Chapter 76: The Grand Secret Realm

“Whose child is that little girl? Why is she sitting there?”
“This little girl is dressed so alluringly—when she grows up, she’ll definitely be a stunning beauty, capable of captivating an entire nation.”
“That’s right, she’s so adorable. If only I had a girlfriend like her.”
“What are you thinking? With your looks, you still dream of having such a beautiful girlfriend?”
The crowd chattered among themselves.

The other deans all turned to look at Night Butterfly.

Hearing the discussions below, Night Butterfly’s delicate brows furrowed.

“A bunch of noisy fools, it’s deafening.”

She turned her gaze toward the students below. Her eyes instantly became a dark violet, emitting star-like glimmers, as if containing the cosmos.

The sky turned pitch black in a blink. Countless stars appeared overhead.

Many students’ expressions changed dramatically, panic flaring in their eyes as they glanced around.

Then, beneath the star-studded darkness, Night Butterfly appeared hundreds of meters tall, seated cross-legged on a throne, gazing down upon everyone.

A terrifying sense of oppression enveloped the crowd, as if Death itself was watching them.

“Those who speak out of turn—die!”

Her icy voice echoed across the heavens.

Several students were so frightened they collapsed where they stood. Some, with weaker nerves, even wet their pants.

Xu Han stood among the crowd, his expression grave.

He could feel a dreadful aura from the sky locking onto him. If he acted recklessly, a devastating strike would descend from above!

Zhong Zhen spoke with a hint of helplessness, “Enough, Night Butterfly, don’t overdo it.”

Night Butterfly snorted coldly, withdrew her hand, and the sky instantly returned to normal.

Only the students below remained trembling with fear.

Xu Han looked up at Night Butterfly on the platform. He hadn’t expected this seemingly frail little girl could unleash such terrifying power!

Meanwhile, in the stands, a woman with fiery red hair and clad in crimson light armor covered her mouth, chuckling quietly.

“These little brats actually dared to anger the teacher? Clearly, they don’t even know the meaning of death!”

“I wonder if that kid I met the other day is among them.”

Beside her, a woman dressed in a deep blue mage robe laughed, “Feng Qingyu, you’re here too?”

“I heard you’re also one of the tutors this year.”

“I wonder if any student dares to choose you as their mentor.”

The people nearby laughed so hard they doubled over.

Feng Qingyu’s brows furrowed slightly. “What does it have to do with you?”

“Every student I’ve trained is now third-tier, even fourth-tier, far stronger than yours.”

The woman in the blue mage robe sneered, “Eighty percent of your students end up wounded or dead—who would risk picking you?”

“They must have a death wish.”

Feng Qingyu frowned, turning her gaze toward the field.

Zhong Zhen showed no sympathy for the students who had wet themselves out of fear.

He spoke coldly, “Now, if anyone still doubts Dean Night Butterfly’s strength, you may speak up.”

The entire crowd fell silent. No one wished to die.

Zhong Zhen continued, “That concludes the school introduction.”

“Next, a matter of utmost importance—the secret realm assessment.”

“All students must enter the secret realm for the assessment.”

“The tutors will choose you based on your performance.”

“Whether you gain the favor of your preferred tutor depends on how you do.”

“The lowest ten percent in the final assessment will be expelled immediately and sent to enroll in the Ordinary Vocational University.”

Everyone’s faces changed.

Such a harsh punishment! If they were relegated to the Ordinary Vocational University, their futures would be bleak.

Zhong Zhen went on.

“Those who rank from fifth to tenth in the assessment will receive a piece of gold-grade equipment as a reward.”

“Second to fourth place will each get a platinum-grade item, and additionally, an opportunity to enter the Exotic Beast Tower.”

“First place will be awarded an epic-grade item and also granted access to the Exotic Beast Tower.”

Hearing these rewards, everyone’s eyes widened.

“Whoa! First place gets an epic-grade item? That’s really generous!”

“No wonder this is Dragon Country University—their generosity is unmatched, casually giving out epic-grade gear.”

“Competing for first place in front of so many people will be tough.”

“Tough? It’s practically impossible! I’ll be happy just to make the cutoff.”

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Xu Han felt his heart stir.

Epic-grade equipment—any single piece is worth tens of millions, sometimes even hundreds of millions.

Such generosity was truly astounding.

Zhong Zhen continued, “Now, let’s go over the trial rules.”

“Duration: twenty-four hours.”

“This secret realm is a large one, covering a thousand square kilometers.”

“Each person’s teleportation point is random; you must explore on your own.”

“The highest-level exotic beasts inside are tier two, level forty.”

“But there aren’t many tier-two beasts, so you needn’t worry.”

“Killing a tier-one exotic beast earns 1 point.”

“Killing a tier-two beast earns 10 points.”

“Killing a common boss beast earns 50 points; bronze boss, 100 points; silver-grade, 150 points, and so on.”

“You may also compete for points among yourselves. Once inside, you can view the map and leaderboard on your score tracker.”

“The top fifty in points will appear on the leaderboard.”

The crowd erupted in astonishment.

Wasn’t this clearly encouraging them to hunt down the high scorers?

“If you enter a near-death state, you’ll be teleported out of the secret realm, marking the end of your trial.”

“Now, wristband score trackers will be distributed. In half an hour, the secret realm will officially open.”

With that, staff quickly came down to hand out wristbands.

Each wristband had a small screen, displaying zero.

Xu Han fastened his wristband and waited patiently.

Half an hour passed quickly.

Zhong Zhen returned to the podium, speaking slowly.

“Everyone, prepare to enter the secret realm.”

“Open the gates!”

At his command, mysterious runes lit up the field.

A massive magic array appeared at the center of the grounds, radiating dazzling light.

Then, everyone vanished.

Xu Han felt darkness descend before his eyes—a sudden, intense sensation of weightlessness overwhelmed his body.

As his vision cleared, he found himself in a primeval forest.

Towering trees stretched skyward all around him.

Sunlight filtered through dense leaves, dappling the grass below with patches of brightness.

The earthy scent of fresh grass filled his nostrils.

Xu Han surveyed his surroundings.

The entire forest was silent, save for the wind and the occasional chirping insect.

He tapped his score tracker.

A virtual map appeared before him.

Four colors marked the map: blue, yellow, red, and black.

They represented easy, dangerous, very dangerous, and extremely dangerous zones, respectively.

The leaderboard was on the right side of the map.

Someone was already ranked.

First place: Qiao Chao, holding three points.

Then a row of twos and ones.

Fast movers, indeed.

He needed to start hunting exotic beasts immediately.

With only twenty-four hours, there was no time to waste.

Xu Han looked around, orienting himself.

He was in a blue zone, filled with weak exotic beasts.

He had little interest in them.

If he was going to kill, he’d target the advanced beasts!

To the east lay a vast swamp—a red zone, with its center marked as black.

That was Xu Han’s target.

The epic-grade gear would be his!

Just as he was about to set out, a large black bear over two meters tall appeared ahead.

He used the Eye of Insight to check the bear’s stats:

[Name: Mighty Bear]

[Race: Bearfolk]

[Level: 15]

[Skill 1: Might LV.1 (Unleashes latent potential, greatly increases strength for 10 seconds, cooldown: 5 minutes)]

[Skill 2: Rend LV.1 (Swings powerful claws to attack the enemy, with 20% armor penetration, cooldown: 30 seconds)]