Chapter 229 – Penglai, Secret Realm, Mental Light

The rhythmic sound of keyboard tapping came through the headphones, carrying a sense of piano-like melody, which inexplicably brought a feeling of joy.

Lu Yuan’s mood also relaxed. He decided to indulge himself a bit and chose a character with violent output, hoping to redeem his “noob” image in front of Yuwen Tong.

“You did a good job this time, consider this a verbal commendation.”

Yuwen Tong’s voice came from the other end of the headphones.

Lu Yuan hurriedly replied, “Thank you for the compliment, Lord Tong.”

He had a bellyful of questions he wanted to ask Yuwen Tong, but now that he could actually speak to her, he didn’t know where to start.

While he was thinking, Yuwen Tong continued, “Did you kill someone from Penglai this time?”

“Hmm?!”

Lu Yuan was slightly startled but quickly calmed down and nodded in acknowledgment, “Yes. Did I overdo it, my lord?”

The braided man Lu Yuan had eliminated was not particularly strong, he only bore the title of Penglai Holy Envoy.

Lu Yuan had thought such a minor character wasn’t even worth Yuwen Tong’s attention, but unexpectedly, she brought it up. It seemed like Penglai had something to say.

“Not overdone.”

Yuwen Tong replied nonchalantly while tapping on her keyboard, “It’s just that Penglai feels a bit humiliated and is trying to pressure me.”

“Penglai dares to pressure you, my lord?”

Lu Yuan blinked.

You Long and Old Liu dared to call Penglai a pile of crap, and now Lu Yuan also felt that Penglai was rotten to the core.

An organization that was about to be left behind by the times, decayed and weak—

Even a Grandmaster could be easily besieged and killed. At most, Penglai had a few more Grandmasters, so Lu Yuan didn’t think it was a mistake to describe them as weak.

How could they have the gall to challenge Yuwen Tong, or what qualifications did they have to challenge her?

Lu Yuan found it unbelievable.

Yuwen Tong lightly chuckled on the other end of the headphones.

“Don’t underestimate Penglai.”

Yuwen Tong said lightly, and Lu Yuan felt like he had been given a hint.

“Penglai represents the brilliance of the old era, they sacrificed a lot for Da Xia, carried a lot, and… gained a lot as well.”

Lu Yuan pondered for a moment and tentatively asked, “Does Penglai have someone backing them?”

“Hmm,” Yuwen Tong replied lightly.

That made things clear.

Lu Yuan’s eyes sparkled as he quickly manipulated his game character forward, while thinking if there was a big shot at the same level as Yuwen Tong backing Penglai.

“Penglai houses some old folks from the previous era. The things they value most, besides their lives, are their reputations.”

Lu Yuan frowned slightly, “So what do they want me to do? Apologize?”

“No need,” Yuwen Tong replied casually.

“But your application for promotion to Fei Xiong might get stuck this time…”

“Oh.”

Lu Yuan felt slightly relieved.

He didn’t have much desire for the Fei Xiong position. At least in the old city circle, his current Golden Bear Level status was sufficient.

Within the Yellow Bear ranks… Yuwen Tong’s status was far more useful than Fei Xiong level.

“Then it’s my turn to be displeased…”

Yuwen Tong suddenly spoke.

At this moment, Lu Yuan saw a “pentakill” notification from Yuwen Tong flash across the screen.

His eyelids twitched slightly, almost feeling Lord Tong’s slightly irritable mood through the screen.

He immediately declared, “Just say the word, my lord, and I’ll rush to Penglai right now, level Martial Saint Island, and plant Yuwen flags all over Penglai Pavilion…”

“Good!”

Yuwen Tong nodded decisively.

“Uh…”

Lu Yuan opened his mouth, staring at the computer screen in front of him.

He didn’t know how to respond to that.

Thankfully, Yuwen Tong didn’t leave him hanging for long, chuckling a few times, seeming to have her mood lifted.

She then said, “But this is indeed an opportunity for you.

The issue of Penglai has been discussed many times, but there hasn’t been a good solution.

If you can resolve it, the vast majority of Yellow Bear high-ups, including the one backing Penglai… should be quite pleased.”

Lu Yuan was taken aback, feeling surprised.

But recalling the face of that Penglai Holy Envoy at the Hundred Cities Martial Arts Tournament in the south, he immediately understood.

Modern-day Penglai is utterly corrupt, but because it is still cloaked in the remnants of the old era’s glory, Da Xia cannot easily move against them. Their actions are tolerated with a blind eye.

However, letting them continue this way is not preferable either.

At this juncture, a proper opportunity, a suitable reason, and a fitting candidate are needed to resolve this issue.

Right now, it seems Lu Yuan is qualified to become that bone-scraping knife.

His status is not too high, but not too low either.

If he can leverage this situation to remove Penglai, the “chronic ailment” afflicting Da Xia, it would certainly be a welcome outcome for everyone involved.

“Your killing of the Penglai Holy Envoy serves as a spark. But if you truly intend to move against Penglai, you cannot do so with your Golden Bear identity. You can use the pretext of your crane style teacher, but that’s not enough…”

As Yuwen Tong spoke slowly, a flash of insight suddenly struck Lu Yuan’s mind, and he blurted out, “The Evil Martial Alliance!”

“Smart!”

On the computer screen, a “thumbs up” icon appeared above Lu Yuan’s game character’s head.

It was Yuwen Tong giving him a “like” in the game.

“The identity of the Evil Emperor in the Evil Martial Alliance suits your needs. As for the exact operations, you will have to figure them out yourself.”

