novelraw Chapter 169 - 129: This Is Your Limit, Not My Limit
Chapter 169 - 129: This Is Your Limit, Not My Limit
The moment he entered the Secret Realm, Jiang Man felt something rushing toward him.
It was like an Array Barrier.
It seemed it could only be broken with the Five Elements Technique.
However, he didn’t know it.
So he chose to use the Celestial Heart Seal.
And then...
BOOM.
He was sent flying.
He flew all the way toward the center.
He struggled to control his body, finally landing hard.
His entire body staggered, and he nearly fell.
Jiang Man was alarmed.
’This Secret Realm is pretty formidable. Fail the test, and you’re thrown out immediately.’
The moment he landed, Jiang Man immediately scanned his surroundings.
He was in an extremely dense forest.
The same kind of trees surrounded him in every direction, making it impossible to get his bearings.
He had just seen that he seemed to be closer to the center.
’So this is the difficult start?’
’Is the center more dangerous, or is there something else at play?’
’I don’t feel any kind of...’
Before he could even finish the thought ’...danger,’ Jiang Man suddenly looked behind him. A bank of fog had appeared and was rapidly approaching.
The fog was so thick that once inside, you surely wouldn’t be able to see your hand in front of your face, let alone find a way out of the forest.
Moreover, the roars of Demon Beasts echoed from within it.
’Going in there would be extremely dangerous.’
At this rate, he would surely be swallowed by it if he didn’t flee with all his might.
Jiang Man stood his ground and looked in all directions, but he didn’t see anyone else.
’How am I supposed to compete in this?’
’And how will the rankings be calculated?’
’Too much freedom isn’t necessarily a good thing.’
’If I do poorly in the rankings, won’t I lose several thousand Spiritual Source?’
The thought reminded Jiang Man that time was almost up. Chang Qiweng would be coming soon.
’I have to pay back some interest, too.’
’When I get out, it’ll be March, which means rent is due again.’
For a moment, Jiang Man felt that it would be fine if the Secret Realm stayed open a little longer.
After that, Jiang Man looked around, found a large tree, and stood by it to wait.
He certainly wasn’t going to run around endlessly.
’That would just be a waste of time.’
’Since the fog is so thick you can’t see your hand in front of your face, it also means it’ll be extremely difficult for others to find me.’
’As for dispelling the fog, the Five Elements Technique is probably what’s needed.’
’In that case, I’ll cultivate the Five Elements Technique first.’
’The path may be full of obstacles, but how could that possibly stop me?’
And so, Jiang Man simply stood and watched as the fog enveloped him.
He remained unfazed, even with the roars of Demon Beasts echoing from within.
He simply circulated his Visualization Skill, remaining vigilant of his surroundings.
’If a Demon Beast really shows up, I’ll just counter with the Celestial Heart Seal.’
’In this Secret Realm, I’m not sure who I can beat, but the Celestial Heart Seal gives me some means of self-preservation.’
However, when the fog completely enveloped him, the roars of the Demon Beasts vanished.
The entire forest seemed to fall suddenly silent.
The mist seemed vast, yet he could still see his surroundings clearly.
It was even less obscuring than the mist in the Qi Refining Secret Realm.
’How strange.’
Jiang Man didn’t dwell on it.
Instead, he began his Cultivation of the Five Elements Technique.
’Once I finish my Cultivation, I’ll explore this place.’
’There should be enough time.’
Suddenly, the sound of an eagle slicing through the air came from the sky.
A SHRILL CRY.
A sharp presence tore through the air, making Jiang Man instinctively look up.
He saw a dark shadow streak past, heading toward the edge of the mist.
Jiang Man let out a breath. ’Looks like this place is dangerous.’
’I’d better be careful.’
The Black Eagle broke through the mist, soaring high in the sky. It continued forward until it was clear of the fog.
Below, many people were struggling to escape the mist, but they were too slow and were swallowed by it one by one.
Finally, the Black Eagle flew out of the forest.
This area was mostly flat. While there were some woods, they were not as unnervingly uniform as the forest within the mist.
At least here, one could get their bearings.
Furthermore, there was no pursuing mist.
The mist stopped at the edge of the central forest.
The Black Eagle looked toward a stone monument that soared into the clouds, then swooped down to land.
In an instant, a light flared on the monument.
The light descended from the top, and when it reached the upper-middle section, a large palm manifested.
As it continued downward, numerous Palm Seals appeared.
It looked as though there was writing inside them.
Then, the light vanished.
The Palm Seals were gone as well.
Not far from the monument, a man stared in surprise. "I thought this was a ranking monument, not one for Palm Seals. What’s the use of this?"
"The rules didn’t mention it," a woman beside him kindly reminded. "And there are many things here that aren’t covered by the rules. We need to be careful."
"I was hoping to see how Number 210 is doing," the man said, shaking his head.
He was Number Sixty-Six, the one who had made a bet with Jiang Man.
"The rankings will be announced, but definitely not on this monument," the woman said.
She was the woman who had tried to persuade Jiang Man not to cultivate.
She could never understand people like Jiang Man, who were just attention-seekers.
’In truth, anyone who could enter the Secret Realm was formidable in their own right.’
’The most important thing was self-improvement.’
’But some people cared too much about saving face.’
’Especially those who were poor and tried to hide it, as if being found out was the ultimate humiliation.’
’They would resort to all sorts of showing off to compensate.’
’Little did they know how ridiculous they looked to everyone else.’
After that, they searched the area.
They found four stone monuments up ahead.
A large crowd was gathered around them.
The first monument listed the rankings.
The second monument was labeled "Fringe," the third "Outer Ring," and the fourth "Center."
Those whose Five Elements Technique had reached the Sixth Layer could enter the Fringe.
The Third Layer allowed entry to the Outer Ring.
And those below the Third Layer were sent to the Center.
In the Center, one was pursued by mist and surrounded by Demon Beasts.
Number Sixty-Six checked the list and saw that over thirty people were in the Center. Coincidentally, Number 210 was among them.
Seeing the other man’s name at the very bottom of the list, he suddenly found the whole thing rather dull.
’Why did I even make a bet with him in the first place?’
’Forget it. I should just focus on my own tasks.’
Number Sixty-Six paid it no more mind. Following the rules, he set off to find Demon Beasts and Puppets, and to break Arrays in order to obtain Magic Skills and Cultivation Skills.