latelenovela Chapter 161 Entering the Secret Realm
Chapter 161 Entering the Secret Realm
"All soldiers, listen to my command! This exploration of the secret realm will include new recruits from Huling County. Rewards will be provided by each stronghold independently and will not affect each other. Furthermore, in the joint ranking of multiple strongholds, if the team wins first place, the entire team will qualify for military academy. The second-place team can take two items from each of the Secret Treasure Vault, the Divine Skill Pavilion, and the Scripture Pavilion. The third-place team can take one item from each of the above treasure vaults. The fourth to tenth place teams will receive additional military merit points equivalent to the total points."
With these extra rewards, the original secret realm clearing mission suddenly became a losing proposition for the dynasty.
The reason these new recruits were sent in to search for items was to earn the 30% commission on the supplies they handed over. Now... unless the top recruits thoroughly search the entire secret realm, they'll be at a huge loss.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Ming became excited. The rewards from this state were already quite good; although there was no extra treasure vault, it did provide military merit points. The points earned were also converted into military merit points in the same way, but the difference was that the first place winner received ten times the points, the second place winner received five times the points, the third place winner received three times the points, and the second through tenth place winners received two times the points.
What if I excel in my own ranking and also get into the combined ranking of multiple strongholds? Wouldn't I be raking in military merit points?
Thinking of this, everyone's fighting spirit instantly soared.
Now that the new recruits from Huling County have joined the trials, several squads that were originally planning to seize the map from Zhong Ming have begun to hesitate. The pressure from outsiders has made many people give up the idea of fighting among themselves.
The saying goes, "Brothers may quarrel within the walls, but they unite against external threats."
With these guys here, won't we get fewer treasures and fewer points?
Above the sky, the group of powerful cultivators continued their heated debate, their tempers flaring in the slightest.
A senior cultivator from Huling County suggested, "Why don't we establish a grand ranking system to calculate the total points earned by cultivators from both regions?"
"You want to start the recruit competition so early? What's the point of having a leaderboard with so few people? If we lose, won't you shout until you're hoarse? If we win, will you say it doesn't count because you have too few people? Do you think we're idiots?"
"Ha, then let's make a per capita ranking, is that alright?"
"Is this your first day on the battlefield? What use are you anyway?" Just as the great cultivator Ye Lanjiang was about to retort, someone tugged at his sleeve.
A voice transmission entered his mind: "The rankings are a good thing; they'll make these new recruits produce more results."
Several leaders of the Night River outposts suggested that since the final competition had turned into an auction, they might as well make the atmosphere even more exciting.
"Let's create an overall ranking, and separate the rankings for each region."
This statement is quite cunning, because there are several strongholds along the Yelan River. Since everyone is separated, the number of people in most of those strongholds is less than that in Huling County. The shift from attack to defense can happen in an instant.
"Sure, no problem. You guys always say that you should find good men to join the army. Today, let's see which is better, our fierce and powerful soldiers or your good men."
Above the great formation, a burly man with a thunderous aura sat cross-legged on the ground, laughing heartily. Thunder coiled around his body like a dragon, and his beard and hair were all crackling with lightning. He did not restrain himself and was unrestrained and flamboyant.
The refined man on the other side of the river at night had no such leisurely interest. "The military situation is urgent. We must send the new recruits to the battlefield as soon as possible to break the horde of monsters."
“That makes sense, let’s begin.” The burly man roared down, seemingly wanting to avenge the earlier stern shout, but he insisted on relying solely on his physical body. The surrounding air rushed into his mouth, and the light in front of him distorted.
"Kids, let's go in and steal the demon!"
The formation below responded quickly, immediately disbanding and rushing into the secret realm gate.
The refined-looking man also said, "Come in."
As night fell, the new recruits at the Jiangzhong stronghold quickly set off.
They didn't dare to act recklessly in front of the great cultivators. Although the entrance was crowded, no one dared to say anything. At most, someone would push aside their competitors, only to be deliberately pushed back by others.
Zhong Ming's team wasn't fast, but they were terrifying.
Some of them completely disregarded the other recruits...
Treat them like city gates.
Yue Kaishan and Xuan Jing carried Chen Dahai's wheelchair like they were carrying a battering ram, and charged straight in.
Zhong Ming led the way, using his physique to smash through several people. Those guys glared at him angrily, then were scared half to death.
Yue Kaishan immediately revealed the robotic arm, swinging it around and creating a strong wind. Those who graze and bump into it inevitably end up with bruises and welts.
Xuanjing next door was even more ruthless; he had explosive talismans stuck to his forehead and charged forward with his head down, looking like he was ready to die with anyone who dared to stop him.
The group moved with impunity, and even the hot-tempered cultivators of Huling County dared not thwart their advances, only able to hurl insults and spout nonsense like "we'll deal with you once we're in the secret realm."
Upon entering the secret realm, everyone was immediately awestruck by the scene inside. Countless square medicinal fields stretched as far as the eye could see, with green, red, yellow, and purple hues arranged neatly on the ground. Looking to the left and right, all that could be seen was a thin mist. If one looked up a little further, one could see towering mountains that seemed to reach three thousand feet into the sky.
The sunlight here is quite good. The terrain slopes gently down from the entrance, and the further you go, the lower the terrain becomes. The mountains on both sides block out more sunlight, making it feel like you are in a dark and mysterious place.
Moreover, the "Dark Underworld" is very lively now.
Ahead, some medicinal fields had their restrictions lifted for harvesting, and the demonic beasts that came seeking the scent surged in like a tide. At first, there were only a few scattered demonic beasts, which were dealt with by the wooden puppets painted with gold paint. The cultivators who were harvesting didn't take it seriously. By the time they discovered the abnormality, the puppet army's defenses were already on the verge of collapse.
Some fast runners had already rushed ahead. Zhong Ming raised his hand, indicating that the wheelchair racing plan should be postponed for now, and they should first assess the strength of the beast tide.
The secret realm is only so big. All the monsters here have come here. Is it basically empty inside?
Ahead was a simple wooden wall, built using spare materials. Since the secret realm was established, no large number of monsters had been able to reach this place.
As they descended the main road, a general was shouting loudly, "Hundred-Machine Crossbow, fire! Fire!"
A group of people carried out a large number of square boxes and placed them on both sides of the medicinal field. Suddenly, a series of explosions broke out, and a rain of arrows soared into the air, passing over the wooden wall and forming a sky barrier directly above the city wall, blocking all the flying monsters.
This was the first time the four had experienced a real large-scale life-or-death battle. Roars, explosions, screams, the sound of flesh being torn apart, the cries of monsters... all huddled together and stuffed into their ears.
No one told them what to do, and there wasn't even anyone available to coordinate reinforcements.
As they approached the city gate, suddenly, the entire wooden gate exploded open.
"careful!"
Zhong Ming exclaimed in surprise, grabbed Xuan Jing's arm, and shoved him to the side. The "battering ram" combination immediately tipped over and fell to the side.
Chen Dahai's body seemed to be glued to the wheelchair, and the two crashed heavily to the ground, carving a deep chasm.
The next second, the huge wooden city gate smashed right in front of Chen Dahai, embedding itself deeply into the ground, only three inches away from his forehead.
It was just a hair's breadth away from being smashed into a meat patty.