Chapter 115: A Great Terror Within the Imperial Court

Chapter 115: A Great Terror Within the Imperial Court

"Haitang, I personally suggest that for this Spirit Realm, it's best to have a complete team," Ms. Shen advised.

"Find two more teammates with high base attributes to specifically assist and protect you. Although Zhao Zheng has relatively high base attributes, relying on him alone is definitely not enough. The principle of strength in numbers, I believe you understand."

Song Haitang remained silent, her brows furrowed in deep thought.

Ms. Shen continued, "Or, you can endure this time. After entering the Spirit Realm, just find a place to hide with Zhao Zheng. Don't aim for a perfect task evaluation anymore. As long as you can keep yourself alive and return safely, it's considered a success."

"This is also the principal's suggestion. He said that you don't need to worry about temporary gains and losses..."

"If you don't want to endure, then listen to me and add two more teammates as support."

Ms. Shen's suggestion was quite reasonable.

However...

"It probably won't be easy for me to add teammates now, right?" Song Haitang politely declined. "Knowing that in the Fourth Layer Spirit Realm, foreign newcomers will target me, who would dare to team up with me?"

Hearing this, Ms. Shen immediately smiled and said, "As long as you reveal that you're willing to add two permanent teammates, I believe countless newcomers will be willing to take the risk and compete to become your new teammates."

Permanent teammates.

This meant that for subsequent Spirit Realms, they would all be together.

Hearing this, Song Haitang slightly furrowed her brows.

She didn't refuse politely but directly shook her head, "Forget it, Ms. Shen. Adding teammates now might put others in danger. I'll follow the principal's advice!"

Adding teammates was definitely not an option.

Since it wasn't an amnesia Spirit Realm, adding teammates would expose Zhao Zheng's secret.

Ms. Shen, this outcome seemed expected, and she could only smile bitterly without saying more.

In fact, if it weren't for the principal's instructions, she wouldn't have made this suggestion to Song Haitang.

...

After leaving Ms. Shen's office, Song Haitang received a call from her father.

"Haitang, have you had lunch?"

"I'm about to head back to the dormitory to eat."

"Oh, then I'll keep it brief... I'm calling to tell you that the new appointment from the headquarters has come through. After I finish handing over my current work, I'll be heading to the provincial capital to take up the position, probably next month."

"Okay, I understand. Congratulations, Dad."

"Hehe, what are we as father and daughter congratulating each other for? Speaking of which, this appointment went so smoothly thanks to Chen Ye's great help... Once I arrive in the provincial capital, help me set up a meeting with him. I want to invite him for a meal to express my gratitude and also give him the bonus for the Lu'an City Temporal Rift incident."

"Can't you arrange the meeting yourself?"

"I've tried several times, but Chen Ye is nowhere to be found, and his phone is always switched off."

"Alright... I'll try to talk to the senior about it, but I can't guarantee he'll accept the invitation."

After hanging up her father's call, Song Haitang felt a bit of a headache.

She thought for a moment and decided to inform Zhao Zheng about this matter, leaving the decision to him.

Zhao Zheng hesitated and chose to politely decline.

Due to meeting with Chairman Song too often, he had revealed more than he should, and it would be even more awkward when the truth was revealed.

Song Haitang agreed with Zhao Zheng's concerns and planned to tell her father that Chen Ye had gone on a long trip if he asked again.

...

The next day.

Morning.

Old Chu continued sharing information about the Fourth Layer Spirit Realm.

"The Fourth Layer Spirit Realm resembles our Xia Nation's early Republican era in terms of court and overall atmosphere. However, within the Spirit Realm, martial arts flourish, and many people practice martial arts."

"In the Fourth Layer, martial arts are clearly divided into stages. The early stages focus on physical training, divided into three realms: Muscle, Bone, and Skin."

"The middle three stages are about power: Bright Power, Dark Power, and Transformative Power."

"Once you reach the Transformative Power stage, you become very powerful, equivalent to a Third Tier Extraordinary Being in our world."

