The Elder Mage introduced the Island Secret Realm to the crowd.

An enlarged image of the Island Secret Realm appeared before them.

"The Island Secret Realm is composed of three concentric zones. The outermost layer is the ocean, which is home to a large number of Tier One and Tier Two Water Magical Beasts."

"The middle zone is a forest, inhabited by numerous Tier One and Tier Two Land Magical Beasts, as well as a few Flying Magical Beasts."

"The core zone is a central volcano. A group of Fire Element Magical Beasts and a few Fire Elemental Elves live on the volcano, and inside it resides a Tier Three Lava Giant."

"These three zones also correspond to the three stages of this Young Mage competition."

"If, during the competition, you feel you cannot handle the danger, you may withdraw from the Secret Realm at any time."

"This competition carries a certain degree of risk. Contestants are free to give up."

"In the event of injury or death, the contestant bears all responsibility. The Mage Association will not be held liable."

"The Mage Association will only provide humanitarian aid and cannot guarantee the personal safety of all contestants."

As the Elder Mage described the island, its scenery was also displayed before the crowd.

Li Wei saw the dark silhouettes of Water Magical Beasts swimming in the ocean.

He saw the shapes of Magic Beasts moving through the forest and Flying Magical Beasts soaring across the sky.

He saw the Fire Element Magical Beasts living on the volcano, the active Fire Elemental Elves, and the Lava Giant slumbering within it.

"The first round will last for one day, ending before the Sun sets."

"Any contestant who has not reached the island by the end of the round will be eliminated."

"All contestants will enter the Island Secret Realm in ten minutes. You have until then to withdraw from the competition at any time."

...

As soon as he finished speaking, someone questioned the fairness of the competition.

"Unfair! Isn’t this biased toward Water Mages?"

"Yeah, exactly! You’re just dropping everyone in the ocean. What about the people who can’t swim?"

"Heh, I bet the first round is designed to eliminate everyone except the Water Mages."

"Don’t just say whatever you want! I’m a Water Mage, and I can’t swim either."

"Making Mages compete to see who can swim the fastest? Isn’t that a joke?"

The Elder Mage cleared his throat. "Cough! Quiet."

The crowd fell silent, looking up at him.

The Elder Mage said, "Anyone who thinks it’s unfair may withdraw from the competition."

The crowd’s expressions froze, and the faces of those who had been shouting about unfairness turned bright red.

A single sentence silenced everyone.

’Either withdraw or shut up and follow the Rules.’

"Next, will the contestants please make their way into the Island Secret Realm."

Li Wei made an excuse and left, heading to the contestant area below the Beast Fighting Arena.

When the crowd saw Li Wei walk in wearing Armor, they gave him strange looks.

"What the hell? This is a Mage competition. How did a Warrior sneak in?"

Someone spotted him and shouted loudly.

"Don’t shout. Look at the Magic Badge on his chest. He’s a Mage."

"Huh? A Mage wearing Armor? Isn’t he afraid he’ll sink straight to the bottom of the ocean?"

The crowd looked at Li Wei, their eyes full of anticipation for the drama to come.

Li Wei acted as if nothing was wrong, walking through the crowd toward the main area.

Stepping onto the Beast Fighting Arena’s stage, Li Wei looked up and saw the bottom of the Island Secret Realm appear before him.

It was pitch-black and impossible to see clearly.

Only when a dark shadow occasionally streaked by did he realize they were Magic Beasts from the ocean.

The spectators in the stands could only see the scenery of the Island Secret Realm, not the contestants below.

Staff from the Mage Association had already opened the Teleportation Gate to the Island Secret Realm.

"Please form a line. When the time comes, you will enter the Secret Realm."

A Tier Three Mage stood by the Teleportation Gate, maintaining its stable operation.

Li Wei glanced around and saw Wilder looking surprised. He subconsciously glanced at Wilder’s hands.

He saw that both hands were intact, but the rings on his fingers were gone.

’Wilder must have found a Priest to regenerate his severed hand,’ Li Wei understood.

Regenerating another person’s limbs was something only Priests who had mastered Divine Arts could do.

Some extremely rare Magic Potions might also be capable of it.

But obviously, finding a Priest was more cost-effective.

Then he saw Lilith standing next to Wilder, a look of surprise on his face.

Lilith sensed his gaze and turned her head to look at him.

Their eyes met for a moment before they both looked away.

THUD, THUD, THUD!

The sound of heavy footsteps approached.

Li Wei instinctively turned to look and saw a burly, two-meter-tall man walking over.

The big man wore a sleeveless vest made of beast hide and a hat shaped like a bear’s head. He looked more like a Berserker than a Mage.

He noticed Li Wei and recognized him as a fellow oddball among the Mages.

The big man walked over, grinned, and said, "Hello, I’m Xiong Er of the Snow Bear Tribe."

Li Wei reached out and shook his hand.

He was surprised by the man’s incredible strength, which was nothing like a Mage’s.

"You seem more like a Berserker," Li Wei commented.

Xiong Er chuckled and said, "My older brother is a Berserker, so the chief had me become a Mage. I’m the first Mage in the Snow Bear Tribe."

"The chief says all Mages are very smart, and that if I become a Mage, I can lead the Snow Bear Tribe to a better future."

"Haha, are you two here for comic relief? A Warrior and a Berserker?"

a young noble in cyan Mage Robes sneered.

Xiong Er glanced at him, completely unbothered.

He’d heard similar remarks many times. The chief had taught him that a Mage must remain calm and composed, so he usually didn’t get angry.

"Time’s up. Everyone, enter the Secret Realm,"

the Mage standing by the Teleportation Gate announced.

One after another, the contestants walked into the Teleportation Gate.

Li Wei stepped into the Teleportation Gate and felt the ground disappear beneath him as he began to Fall from mid-air.

In the stands, the crowd saw figures appearing one by one at the edge of the Island Secret Realm.

Li Wei appeared in mid-air, the ocean directly below him.

As his body began to Fall and was about to plunge into the sea, a faint blue light appeared around him.

Li Wei landed steadily on the surface of the water.

He checked his belongings and found that his Invisibility Cloak and Spatial Ring were unusable, sealed by some kind of Power.

Now, he could only rely on his own abilities to reach the island.

He looked into the distance. To his left and right was an endless ocean, and far ahead was a small dot—the island.

The Island Secret Realm didn’t look very large from the outside, but once inside, he realized it was ridiculously huge.

He estimated it would take him at least half an hour of Flying at full speed to reach the island.

And that was assuming no mishaps along the way.

The crucial point was that he didn’t have enough Mana to fly that far.

"Shadow Attendant."

The Shadow Attendant emerged from beneath his feet.

Seeing that the Shadow Attendant could still be summoned, Li Wei smiled faintly.

Stepping onto the Shadow Attendant’s back, he said, "Let’s go."

The Shadow Attendant transformed into a surfboard and carried Li Wei toward the island.

After traveling for some distance, Li Wei saw a wave appear to his left.

The cyan-robed Mage who had mocked him earlier was riding a "Wind Track," cutting through the waves at a much faster speed.

’Looks like Wind Mages are better suited for this scenario than Water Mages,’ Li Wei thought.

The crowd in the stands was also a bit surprised.

They hadn’t expected Wind Mages to be better suited for the first stage than Water Mages.

Suddenly, the seawater ahead surged, kicking up a massive wave.

"Tier One Water Magic, Wave Surge Skill!"

"Who would learn such a useless spell? There’s no ocean in the Northern Territory!"

"And that momentum is all wrong! A wave that big couldn’t have been created by Tier One Magic."