“Oh dear, I didn’t hear that, I didn’t hear anything.” Ling Yin suddenly covered her ears and turned her back.

Han Yuning coughed violently, tears streaming from his eyes.

Looking amused at Ling Yin with her ears covered, he then turned to Sìxiàng and said, “For such an important matter, next time you might consider informing your master in a more private location.”

Sìxiàng was taken aback, was this matter really that important? It had even more important things left unsaid.

However, Sìxiàng did not argue, as it disliked verbal disputes; winning or losing in conversation was pointless.

After a moment of thought, Chen Xing roughly understood Ling Yin’s meaning.

The Dark Realm was the Ling Family’s property.

It was originally monopolized exclusively, and the addition of one more key in Sìxiàng’s possession was tantamount to breaking the family’s monopoly.

“Sìxiàng considers you all its own, which is why it didn’t think too much about it,” Chen Xing said with a smile.

“Oh, the young lad has a way with words,” Ling Yin said with a grin.

Although Han Yuning did not speak, his lips couldn’t help but curl into a gentle smile.

“Let’s go.”

Chen Xing’s gaze shifted away from the eye on Sìxiàng’s shoulder.

The key always seemed a bit strange to him, it was called a key, but it seemed more like a means of surveillance.

But as they were still in the Dark Realm, Chen Xing did not voice these thoughts.

The trio made their way back, turning a corner, and not far ahead on the ground lay two figures, one large and one small.

As they approached, they discovered it was a Beast Taming and a Beast Tamer who had long since perished.

The cause of death was unknown, but the expressions were serene; their faces showed no sign of excess pain.

They laid there peacefully, eyes closed, as if asleep.

Not far from them, a creature resembling a giant bear curled up as if sleeping, but the blood within its body had long since turned cold, devoid of all signs of life.

Chen Xing stooped down and took a Storage Bracelet from the wrist of the Beast Tamer which was somewhat similar to the one Sìxiàng was wearing.

He couldn’t let this go to waste; just earlier on the battlefield, Chen Xing had found several storage items.

A Beast Tamer of the Transcendent Level was definitely carrying valuable items in his storage devices.

This was a windfall.

Consider it compensation for his emotional distress.

After scouring the battlefield, Chen Xing ended up collecting a total of thirteen storage items; some of the bodies were not found.

It was unclear whether they had been taken by others, devoured by monsters, or were simply hiding in some unseen nook and had gone undetected.

Leaving the Secret Realm.

Chen Xing contemplated, preparing to have Sìxiàng ready for the Transcendence Ceremony.

At present, Sìxiàng meets standards in physical body, magic power, and soul.

Only the will remains to be verified for simultaneous Transcendence in all four aspects.

Spicy Chili Oil Bean Curd is a food that tempers the will of a beast, but he is still short a hundred Skill Points.

He currently has accrued 401 Skill Points, 99 points shy of activating the Spicy Chili Oil Bean Curd.

Once activated, he could complete the tempering of the will.

He would have enough after accruing for four more days upon his return.

Chen Xing’s mind raced with thoughts as he walked, not snapping back to reality until the instructor beside him called out to him several times.

“Ah, Instructor.”

“You were so deep in thought just now, you lost focus. Is there anything else on your mind, or shall we head back?” Han Yuning said helplessly.

Chen Xing shook his head, “No, nothing else.”

Now that his purpose for coming here was fulfilled, Chen Xing was eager to return to the school; he found himself missing those little puppies.

“Then let’s go straight back.”

“Leaving already, Captain? Won’t you stay a few more days?” Ling Yin asked, her eyes filled with complex emotions and reluctance.

“If you miss me, come to the school and find me to hang out,” Han Yuning said with a smile.

Ling Yin hummed through her nose in response.

After this farewell, who knows how long it would be before they met again.

The journey from Shadow Giant City to Jiuzhou University alone takes more than ten days.

Without the Teleportation Array, the journey between the two could take years.

Leaving Shadow Giant City armed with a key for unrestricted access to the Dark Realm provided an extra layer of insurance.

Yet, Chen Xing was curious; entering the Dark Realm within Shadow Giant City brought him to a gigantic city modeled after Shadow Giant City itself.

But what about other places?

For example, if they were to enter the Dark Realm from Jiuzhou University, would they end up behind Shadow Giant City, or is there a corresponding unexplored Giant City within the bounds of Jiuzhou University or Great Xia?

If an exit could be opened within Jiuzhou University or the territory of Great Xia, wouldn’t it be possible to simply collect admission fees?

Chen Xing pondered carefully and felt it was a prospect with huge potential.

“Instructor, the exchange students our school recruits do come from far away. I didn’t realize we have students from places as distant as Shadow Giant City,” he remarked.

Han Yuning couldn’t help but laugh, “Speaking of which, this is still the policy of the current emperor. Initially, many secret realms appeared within the territory of Great Xia, and after the collision of two worlds, some of these places turned into fragments that evolved into secret realms and fell into Great Xia.