Lu Yuan nodded, thinking to himself that he couldn’t sever ties with the Evil Martial Alliance just yet.

Playing the role of the demon emperor wasn’t something he wanted to do, but it seemed he had no choice.

However, thinking about the mess in the Evil Martial Alliance gave him a headache…

“Oh, by the way, there’s another matter to discuss with you.

The three ‘keys’ you sent back recently—Mystic Deity Group has already found the corresponding secret realm entrances based on those ‘keys.’ It shouldn’t be long before they are officially opened.

The value of this secret realm is significant, potentially reaching sub-legendary level. As the discoverer of the ‘keys,’ you have the right to be among the first to explore.

However, higher-value secret realms are also more dangerous. Before entering, I suggest you start with an easier secret realm to get some practice…”

“Understood.”

Lu Yuan had exactly this intention.

Hearing Yuwen Tong mention the Elephant Deity Sect, Lu Yuan suddenly remembered the curse he had from the Elephant Deity and urgently asked her about it.

Yuwen Tong responded nonchalantly, “Oh, I noticed it. Curses like these are quite common, a minor issue. You shouldn’t die in the short term.”

“That’s good.”

Lu Yuan pretended to let out a sigh of relief, but he quickly realized something.

“What?!”

What does “shouldn’t die in the short term” mean? What about the long term?

Lord Tong, please don’t mess with me…

“My lord, what do you mean by ‘shouldn’t die in the short term’?” Lu Yuan couldn’t help but ask further.

Yuwen Tong said leisurely, “It means if you continue to maintain your current rate of power increase, the probability of dying from the curse won’t exceed fifty percent. A fifty percent survival rate is quite high.”

“Damn…”

Lu Yuan almost couldn’t resist swearing.

Isn’t there still a fifty percent chance of death?

Suddenly, the pressure was back. The Damocles’ sword that had just vanished reappeared over his head, now even sharper and more threatening than before he encountered the Elephant Deity Emissary.

“Don’t worry.”

Yuwen Tong probably sensed his emotions and comforted him, “If things really get bad, come to Xiabang. With me here, the curse wouldn’t dare touch you.”

“Alright.”

Lu Yuan responded verbally, but his heart remained heavy and helpless.

Yuwen Tong might say that, but if he really couldn’t bear it and fled to Xiabang for refuge, her regard for him likely wouldn’t be as high as it is now.

Moreover, if the Elephant Deity’s curse couldn’t find him, what if it went after those around him? These were all issues to consider.

Feeling a bit frustrated, Lu Yuan made a mistake in the game and got killed.

Taking advantage of the gray screen, he pondered and then asked Yuwen Tong, “My lord, could you tell me about the key to breaking through to Level SS?”

He should be considered Level SS when entering [demon] form, but the [demon] form has a time limit and can’t maintain long-term combat.

Who knows how long the Elephant Deity’s curse will last once activated?

“Level SS, huh… That’s a pretty distant power classification. Let me think…”

“…”

After a moment, Yuwen Tong’s voice came through: “…Level SS seems to be related to a breakthrough in mental will.

Since you’re currently on the pure martial artist path, breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm would officially qualify you as Level SS…

I can’t remember the specifics, so you might want to ask someone else.”

“Mental will… Grandmaster…”

Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered as he nodded thoughtfully, refraining from asking further.

His gaming session with Yuwen Tong lasted about half an hour in total.

It ended with a decisive victory for Yuwen Tong, during which Lu Yuan contributed 15 deaths to the score.

Feeling “honored,” Lu Yuan was kicked off the game by Yuwen Tong, signaling the end of his “duty.”

As he walked out of the “office,” Lu Yuan was still reflecting on the things Yuwen Tong had mentioned during their conversation.

“Penglai… Evil Martial Alliance… Elephant Deity’s curse…”

Each of these issues was more troublesome than the last.

But the solution to these troubles is actually quite simple…

“Power.”

Taking a deep breath, Lu Yuan thought to himself, “As long as I get stronger, no problem will be a real problem.”

It’s undeniable—power is like money. No matter how much you have, when you really need it, it always feels like it’s not enough.

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and pulled up the profile of Lan Chen, who was marked as a “credit-seeker” in the Golden Bear’s backend system. He decided to ask him a few questions again.

The first topic was about Penglai.

The response he got from Lan Chen was even more serious than what Yuwen Tong had mentioned.

Credit-seeker: “Penglai’s situation is quite complex. Penglai and Martial Saint Island exist within the same secret realm. It was the first ownerless secret realm discovered by Da Xia, and it’s a habitable secret realm.

Even though Penglai is a remnant of the old era, its power is not weak at all…

Why are you planning to act against Penglai? Be very careful. Within the Yellow Bear ranks, Penglai is considered a hidden dungeon. Others have tried to take it down before, including several Fei Xiong level warriors… and they all failed.”

Even Level SS Fei Xiong level warriors have stumbled in Penglai?

And Penglai is within a secret realm?

Seeing Lan Chen’s reply, Lu Yuan’s brows furrowed even more.

So, he asked about secret realms.

What is an ownerless secret realm, a habitable secret realm, and how are they different from the commonly mentioned evil deity secret realms?

Lan Chen didn’t waste any words and directly sent over a link.

“Secret realm information accessible only at the Fei Xiong level. Check it out yourself, but don’t spread it around.”

Lu Yuan thanked him and then took the opportunity to ask Lan Chen about breaking through to Level SS.

He was mainly curious about how someone like Lan Chen, who didn’t follow the pure martial artist path, could achieve a breakthrough to Level SS.

Lan Chen replied swiftly: “The key to Level SS is—refining your own mental light.”