Chapter 313: Chapter 252: Foundation Establishment Breaks Through the Secret Realm

As soon as he entered the Secret Realm ’Lake Heart Island’, Yan Qing knew why Mouse Monk’s application always got sent back.

The terrain was absolutely terrible.

The terrain of the Secret Realm was almost indistinguishable from the outside world; it was just a small island in the middle of a lake, with not even a single rock on it, which meant there was no cover whatsoever. Once an enemy was encountered, defense would be required from all directions, and making any defensive structures had to start from scratch, with no buffer space at all.

If Yan Qing guessed correctly, the attacks from the monsters in Lake Heart Island Secret Realm should follow one wave after another; for players, this should be their favorite mode, similar to the classic tower defense mode ’Protect Athena’, where there’s no need to rush around or watch cutscenes, just engage in a killing spree.

But for military towns, this was undoubtedly the worst Secret Realm mode.

What constitutes good terrain?

’Stone Sinking Creek’ is an example of good terrain.

The main combat environment is inside a cave, with corners and ceilings, making it easy to create insurmountable defense works, ensuring that the Messenger only has to deal with one monster at a time. As long as you have a hero like Mouse Monk who’s willing to take the initiative, the Martial Soldiers from the military town can smoothly and systematically eliminate all the monsters inside.

No wonder I heard before that Lake Heart Island gets raided at most ten times a year. The consequence of being difficult to establish defense works is naturally that the Messengers must rely on themselves to withstand the line. The maximum number of participants allowed in this Secret Realm is 30, but clearing it once might require rotating through hundreds of Second-Turn Messengers forward and backward. Not to mention the physical and mental exhaustion and numerous scars they suffer; they still have to repair communication tokens and organize armor after the battle, equivalent to fighting a high-intensity war, and doing it once a month is already considered frequent.

Realm Giant Deer not allowing Mouse Monk to come was actually for his own good. Mouse Monk, as a Second-Turn elite, is a core member in ’Stone Sinking Creek’, but in ’Lake Heart Island’, he can only play the role of a cog in the machine. The achievements won’t increase much, but the probability of casualties is significantly higher. Allowing him to participate in the Third-Turn teams is like watching a promising talent choose to major in biochemical loops and materials, wasting time all the same.

But this time is different. Sun Chaozong, this middle-aged man who always wears a face of ’I really don’t want to take this damn class’ whenever entering the Secret Realm, is now exceedingly excited, with a flushed face. Others are the same, all looking eagerly at the white-haired old man standing at the front, even more expectant than when they visit brothels.

This is the charm of clinging to a powerful figure; Secret Realm Demon Fiends, you are the challengers!

"Everyone get ready with your defensive tokens and stand behind the line. Since there’s no coordination, just fight independently once the monsters come ashore." Realm Giant Deer ordered, "The Grand General hopes you can do your best, hold out till the end before retreating. Your performance will be settled into corresponding battle merits."

Once these words were spoken, the Messengers’ fighting spirit soared again. Yan Qing noticed that everyone had a blooming Golden Chrysanthemum on their shoulders, indicating a 50% damage reduction. It was practically effortless to hold the line in the Third-Turn Secret Realm.

However, Yan Qing found it odd; is this old man really so kind?

Not only helping to clear the Third-Turn Secret Realm but also providing them enough safety to hone their skills. No wonder Liang Kingdom calls Zhou Kingdom and Qi Kingdom the Northern Barbarians; their moral standards certainly seem more humane compared to the Three Central Plains Kingdoms!

Once everyone was ready, Realm Giant Deer stepped outside the line, and the lake surface surged like boiling water with numerous bubbles. Shrimp soldiers and crab generals emerged from the water one by one, averaging three meters tall, wielding long spears and sabers adorned with corals and seaweed. Their shells glistening in the sunlight, they advanced silently towards Lake Heart Island.

"Lake Palace Assault Warriors"

"Lake Palace Mighty Warriors"

Not only did the Messengers on Lake Heart Island, but even Yan Qing outside the screen felt the immense pressure from the Third-Turn Secret Realm. When this group of Demons surrounded them, their towering and hideous bodies almost blocked out the sunlight. Rather than being a foothold for the Messengers, the small island seemed more like a dining table for the demons.

No story, no exploration, the theme of this Secret Realm was so simple and clear: survival of the fittest!

Nearly twenty monsters, most people faced a two-to-one situation, with only Realm Giant Deer and a few other elites responsible for one-to-one. Mouse Monk was among these few elites, tasked with independently handling a Mighty Warrior. The Mighty Warrior wielded a giant axe, its every strike overwhelming, yet Mouse Monk dealt with it effortlessly, chanting and slashing it till it was covered in wounds. It just needed a bit more time to directly kill this monster.

Unfortunately, the Secret Realm was a team battle, so naturally, more pressure would come when others couldn’t hold out and had to retreat, leaving Mouse Monk facing a two-to-one or even three-to-one situation.

In less than a minute, although Mouse Monk succeeded in killing the Mighty Warrior, he also took six or seven hits from other warriors, causing significant damage to the Heart-Protecting Mirror. Meanwhile, the number of monsters besieging Mouse Monk rose to three. Yan Qing, seeing the time was right, withdrew, leaving only Realm Giant Deer and three other Third-Turn Messengers able to persist and kill enemies on the field.

