froze, and every expression on his face solidified, leaving only utter shock and disbelief. He stood rooted to the spot as though struck by lightning, even his lightning power stalling in an instant.

"Xing Yao?! How could it be him?!"

"Where the hell is he?! I haven't seen him this entire time!"

Towering waves surged through Lin Chen's heart. His eyes trembled violently, his face filled with astonishment and disbelief. He frantically scanned the battlefield again, but there was still nothing before his eyes.

Lin Yue also jerked her head up. Her beautiful eyes widened abruptly, her lips trembled slightly, and shock and bewilderment covered her delicate face. She froze completely.

She stopped her vines and murmured softly, her voice carrying a faint tremor, "Has he... been beside us all along...?"

In the instant the two lost focus.

Roar-!!

The lava boss let out an agonizing roar. The lava scales covering its body shattered inch by inch, and its mountain-sized frame could no longer hold itself up. It crashed heavily to the ground, throwing dust into the sky.

[First hidden boss · Lava Monstrosity has been slain]

[Rewards for this boss battle will be distributed according to damage percentage]

[Xing Yao: 35%]

[Lin Chen: 18%]

[Lin Yue: 15%]

The system notification slowly echoed through the sky above the entire secret realm.

Dead silence fell over the battlefield.

Everyone stood frozen, staring at the empty battlefield, utterly speechless.

They had fought with all their strength, bathing in blood.

Yet the person who had truly taken down the boss, who had even driven it mad, had stood behind them all from beginning to end like an invisible phantom.

The first Lava Monstrosity crashed to the ground, and the system notification still echoed slowly above the secret realm.

The battlefield remained deathly silent.

Lin Chen stood where he was, his expression frighteningly dark, his brows tightly knitted. Shock and frustration filled his eyes, and he clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, unable to utter a word for a long while.

Lin Yue's graceful brows drew together slightly. Lingering astonishment remained on her delicate face as she stared blankly at the empty battlefield, clearly still not recovered from the shock.

The other examinees stood dumbfounded as well, their expressions complicated to the extreme. They had fought the entire battle, only to sew a wedding dress for the invisible Xing Yao.

One thought still echoed in all their minds:

The second boss should reappear from the thick fog at the center of the secret realm, just like before.

No one lowered their head to look at the freshly fallen boss corpse beneath their feet.

Outside the secret realm, the livestream remained clear and smooth, without a single interruption.

Seeing the contestants' dazed, bewildered, still-shaken faces, the viewers laughed themselves silly.

[Hahahahaha, they're still completely lost!]

[I'm dying! They fought all that time and didn't even brush the boss!]

[Brother Yao went invisible and stole their base, and they never even saw him!]

[Each face is more vacant than the last! I'm seriously going to spit out my drink!]

[Xing Yao: Go ahead and fight. The damage counts as mine!]

Commentator Gu Yan suppressed his laughter. "As you can see, all the contestants are still in shock, and they're all instinctively waiting for the second boss to appear."

Su Wanqing also chuckled softly. "They most likely think the next boss will descend in the central area of the secret realm again."

Just as everyone was still unsettled and completely unprepared, still looking toward the center of the secret realm-

Boom-!!!

The lava boss's corpse beneath their feet suddenly exploded!

A terrifying, pitch-black figure wreathed in deathly cold burst straight out from beneath the first boss's remains!

It moved so fast that only a black blur remained, and overwhelming killing intent swept across the battlefield in an instant!

"What?!"

"Watch out-!!"

Everyone's expressions changed drastically, their pupils contracting violently.

They had never imagined that the second boss would not reappear at the center of the secret realm, but would instead be hiding beneath the first boss's corpse!

The ambush caught them utterly off guard!

The black shadow swept its sharp claws across them, and a wave of icy air spread out in an instant!

Several examinees closest to it did not even have time to react before their wristbands lit up with blinding red light-

They were forcibly eliminated on the spot!

Screams and cries of alarm erupted all at once.

The examinees, who had only just relaxed, were thrown into utter chaos by this lethal ambush, and a whole swath of them fell on the spot.

Lin Chen's face went deathly pale, his gaze changing in shock. Almost instinctively, he grabbed Lin Yue and pulled her behind him as lightning exploded wildly around him, taking the blow head-on.

"Pfft-!"

The impact sent him staggering backward, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, his expression both shocked and furious.

Lin Yue's face was ashen, her beautiful eyes filled with lingering fright. The scare stopped her breathing for an instant.

The livestream was instantly flooded with comments:

[Holy shit!! That ambush was brutal!]

[It jumped straight out from under the corpse!!]

[They must all be scared stupid! Their faces froze!]

[This boss is way too sneaky! It actually pulled a corpse-hiding kill!]

[They just finished one, and now an even stronger one shows up!]

Gu Yan's voice suddenly rose, filled with shock. "An earth-shattering ambush! The second hidden boss was actually hiding beneath the first one's corpse!"

Su Wanqing covered her mouth as well, exclaiming in shock, "Completely unexpected! Everyone was fooled!"

Ghostly flames flickered around the pitch-black boss as it stared coldly at the chaotic crowd before it.

The true killing blow had only just begun.

Everyone quickly suppressed their horror, hastily adjusted their stances, gathered together, and re-formed their battle formation. The injured examinees fell back to defend, while the remaining powerful fighters advanced together. The glow of skills lit up the battlefield once more. Lin Chen and Lin Yue, one attacking and the other supporting, charged to the front again, trying to stabilize the situation.

Still invisible, Xing Yao continued to move like a phantom, alternating between Teleportation and Spatial Wormhole as he silently closed in on the second boss amid the chaos. His black spear thrust out, his movements as swift and precise as ever, but the moment it struck the boss, he distinctly sensed that his damage had fallen considerably. This pitch-black boss had stronger defenses and higher resistance. Ordinary attacks could no longer exert lethal pressure on it.

Xing Yao's gaze cooled slightly, without the slightest panic.

With a thought, he poured the spatial power within his body into the black spear without holding anything back.

In an instant, faint spatial ripples spread over the spear's shaft, and its sharpness surged. The spear tip seemed capable of tearing through the void as it silently thrust toward the boss's joints and vital points again, carrying a cold, keen spatial attribute. This strike was no longer mere physical penetration. It carried the power of spatial cutting, and its penetrating power soared in an instant.

Even so, he remained concealed to the utmost, leaking not the slightest unnecessary trace of his presence.

Everyone on the battlefield was fighting the boss head-on, shouts and exploding skills rising one after another. No one noticed an invisible figure in the shadows, constantly tearing through the boss's defenses with spatial power. Xing Yao attacked in silence, every strike steady, precise, and ruthless. His damage steadily recovered, yet his figure remained unseen by anyone.