Yu Zhibo turned his head and saw a person standing two meters thirteen tall, wearing flip-flops, floral shorts, and a t-shirt with Monkey D. Luffy’s image on it. He had a broad chest and waist, a rugged appearance, and a buzz cut, resembling Dong Zhuo in modern times.
Looking at his physique, though he appeared obese, he was actually covered in muscle. It was likely he was an extraordinary being who specialized in defense, with a level around A-rank, third tier.
“Yo, isn’t this young brother Yu Zhibo? Hello, hello, I’ve heard a lot about you. My name is Pang Yuan!”
As soon as Pang Yuan entered, he spotted Yu Zhibo and let out a loud laugh, waving a greeting.
Yu Zhibo nodded slightly, “Hello.”
After they greeted each other, Xu Yuanhong said with a smile, “Since everyone is here, let’s head to the secret realm. With the emergence of the immortal energy vortex and the demonic energy vortex, the rift to Ning City’s Secret Realm Number Three has been continuously absorbing energy from the present world. I reckon the creatures inside should have also reached A-rank!”
“Your mission is to eliminate all extraordinary creatures within. Afterward, the Heart of the Secret Realm will naturally appear. Pang Yuan, we’re about to depart. I’ll give you one more chance: have you truly decided to fuse with the Heart of the Secret Realm? Once you fuse, you will coexist with the secret realm. Even after the secret realm merges with the present world, you will be confined to one place and unable to leave for your entire life. You must think carefully!”
Xu Yuanhong’s expression turned solemn as he spoke.
Pang Yuan shoveled all the potato chips in his hand into his mouth, chewing with a crunch. After a ravenous feast, he chuckled heartily and said, “As extraordinary beings, why should we hesitate to fuse, or fear fusion? Wherever there is internet, that is my home. As long as my connection is not severed, I will guard the secret realm for all eternity!”
Yu Zhibo couldn’t help but feel speechless at his immediate display of being a hardcore shut-in.
Xu Yuanhong was also taken aback. “Once you become the master of the secret realm, the entrance can be opened at any time. Whether there’s internet or not will be a mere thought for you.”
“Then there’s no problem!” Pang Yuan grinned, his eyes even showing anticipation. He felt no apprehension about his fate of being permanently bound to the secret realm.
“Then let’s depart!” Xu Yuanhong said, looking at Yu Zhibo.
Yu Zhibo nodded, placed his right hand on Pang Yuan’s shoulder, and the next moment, both of them vanished from their spot.
Ning City, within Secret Realm Number Three.
Yu Zhibo and Pang Yuan appeared simultaneously in the temporary underground secret chamber they had previously opened with Ling Xiaotian and others. Their vision was met with dense darkness, but as both were A-rank extraordinary beings, night vision posed no obstacle.
As soon as Yu Zhibo appeared, he felt the space he was in tremble slightly, showing signs of collapse.
This space was still too fragile relative to Earth. When he entered previously, he was only D-rank and hadn’t felt much. But now, to him, an A-rank, tenth tier, it was as brittle as paper, almost shattering at the slightest touch.
“This space is still a bit weak, so I can’t use high-powered skills to destroy everything!” Yu Zhibo muttered, stroking his chin.
Then, a light flashed between his eyebrows, and his terrifying mental power enveloped a radius of five hundred miles, simultaneously projecting everything around him into his mind.
Secret Realm Number Three had an area roughly equivalent to that of Ning Province. With his mental power, he could cover the entire area by moving a few times.
“Because the space is too weak, my mental exploration range has also been greatly enhanced. That’s good, this will allow the clearing speed to be greatly accelerated!” Yu Zhibo thought to himself.
Just as he was about to bring his hands together, Pang Yuan, who was flexing his muscles beside him, spoke up, “Little brother Yu, do you need my help?”
As he spoke, faint yellow earth-element spiritual energy flowed around him. His ability was earth-element.
“No need to trouble yourself. You just wait to fuse with the Heart of the Secret Realm!” Yu Zhibo smiled slightly, then clapped his hands!
“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”
Bang bang bang!
Accompanied by bursts of smoke, sixteen identical shadow clones appeared around him. Under his deliberate weakening, each possessed the combat power of A-rank, fifth tier.
“Follow my instructions, find your positions, and use your mental power to cover the entire secret realm in one go, leaving no blind spots. Then, begin the annihilation plan!” Yu Zhibo commanded.
“Yes!”
The sixteen clones responded with a roar, and under Pang Yuan’s astonished gaze, they used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished from their spots, then rushed out in all directions.
“Now, first, I’ll create a small sun to purify the dark spiritual energy…”
As Yu Zhibo spoke, a powerful energy fluctuation surged from his body, turning the ground above the secret chamber into nothingness. Then, the tomoe in his forehead, which had only been three, rotated rapidly, evolving into the shape of Mangekyo Sharingan. He then used his mental power and immortal source to create a small sun in mid-air.
With the appearance of the sun, the heavens and earth in this area suddenly became as bright as day. The surrounding dark spiritual energy was rapidly purified into pure spiritual energy, which Yu Zhibo then quickly plundered to replenish himself.
The dark spiritual energy in the secret realm was far less tenacious than the black mist in the pure land space. Under the sunlight, it rapidly receded like melting ice and snow.
Meanwhile, numerous secret realm creatures also surged towards them like cats smelling fish, causing the ground to rumble. In less than a minute, a torrent of demonic beasts formed.
Among the stampeding secret realm creatures were many large beasts and flying pterosaurs. Even from underground, many subterranean creatures like Nether Serpents were burrowing their way up. These creatures, corrupted by darkness, had an instinctive craving for light.
“What immense power!” Pang Yuan exclaimed, rising into the air with Yu Zhibo and feeling the sunlight from high above.
And hundreds of miles away, centered on them, the clones, after reaching their designated positions, also began to ignite sixteen small suns, shining brilliantly in the sky. In an instant, the entire secret realm was illuminated.
“Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!”
Yu Zhibo held two fingers to his lips, his gaze cold as he looked at the secret realm demonic beasts surging in all directions. He tilted his head back, puffed out his cheeks, and spat out a massive river.
Boom!
This ordinary Water Style jutsu, executed with A-rank power, was like the Yellow River descending from the heavens. Accompanied by the roar of the surging water, the secret realm land below soon transformed into a waterlogged expanse. A terrifying flood, originating from the ground beneath Yu Zhibo, rapidly spread outwards in all directions, scattering the charging behemoths.
Yu Zhibo pointed his left hand like a sword, while his right hand crackled with lightning. He plunged it into the gushing water.
Thus, the water became infused with electrical power. All creatures below B-rank were electrocuted to death, while those above B-rank were stunned and paralyzed on the spot, losing their ability to fly.
As for the flying A-rank or aerial demonic beasts, Yu Zhibo either killed them directly with his mental power or swiftly annihilated them with spiritual energy metal lightning kunai. Blood bloomed in the air, and massive demonic beasts plummeted like fighter jets.
Soon, the river surged, turning hundreds of miles into a vast ocean. At the same moment, Yu Zhibo descended from the sky, half-crouching on the water’s surface, his body rising and falling with the waves.
The next moment, lightning erupted from his hand as he struck the water!
“Lightning Style: Subterranean Voyage!”
Crackling!
The piercing sound of electricity filled the air as terrifying lightning spread rapidly through the water at the speed of light. Wherever it passed, all low-level aquatic demonic beasts were electrocuted into charred remains.
In just a moment, Yu Zhibo had eliminated tens of thousands of secret realm creatures, achieving remarkable results.
And in all directions, at the locations of the clones, either lightning flared, fires raged, or crystal dragons roared, creating an immensely grand spectacle.
Each clone displayed their unique skills, unleashing only wide-area destructive ninjutsu.
Among them, one clone used Explosion Style, creating thousands of exploding birds with explosive clay for a comprehensive carpet bombing.
The entire secret realm was filled with roaring sounds, and the space vibrated violently.
“This kind of power… could one person wipe out a country!”
Pang Yuan watched from the side, dumbfounded. On the water’s surface below, Yu Zhibo stood up, his handsome face appearing incredibly cold in the reflection of the lightning.
The sun in the sky continuously purified the dark spiritual energy. A massive spiritual energy vortex formed in Yu Zhibo’s dantian, drawing all the light spiritual energy from the heavens and earth towards the vortex, rapidly replenishing his consumed energy.
“Ice Style: Thousand Mile Ice Prison!”
Yu Zhibo’s expression was cold as he unleashed the Ice Style skill, developed by combining Wind Style and Water Style.
“Crack~” The sound of the river freezing echoed.
The next moment, a terrifying low temperature emanated from beneath his feet, beginning to freeze outwards. Soon, all the water currents solidified into ice, and finally, a massive ice crystal spanning hundreds of miles was completely formed.
He brought his hands together again!
“Earth Style: Mud Wall Spear!”
Within tens of meters around him, colossal pointed stone pillars erupted from the ground, piercing the ice. Then, a dense series of cracking sounds echoed, and the fragments spread outwards.
Within the ice crystals, many demonic beasts encased in ice turned into shattered crystals, reflecting countless intersecting rays of light under the scorching sun.
Clink, clink, clink!
As the demonic beasts’ bodies were pulverized into ice powder, dark energy spirit crystals of various sizes, round and lustrous, fell to the ground simultaneously, emitting a pleasant tinkling sound.
With a thought, Yu Zhibo’s formidable mental power transformed into an invisible giant hand, gathering all these dark energy spirit crystals into one place. He placed them into a light barrier in his spatial dimension, where lightning descended to purify the dark energy spirit crystals, serving as resources for spiritual energy recovery.
“The surface creatures have been eliminated, but there are still remnants underground!”
Sensing the creatures underground, Yu Zhibo directed targeted mental shockwaves at them, killing them one by one.
Then, his body began to move rapidly within the secret realm, using various methods to quickly eliminate the remaining secret realm inhabitants.
With the cooperation of his clones, after half an hour, all secret realm creatures were eliminated, and the entire space began to tremble violently.