Some secret realms are inhabited by indigenous people of the Exotic Region, and as the secret realms opened, some people from the Exotic Region came out, causing significant damage to Great Xia.

At that time, the domestic attitude towards these indigenous people from the Exotic Regions was divided into two factional ideologies.

One was the radical faction, which believed that those not of our kind must have suspect intentions and that all should be captured and subjected to interrogation to force these people from the Exotic Regions to hand over all the knowledge they knew.

The other was the conservative faction, which believed that it was not wise to create too many enemies and that we should live in harmony with them and plan slowly.

The emperor adopted the policy of the conservative faction and improved it by actively sending people to escort these people from the Exotic Regions in the secret realms to the passageway back to the Exotic Region, sending them back to their world.

At the same time, they released friendly gestures to the powers behind them, striving to establish diplomatic relations, and later in the war with Fentian Giant City, these friends from the Exotic Region who returned to their respective forces also played a certain role.

In recent years, as Great Xia has been developing better and better, some of the descendants of the Exotic Region have also sent their younger generations to study in Great Xia.

So that’s why you can see international students at the school, and there are several international student classes in the West Garden Academy.”

Han Yuning added, “One of Ling Yin’s elders was caught up in a secret realm, and later she was sent to study at Jiuzhou University. That’s when I met her.”

No wonder she came so far to study in Great Xia; there were these reasons behind it.

…

Stepping out from the Teleportation Array, the surroundings were shrouded in mist.

The fierce sun shone high above, and the white clouds glowed with a faint, colorful halo under the sunlight.

Not long ago, on his way to Shadow Giant City, Chen Xing had passed through this Giant City,

but at that time, he was in a hurry and had no mind to slowly take in the scenery along the way.

But on the return trip, his mindset was completely different, and Chen Xing had more leisure to observe his surroundings.

He found that the local residents of the Illusory Dream Giant City could be easily distinguished by their appearance; their hair was generally gray-green, and their eye color was close to ochre.

Their skin was fair, and regardless of gender, their figures were mostly slender and graceful.

Speaking of which, Illusory Dream Giant City and Chen Xing had a bit of a connection.

The Inheritance Tower that Chen Xing had entered was once located within the Illusory Dream Giant City, in the Nightmare Swamp.

After coming out of the teleportation hall, the next array batch was not until tomorrow, so it looks like he would have to spend the night in Illusory Dream Giant City.

“Stop right there!”

A sudden voice came from behind.

Chen Xing’s steps faltered as he found himself and his mentor surrounded by several Beast Tamers.

These Beast Tamers had black hair and dark red pupils, clearly the physical traits of residents from Fentian Domain.

Dark Fire’s people?

Chen Xing grew wary at the bottom of his heart.

The man took out a photograph wrapped in cloth, thanks to the integration of Great Xia with this world.

Cameras had spread as well, and perhaps in places far away, there were not many who used cameras.

But in Fentian Domain, which borders Great Xia, cameras were not considered too rare of an item.

“Seems not the same.”

“They are all people of Great Xia; maybe they have some connection, could be her companion.”

“Just capture them all.”

The man holding the photograph discussed with his companion nearby.

Chen Xing’s gaze landed on the photograph in his hand; from his angle, he could just see a corner of the photograph.

When he clearly saw the face of the person on the photograph, Chen Xing still wore a smile on his face, but the coldness in his eyes became even denser.

A hand landed on the photograph, directly snatching it away.

The Beast Tamer opposite apparently didn’t expect the man across from him to be so bold as to directly grab the photograph.

“Where did you get this photograph from?”

Looking at the side profile of the woman in the photograph, although it was somewhat blurry, having lived together for sixteen years, Chen Xing recognized the woman’s identity in the photograph at a glance.

Ha, to say you would come to school later because you had something to do, so your so-called something to do was to run to Illusory Dream Giant City and get chased with a photograph?

This foolish woman, couldn’t she have said a word to me.

Complex emotions surged in his heart, and the colder Chen Xing’s eyes became, the more radiant the smile on his face.

The four opposing Beast Tamers exchanged glances and summoned their beasts in unison.

But almost at the same time, a figure with wings spread appeared behind Chen Xing.

“This is the Illusory Dream Giant City, and it is forbidden to fight in the city…” A few members of the Illusory Dream Giant City Guard Army who were about to come over were not far away.

But the next second, the six people on the street all disappeared from their original place.

On the quiet and deserted street, Sìxiàng hovered several meters off the ground, towering above the people.

“Where is this?!”

The four Beast Tamers and their beasts who were pulled into the Dark Realm looked around nervously.

Was it an illusion?

This was the Illusory Dream Giant City, where many of the beast tamers were experts in illusions, but everything around them felt too real.

Even the uncomfortable black mist in the air was nauseating.

“This place is where we can talk quietly,” Chen Xing’s fingertips tapped lightly on a photograph with each tap accompanied by a crisp sound, as if striking a series of bouncing notes in this dark world.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep