Chapter 23: Chapter 23 The Origin of the Secret Realm

In the northern outskirts of Jincheng’s Qinglong District lay Qingfeng Mountain.

Qingfeng Mountain was not very tall, standing only four to five hundred meters high. It used to be a modest scenic spot in the northern suburbs that occasionally attracted local residents for weekend hiking and leisurely strolls.

“From now on, Qingfeng Mountain is going to be bustling.”

At the peak of a small hill diagonally opposite Qingfeng Mountain, Wan Hailong stood in a grey trench coat, wearing sunglasses, his expression stern, followed by two tall girls.

The girl on the left was relaxed, her brown curls peeking out from under a white hat, chewing bubblegum with her arms crossed in front of her chest, which puffed out prominently.

On the right was Chen Lingya, dressed in a hoodie and sports pants, with her black, straight hair tied into a low ponytail. Compared to the girl on the left, she was obviously much more restrained, standing up straight.

“Wearing sunglasses in the middle of the night? Who’re you trying to be?” the girl on the left said casually.

“…” Wan Hailong didn’t respond. After a moment of silence, he took off the sunglasses, his deep eyes looking towards the throngs of cars at the foot of the mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, it was a dense mass of cars. From this vantage point, one could see that the highway leading here from the city was completely jammed with cars, the sound of urgent horns echoing in the air.

He pointed to the rows of bomb-proof vehicles parked outside the cordon at the foot of the mountain and said, “See that man there? That’s You Jinghong, You Kaihui’s biological father, and also the deputy director of the Tactical Bureau of Jincheng’s new district. According to what we know, there’s the shadow of a certain organization behind You Jinghong, most likely their dark piece planted in Jinzhou.”

“I thought he would slip up, but he’s really patient—started wondering if he’s really biological.”

Wan Ning spat out her bubblegum, “Then just off his wife as well, see if he can still hold back.”

Wan Hailong chuckled lightly, “You Jinghong came from a family of lesser status. Although his father-in-law is dead, the remaining connections have helped him get to where he is today, and his relationship with his wife is not that great.”

“Getting promoted, getting rich, and the wife dies—that’d actually be letting him off easy.” Wan Ning shook her head.

“This secret realm’s projection briefly appeared ten years ago. Based on the projection at that time, this secret realm is of low stability, and lifeforms over Energy Level 60 cannot enter. This secret realm is likely a part of the Exotic Region’s Nightmare Swamp in Dream City, and there may be rare beasts of the Illusion Element within.”

Wan Hailong said to Chen Lingya, “For your second Beast Taming, you could consider capturing an Illusion Element beast from the Nightmare Swamp. I sent you the Beast Taming Compendium for the swamp three days ago; you can collaborate with Wan Ning on the details.”

“Don’t worry, sis, just stick with me once we enter the secret realm, I’ll protect you.” Wan Ning slapped Chen Lingya on the shoulder, slapping her own chest with a guarantee, carefree and confident.

Chen Lingya subtly moved her shoulder away from the unfamiliar woman’s hand.

She didn’t like strangers touching her.

“Hey, why don’t you want to go to headquarters? Our organization’s presence isn’t too strong in Jinzhou, and it’s a waste of your time here.”

Chen Lingya’s voice was cold, “You talk too much.”

Wan Ning waggled her finger, “Nonono, I’m just curious, that’s all. But I still have to thank you. My uncle was ready to give that spot to you, and it only came to me because you didn’t go. If you had gone earlier, with the resources at headquarters, your Beast Taming Level could have been at least a dozen levels higher by now.”

“Let me guess, you don’t want to go because you don’t want to be too far from home?” There was a sly glint in Wan Ning’s eyes.

Chen Lingya pulled up her hood, her face cold. This person really talked too much! Do people with big chests all talk this much?

Wan Ning chuckled lightly, “But it’s pointless. From the moment we accept the gifts of the Angel Envoy, we all must move forward to fulfill the ultimate goal of the Angel Envoy. If you don’t want to move forward, naturally, there will be a hand pushing you to leave.”

“The Secret Realm is about to open.” Chen Lingya looked toward the top of Qingfeng Mountain across from her, where there was a twisted vortex in space, constantly emitting a dark purple light.

But at this moment, the dark purple light was fading, and the scenery inside was gradually becoming clear, as if a hole had been made in the wall, allowing one to see the scenery of another room behind the wall through this hole.

Just that the hole wasn’t just open in one direction; no matter from which angle one stood around it, the same scenery was visible.

And right now, around the Secret Realm, some simple structures had been erected.

“Do we have a chance to go in?” Chen Lingya asked the doubt in her heart; it seemed as though the Great Xia officials had known about this Secret Realm’s arrival for quite some time, as many buildings had been constructed near the Secret Realm.

“Of course, there’s a chance.” Wan Hailong pointed to the jam-packed highway and said, “The Secret Realm is freely accessible for the first month after it appears. After one month, it will be taken over by the Great Xia officials; the military will station and develop it before opening it to the public. Look at all these people; they’re here for the chance to explore it for free this month.”

Seeing Chen Lingya still somewhat puzzled, Wan Ning kindly explained, “This is Great Xia’s compromise with the powerful families because Great Xia needs to unite their strength to fight against the Exotic Region. So, in some areas, they have to make concessions.”

Chen Lingya nodded in understanding.

…

“Mom, where’s Sis?”

“She went out a while ago.”

Chen Xing found it a bit strange; his older sister had never gone out this late before, but he didn’t think much of it. It was perfectly normal to perhaps go downstairs to buy something.

He had intended to ask Chi Yu to refresh his skills’ Fragments for the day, but that would have to wait until his sister came home.

But the wait turned into four hours, and she still hadn’t returned by nearly midnight.

Chen Xing grew anxious. The day was almost over, and why hadn’t she come home this late?

His cell phone indicated she wasn’t in the service area when he called, and she didn’t reply to his messages either.

Great, Chen Lingya, you really have grown up!

Chen Xing sighed; she couldn’t possibly have run off to some Secret Realm in the north, could she?

He had actually noticed something off about his sister for a while now; he wasn’t stupid.

Someone who usually liked to stay home suddenly going out in the middle of the night, losing cell signal, and given the new appearance of a Secret Realm in the north of the city—if he couldn’t guess, it would be an insult to his intelligence.

He had seriously listened in middle school too. The origin of the Secret Realms was introduced in the textbooks.

Centuries ago, when the gate to the Exotic Region was first opened, this world began to see the emergence of Secret Realms of varying sizes.

These Secret Realms depend on the Main Plane yet are independent from it. Inside the Secret Realms are the shattered fragments of the Exotic Region’s world, a vivid image being that when the Exotic Region collided with our world, many areas were shattered, and these broken spaces became Secret Realms that fell into their world. It was through the exploration of these Secret Realms that our Beast Taming system was developed.