Then, at the very center of the secret realm, five thousand meters in the sky, a fist-sized black and white crystal slowly condensed.
This black and white crystal seemed to connect the entire space. It was the Heart of the Secret Realm, floating in mid-air and slowly rotating.
Upon seeing the Heart of the Secret Realm appear, the clones seemed somewhat unsatisfied and then dispersed.
Even Yu Zhibo did not deactivate the sun.
“The Heart of the Secret Realm has been generated. Go and fuse with it!” Yu Zhibo said with a smile, looking at Pang Yuan.
Is this what it feels like to win without effort?
Pang Yuan looked at Yu Zhibo, his face filled with deep reverence. Then, looking at the Heart of the Secret Realm, his face also showed determination.
After reaching A-rank, one’s life form underwent a complete transformation. In reality, if he didn’t want to fight to the death, he could have lived the rest of his life in leisure. Instead, by fusing with the secret realm, he gained immense power with the secret realm’s blessing, but he would truly lose his freedom.
Moreover, once the secret realm fully merged with Earth, he would never be able to leave the fused land. If it were breached by ferocious beasts, only annihilation would await him.
But in this world, for the sake of peace, someone had to make sacrifices, right?
Looking back, his life was full of failures. In his youth, due to his obsession with games, his wife divorced him and returned to her family in Modu with their child. Then, last month, they both died during a sea beast invasion. In the Bohai defense line, his teammates, who were also earth-element ability users, sacrificed their lives to become mountains guarding the border sea. And himself?
After a lifetime of laziness, he should finally live like a human being.
With this thought, Pang Yuan flew without hesitation to the Heart of the Secret Realm and completely enveloped it with his mental power.
The Heart of the Secret Realm gradually shrank, transforming into black and white energy that merged into his body. When it completely disappeared, he felt as if he had become one with the entire space.
Within this space, he was a god, capable of controlling everything within it.
Of course, except for those who could crush this space, like Yu Zhibo: if he could tear space apart, what use would controlling the power of space be?
“It feels… not bad!” Pang Yuan smiled slightly.
“You are a person worthy of respect!” Yu Zhibo said, looking at him with respect.
After coming into contact with the extraordinary, the higher the rank, the more one could feel the infinite possibilities of the future. And Pang Yuan’s willingness to sacrifice all his future possibilities for the country, regardless of the reason, was worthy of admiration.
Pang Yuan smiled and said, “Don’t look at me like that. I’m just a slacker. This is my own choice. Finally, I can peacefully be a useless person and lie flat!”
As he finished speaking, he waved his right hand, and a huge light gate appeared in the secret realm, leading to the base guarding the secret realm.
On the base’s plaza, military green vehicles were waiting. Clearly, at the same time they entered the secret realm, Xu Yuanhong had already notified Ning City’s branch and Ning City’s military region to prepare to quickly establish a secret realm city within the secret realm.
The military vehicles carried talents from various fields, tools for constructing infrastructure, and various supplies.
With a thought from Pang Yuan, the land within the secret realm immediately churned, and all traces of battle were integrated into the soil. Except for a few mountain ranges that were preserved, everything was flat.
Beep~
The military vehicles drove through the light gate. As they passed Pang Yuan and Yu Zhibo, they honked in salute and then drove off in all directions. On board were professional personnel from various fields, ready to conduct comprehensive reconnaissance and surveys within the secret realm and determine construction plans.
And all of this required the cooperation of Pang Yuan, the master of the secret realm.
“Do you need me to keep this sun for you?” Yu Zhibo knew Pang Yuan would be very busy and asked before leaving.
“Can I keep it?” Pang Yuan asked with some surprise.
“Theoretically, yes!”
Yu Zhibo nodded and smiled, “This small sun is one of my abilities. It will continuously purify and absorb the dark spiritual energy in the secret realm, which is its fundamental sustenance. However, it’s important to note that if it’s not controlled, as it absorbs more and more light spiritual energy, it might grow larger and larger.”
“How should it be maintained?”
“If you give it light spiritual energy to absorb, it will grow bigger. If you don’t, it will slowly shrink!”
“Is that so?” Pang Yuan waved his hand, and a transparent barrier that isolated spiritual energy appeared around the small sun, but it was quickly broken by the aura emanating from the small sun.
Pang Yuan looked confused.
“Because it’s still under my control, wait a moment!” Yu Zhibo chuckled awkwardly, closed his Mangekyo Sharingan, and severed his connection with the sun.
“I see!” Pang Yuan nodded slightly, and with a thought, a spirit-isolating barrier formed again.
As expected, the barrier was no longer broken and stopped growing.
“With these, we can farm in the secret realm. Except for the absence of night, everything will be the same as the outside world!”
Pang Yuan smiled, looked at the sixteen small suns evenly distributed in all directions, and waved his hand, isolating all the suns.
“Then I wish you all the best!”
Yu Zhibo nodded slightly, bid farewell to Pang Yuan, and vanished from his spot.
——————
Thanks to Lai, Yi Qi Wan Mao Xian for the three likes and blades, and to other friends for their small gifts. Thank you all!