"The late stages of martial arts also consist of three realms: Blood Change, Innate, and Soul Training."

"Blood Change Powerhouses don't have their entire blood replaced but undergo a qualitative transformation of their energy and blood. Once they reach this stage, their strength, power, and speed significantly increase, comparable to a Fourth Tier powerhouse."

"Innate Powerhouses have their power undergo a transformation, forming Heavenly Power. This power can both protect the body and be projected to harm others, with limitless applications. Innate Powerhouses are already at the Fifth Tier standard."

"Soul Training Powerhouses in the Fourth Layer Spirit Realm are just a legend and have never appeared. It seems that the pinnacle of martial arts is Innate! Therefore, I don't have any information or profiles about Soul Training Powerhouses."

"The number of Xian Tian strong individuals is very scarce. They are usually well-known grandmasters or hidden old monsters. In the Spirit Realm, the chances of encountering a Xian Tian Martial Artist are slim."

"The ones you should truly be cautious of are the Hua Jin and Huan Xue experts."

"Although Hua Jin experts only possess the strength of the third rank, they have honed their skills through numerous life-and-death battles. These individuals often have extremely rich combat experience, so you must never underestimate them."

"As for Huan Xue experts, if you encounter one, just run! With your current attributes, even if your innate abilities aren't disabled, you won't be a match for them."

"Generally, the Martial Artists who run martial arts gyms are at the Ming Jin level. Only the renowned gym owners might have reached the An Jin realm."

"After entering the Spirit Realm, choosing to challenge ordinary martial arts gyms is an excellent way to make a name for yourselves."

Old Chu spoke at length, and the students listened attentively.

When Old Chu finished speaking, a student asked, "Teacher, you mentioned yesterday that there are monsters in the fourth layer of the Spirit Realm. What do these monsters look like?"

At this question, Old Chu's expression turned solemn.

"Indeed, there are monsters in the fourth layer of the Spirit Realm. However, no one knows their true appearance. Those who have seen the monsters' true forms are already dead."

"Once, a powerful new Extraordinary Being chose to assassinate corrupt officials as a way to make a name for himself in the fourth layer of the Spirit Realm. However, he almost died while attempting to assassinate a royal envoy."

"His knife could only pierce the envoy's skin, but it couldn't cut any deeper. Moreover, after the skin was broken, not a drop of blood flowed from the envoy's body, and instead, scales seemed to appear beneath."

"That Extraordinary Being was nearly killed by a casual strike from the envoy... Fortunately, he was incredibly fast, and he managed to escape the envoy's pursuit, finding a place to hide until the mission time ended, allowing him to return to Blue Star."

"After the Extraordinary Being brought back this news, it caught the attention of the higher-ups. Experts analyzed that the mysterious monster in the fourth layer of the Spirit Realm usually disguises itself as a human, possibly hiding within the government, and might even have infiltrated the upper echelons..."

"Furthermore, according to historical records in the fourth layer of the Spirit Realm, over two hundred years ago, the Martial Arts world was more prosperous, and Divine Rank experts frequently appeared. However, after a meteorite fell from the sky, Divine Rank experts disappeared, and the Xian Tian realm became the pinnacle of Martial Arts."

"Many experts speculate that the monster hiding within the government was brought by the falling meteorite, and the disappearance of the Divine Rank experts might also be related to the monster."

"Perhaps the Divine Rank experts, with their powerful spiritual awareness, could sense the monster's presence. Therefore, the monster feared they would threaten it and secretly eliminated the Divine Rank experts."

"Of course, these are all speculations, and the truth remains unclear."

"In any case, after entering the Spirit Realm, it's best not to provoke the government, or else there's a high chance you'll disappear without a trace..."

These words left the students with a sense of awe.

They took Old Chu's warning to heart.

However, Zhao Zheng was intrigued by these secrets.

He raised his hand to ask, "Teacher, you mentioned yesterday that we would enter other Spirit Realms in the future. Could it be that even after the second entry, no one has been able to uncover any information about the monster?"