"Giant Deer, retreat now."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing the white-haired old man’s command, the Realm Giant Deer and others did not hesitate, using their movements to gather the demons together and then fleeing. When the demons tried to catch up, Jie Huang Chao had already transformed into a shadow and appeared before them, and then—

One strike!

No one even saw Jie Huang Chao make a large movement; all they saw was him throwing a punch at the foremost demon. Then, the demon and all the remaining demons behind it exploded instantly, red, blue, and yellow flesh and carapace scattered all over the ground, leaving a ’V’-shaped mark on the island’s surface!

While everyone was still dumbfounded, the second wave of demons had already landed. Leading them was a demon resembling a crocodile, five meters tall, named "Lake Palace Piggy Dragon General," followed by twenty shrimp soldiers and crab generals!

An elite demon leader alongside a large group of demons appearing in such an open terrain posed an even greater challenge for the messengers than a Demon King!

Jie Huang Chao once again appeared before the Crocodile Demon Fiend, gliding almost like a slide, stood on tiptoe with an incredible posture, and stored power. His right fist ignited with flames, sending the Crocodile Demon Fiend soaring ten meters into the air. Then he teleported above it, delivering a flaming hand strike that sent it crashing down!

Boom!

The Lake Heart Island shook violently, the lake surface rising in towering waves. Most of the messengers were knocked to the ground by the tremor, except for a few. When they looked again, the Crocodile Demon Fiend had turned into a pool of blood and mud, and the rest of the demons were shredded by the flame shockwave generated by the Crocodile Demon Fiend’s impact, leaving behind a massive circular scorched crater!

"It’s out! The Heaven-Soaring General’s famous skill, Vajra Fire!" Sun Chaozong was so excited he was almost in tears. "Legend has it that the Grand General used this move to destroy half of Chang’an County Town with one strike, with Vajra Fire scorching ten miles, bodies scattered like hills, and not a single blade of grass growing!"

Yan Qing’s heart stirred. He wasn’t surprised that Jie Huang Chao could instantly kill a Third-Turn Secret Realm demon. A Foundation Establishment Messenger was supposed to have that kind of dominance, but if he wasn’t mistaken, Jie Huang Chao channeled flames into the Crocodile Demon Fiend’s body and then drove it into the ground, creating a meteor impact effect, turning single-target damage into area-wide devastation.

This move had nothing to do with the Divine Communication Token or even a Secret Technique; it was just his unique application of ’Vajra Fire,’ an original technique.

From Winter Hunting Zhenren to True Man of Locking Dragon, to the current Jie Huang Chao, Yan Qing faintly sensed that their expansion on the use of Divine Techniques seemed far superior to game characters. At the very least, Yan Qing had never heard of a player being able to inscribe Divine Technique imprints onto mineral materials, capable of triggering from hundreds of miles away—a range of traps nonexistent in games, rendered players unable to utilize. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

While game characters dominated from one to three turns, the local messengers who could achieve Fourth-Turn Foundation Establishment despite such resource scarcity were all exceptionally talented. Their research and application of Divine Techniques might far surpass game characters bound by system frameworks.

The massive commotion in the lake interrupted Yan Qing’s thoughts. A gigantic Golden Fish Demon King emerged, towering ten zhang, armored, dual-wielding Red Copper Hammers. As it stepped onto the island, each step made the island tremble, as though treading upon the hearts of everyone present.

"Lake Palace Goldfish Spirit King"

Thud!

It suddenly leapt from the water, smashing a hammer toward Jie Huang Chao, who was closest. With a deafening thunderous crash, Jie Huang Chao blocked its Red Copper Hammer with his left hand and threw two punches with his right, causing the Goldfish Spirit Demon King to stagger back.

"Hah!"

With a thunderous shout from Jie Huang Chao, the screen went dark. Countless rifts appeared in the display, and Yan Qing could vaguely see numerous shadows flying in the air. Above the Mouse Monk’s health bar, three negative statuses simultaneously appeared: ’Fear,’ ’Darkness Blindness,’ ’Binding’!

Crack!

Whether tens or hundreds of fist impacts erupted simultaneously in an instant, the sheer mountainous and unparalleled destructive force made Yan Qing’s scalp tingle despite being separated by the screen.

In the chaotic darkness, the screen suddenly showed Jie Huang Chao’s back, a blood-red tattoo emerging on it. The tattoo depicted a million corpses lying prone, blood flowing a thousand miles, evil spirits wandering the mortal world. Even though Yan Qing had no cultural leanings, he could feel the overwhelming fierce murderous intent emanating from the tattoo!

It seemed like in the blink of an eye, the darkness vanished, all negative statuses gone, as if it had just been a dream. Only the blood-soaked corpse of the Third-Turn Demon King Goldfish Spirit remained, reminding everyone that they were among the few lucky ones in the world to witness a Foundation Establishment Messenger going all out. Many could not help but feel a sense of awe amidst their admiration; even Third-Turn Messengers were too insignificant under the glorious might of the Foundation Establishment.

Only Yan Qing struggled to conceal his excitement, nearly pressing his eyes against the screen.

Because on the corpses of these demons, battle spoils appeared with golden light stretching several zhang!