The vast, desolate wilderness was rarely tread by man.

The wind whistled and horses neighed amidst rows of tents, but only a few wisps of cooking smoke rose into the air.

This was the camp of King Dongsheng.

Inside the central commander’s tent, Xue Shentian fidgeted, unable to sit still.

He had brought his army of one hundred thousand here a month ago.

For that entire month, the one hundred thousand troops had been stationed here. The cost of feeding man and beast alike had turned the great camp into something resembling a refugee settlement. Now, with rations running critically low, the army had yet to achieve a single glorious victory, but hunger had already turned every soldier’s face sallow.

With a flash of light, Li Mingli appeared.

"You’re finally here! Did you find anything? Is there a way out?"

A look of joy spread across Xue Shentian’s face as he asked hurriedly.

"Water... Let me have some water first!"

Li Mingli looked travel-worn and dusty. He drained a waterskin in one go, caught his breath, and finally said, "I’ve scouted all four directions. There are at least two Earth Deities to the east, one to the west, three to the north, and one to the south. If we want to break through, our best bet is to try the southwest!"

"Good work," Xue Shentian nodded. "We have to break out now. If we don’t, my hundred-thousand-strong army will starve to death here... I never imagined the Earth Deities of this world would be so powerful. Even with an army of one hundred thousand, we can’t face them head-on!"

Li Mingli said, "I think we should start the breakout tomorrow. I’ll scout ahead, and you follow with the main force. We have to find food supplies first, even if it means taking them by force. Otherwise, this army of one hundred thousand will be a burden, not a strength."

"It must be so." Xue Shentian sighed. ’I prepared for so long,’ he thought, ’yet I’m still this passive in this Secret Realm World. I imagine the other Players aren’t faring much better.’

Just then, a flash of light appeared before Xue Shentian, and a Scroll materialized out of thin air.

"The system sent some intel. Let’s see what it is this time. Hopefully it’s not more useless junk..."

Xue Shentian muttered aloud.

Lately, he had been receiving several Intelligence Scrolls every day—sometimes more than a dozen. But the information within was mostly worthless, reporting things like a certain Player had died, a certain Player was in danger, a certain survivor stronghold had been wiped out, or a certain Sky Ship had landed.

Utterly useless!

Xue Shentian didn’t have high hopes for the Scroll in his hands. Unfurling it, he found three pieces of intelligence.

====

Intelligence 1: The "Divine" of the current Secret Realm are also known as "Earth Deities." Based on their Evolution level and strength, they are divided into five levels: D-level, C-level, B-level, A-level, and S-Class. These can also be seen as Initial Body, Metamorphosis Body, Spirit Transformation Body, King Body, and Transformed Body. S-Class is the strongest and extremely rare. The King Body can also be referred to as Catastrophe Body, Destiny Body, etc., and represents nearly the strongest combat power on the surface!

Intelligence 2: Just moments ago, a Player with the surname Wang killed a Spirit-Transformed Earth Deity, becoming the first Player in this world to slay an Earth Deity.

Intelligence 3: In the current Secret Realm, a certain Lord Player carries a large quantity of Fasting Pills and Piyao Pills, and possesses a Spiritual Artifact rice cooker capable of refining them. This Player also commands a large number of Technology Warhorses and is currently located near the C49 ruins at the former site of Yi City in the Green Land Alliance.

====

"Hm?"

Xue Shentian froze, then meticulously read the Intelligence Scroll in his hands two more times.

Seeing Xue Shentian’s reaction, Li Mingli asked curiously, "What is it? Is it important intel this time?"

"It is indeed important!" Xue Shentian let out a breath and said, trying to keep his voice steady, "A Player killed an Earth Deity. And there’s another Player who has a Spiritual Artifact rice cooker!"

"What? Killed an Earth Deity? How is that possible?" Li Mingli was astonished. "Earth Deities are undying and indestructible! They’re ecological collectives, one with nature itself—you could even say they’re manifestations of the world’s Will. How could one be killed?"

"The intelligence is right here, how could it be false? I’m more interested in the third piece of intel, though. If we can find that Player with the Technology Warhorses, our situation might just turn around. Near the C49 ruins at the former site of Yi City in the Green Land Alliance... According to previous intel, we’re also in Green Land Alliance territory."

Xue Shentian wondered if, with a bit of luck, he might actually run into that Player with the Spiritual Artifact rice cooker. ’But when that time comes,’ he mused, ’should I cooperate with him? Or should I resort to Plundering, seizing the Spiritual Artifact rice cooker and Fasting Pills for myself?’

At this very moment, Wang Yi was gleefully examining his system rewards.

The items granted by the system were laid out neatly before him: a fist-sized seed that resembled a walnut, a purple Supply Treasure Chest, a purple Information Scroll, a purple pendant, and a Recruitment Scroll.

[Eco-Tree Species: Purple quality, bound, non-tradable. Can only be planted within your territory. It can grow into an Eco Tree. The Eco Tree is a collective lifeform that will automatically influence its surrounding environment to form an independent, small-scale ecosystem. This ecosystem is guaranteed to have a positive impact on your territory.]

[Supply Treasure Chest: Purple quality, bound, non-tradable. Opening this Treasure Chest will grant you: ten tons of polished rice, ten tons of pumpkins, ten tons of sweet potatoes, one Blue Blind Box, one Purple Blind Box, one Blue Chaos Egg, one Purple Chaos Egg, and 10 Middle Grade Chaos Crystal Stones!]

[Mission Clue Scroll: Purple quality. Using this Scroll within the borders of the former Li City in the Green Land Alliance will guide you to the B09 ruins. Exploring the B09 ruins may allow you to obtain a Sky Ship and Flying Soldier technology.]

[Mysterious Pendant: Purple item. A mysterious accessory. After equipping it, you will no longer attract the aggro of Spirit Transformation-level or lower Eco-Divinities.]

[Recruitment Scroll: Purple item. Upon use, immediately recruits a random batch of soldiers for you, with a minimum of one and a maximum of 100. This batch of soldiers will possess three skills.]

Wang Yi beamed as he looked at the five items before him. But the system’s rewards didn’t stop there. He had also received a full party status restoration, resurrection for his fallen soldiers, and random soldier breakthroughs.

As a result, Taisen and Boyka, who had died in the previous battle, were resurrected.

This meant Wang Yi had essentially won the battle with zero casualties. As for the random soldier breakthroughs, Wang Yi had received a system notification as well. There were only four: Man Datou, Fire Fire Evil God No. 2, Leonidas No. 5, and Boyka No. 13.

Among them, Boyka No. 13 broke through to become Iron Fist Boyka, advancing from a Potential Level Soldier to an Elite Level Soldier.

Leonidas No. 5 broke through to become War King Sparta. He was promoted from an Elite Level Soldier to a Hero. His Basic Abilities were enhanced, and he gained the skill [Heroic Jump]. Using this skill, War King Sparta could leap twenty meters in a single bound to charge directly into the battlefield.

Fire Fire Evil God No. 2 broke through to become Kung Fu’s Number One Killing King. He changed into a white Training Suit and put on a pair of layered-sole cloth shoes. His hair was neatly combed, and his face appeared younger. He gained the skill [Tathagata Divine Palm]. His combat power soared once again. When Wang Yi used the Talent Assessment Machine to appraise him, his comprehensive score was 105, elevating him to a King Level Warrior!

Meanwhile, Man Datou’s Dragon Elephant Skill broke through to the 5th Floor, granting him the Power of Five Dragons and Five Elephants.

"What a haul! This is great! Killing that Earth Deity was totally worth it!"

Excited, Wang Yi first put on the Mysterious Pendant and then opened the Supply Treasure Chest.

Instantly, two blind boxes, two Chaos Eggs, ten Chaos Crystal Stones, and a huge pile of polished rice, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes appeared before Wang Yi.

"Thrilling!"

Wang Yi exclaimed with delight. He first looked at the two Chaos Eggs. The blue-quality one could hatch a "frail and sickly second grand-uncle," while the purple-quality one could hatch a "sissy male guard who has a secret crush on his master"!

"The original Chaos Eggs are all trash! My blind boxes are still the best!"

Wang Yi immediately put the two Chaos Eggs away. ’These things are too dependent on luck,’ he thought. ’They’re not that useful; they can’t even compare to my blind boxes.’

This was, of course, because Wang Yi possessed two blind box-related Talents.

In fact, most Players had an extremely terrible experience opening blind boxes.

If a regular Player were given a choice between a Chaos Blind Box and a Chaos Egg of the same color and quality, 99% of them would choose the Chaos Egg.

At least with a Chaos Egg, the attributes were visible. If you didn’t like them, you could simply choose not to hatch it. But playing with blind boxes was purely a game of chance, and it was truly infuriating to get a trash item randomly!

Having gotten two blind boxes this time, Wang Yi immediately planned to use them.

He didn’t care that his Soldiers were watching. He respectfully clasped his hands and bowed nine times to each of the two blind boxes, then opened the blue one first. Only three options appeared.

====

One: Bulletproof Vest (Green, Enhance +1)

Two: Kasaya (Green, Enhance +2)

Three: Automatic Toilet (Blue, Enhance +3)

====

Wang Yi’s face darkened.

This blind box opening was a complete insult to his nine bows!

"Whatever. I’ll choose the Automatic Toilet."

After Wang Yi made his choice, a porcelain toilet appeared before him. It flashed with light three times and then, to his surprise, transformed into a Scroll.

"How did it turn into a Scroll again?!"

Wang Yi took a closer look. Holy cow! It was the [Construction Drawings for the Automatic Toilet House]!

"So even Toilet Houses have high-end and low-end versions now. Fine, I’ll store this for now and use it when I get back to my territory."

Wang Yi put away the [Construction Drawings for the Automatic Toilet House] and opened the Purple Blind Box. ’The blue one was just a sacrifice,’ he thought. ’This purple one has to give me something good.’

====

Ding! One Box, Many Openings Talent activated. The current Chaos Blind Box is opening. Calculating 8 box-opening results for you.

Ding! Box Opening Enhancement Talent activated, granting item enhancement.

One: Lord Skill Book (Blue, Enhance +1)

Two: Chaos Egg (Purple, Enhance +2)

Three: Flying Witch Outfit (Blue, Enhance +3)

Four: Construction Drawings for a Relic Tower (Purple, Enhance +4)

Five: Pure Gold Begging Bowl (Blue, Enhance +5)

Six: Candied Haws (Blue, Enhance +6)

Seven: Exquisite Tableware Set (Blue, Enhance +7)

Eight: Lord Experience Book (Purple, Enhance +8)

====

"Eight options..."

Wang Yi rubbed his chin. After a moment’s thought, he chose the Lord Experience Book!

A normal purple Experience Book only grants 1,000 Lord Experience upon use. But Wang Yi’s Enhance +8 version, just as he’d expected, would double the experience gained eight times, meaning he would get 256,000 points!

’Killing a Player only gives a few hundred Lord Experience points,’ Wang Yi thought. ’To get 256,000 points, I’d probably have to kill over a thousand Players! This is a pretty great haul! And with 256,000 Lord Experience, I can finally upgrade my [Commanding Mountains and Rivers]...’