Old Chu nodded, "Yes, in the eighth layer of the Spirit Realm, you will enter that world again to carry out another task. Many Extraordinary Beings believed that with their increased strength, they could investigate the government's secrets. However, their fates were not favorable, and no one has been able to uncover the monster's true identity. The monster hiding within the government is even more terrifying than you can imagine."

Zhao Zheng understood.

So, it was the eighth layer of the Spirit Realm where they would enter again.

With only three layers of the Spirit Realm in between, most Extraordinary Beings wouldn't have significantly improved their strength, making them no match for the monster.

But Zhao Zheng was different.

In the next three to four years, his strength would more than double.

By then, he might be able to uncover the truth.

Old Chu continued, "In the Spirit Realm, apart from being cautious of the government, you should also avoid the foreign concessions as much as possible."

The foreigners possess powerful firearms, and with your strength, if you were to be surrounded by their armed forces, it would likely be a dead end."

Indeed.

Without their defensive innate abilities, even third or fourth-rank Extraordinary Beings might not be able to withstand the attacks of firearms.

As Zhao Zheng heard the words "foreign concession," his eyebrows furrowed.

Just as he was about to speak, a student beat him to the question: "Teacher, what does 'foreign concession' mean?"

Old Master Chu replied, "According to the literal meaning, a concession is a legally established foreign residence in one country's territory, where another country has administrative autonomy and extraterritoriality (consular jurisdiction)."

"To put it simply, a concession is a territory forcibly acquired through unequal treaties, usually located in port cities."

"In the Fourth Spirit Realm, the Eastern Great Nation you are in is called the Great Yan Nation. Due to its backwardness, it was invaded by several foreign countries. These foreigners, through unequal treaties, established numerous concession areas in the Great Yan Nation's territory. The locals collectively refer to them as foreign concessions."

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Zheng's heart stirred with emotion, and he couldn't help but close his eyes.

What Old Master Chu was describing was also the memory of another world.

Old Master Chu continued, "Among them, the most aggressive invader and the one occupying the most territory is the enemy nation named Yun Nation. Interestingly, this Yun Nation is very similar to the Wokou Nation in our world, both in terms of geography and culture. One could even say they are identical."

These words caused Zhao Zheng's fist to clench instantly!

"Wokou Nation?"

A student asked in disbelief, "Can this nation invade others? The Wokou in our world are just opportunists, nothing more."

But Old Master Chu warned, "Never underestimate the Wokou Nation. The Wokou people have strong ambitions. When we are strong, they naturally fawn over us, but when we are weak, they will surely attack us like mad dogs."

"In our history, there were several periods of weakness, and during those times, there were almost always maritime disasters caused by the Wokou."

"Or else, how do you think the Wokou Nation got its name?"

The student who had previously expressed disbelief carefully recalled history and nodded in agreement.

Zhao Zheng knew that the histories of the two worlds were different.

In this world, Xia Nation had always been powerful, and the Wokou Nation had neither the opportunity nor the ability to invade Xia Nation.

He continued to listen to Old Master Chu's explanations.

At first, Zhao Zheng almost thought that the Great Yan Nation in the Fourth Spirit Realm might be a historical period from Earth.

However, after listening carefully to Old Master Chu's explanations, he realized it wasn't the case.

Because according to Old Master Chu, some well-known figures from Earth's Xia Nation history didn't exist in this world.

Additionally, the Republican era on Earth didn't have such powerful martial arts...

Perhaps.

The Fourth Spirit Realm is another parallel world!

"By the way, there's one more crucial piece of information!" Old Master Chu said. "After you enter the Spirit Realm, your consciousness will mostly attach to the citizens of the Great Yan Nation. However, new students from abroad may become citizens of different enemy nations based on their skin color!"

"Anyway, whenever you see foreigners leaving their concessions and challenging Yan Nation martial artists everywhere, you can almost certainly assume they are your peers!"

"Be cautious of these people. Once you become famous, they may come knocking on your door, trying to step over you."

The students nodded in agreement, storing this vital information in their minds.

At that moment, the class ended.

Old Master Chu packed his things and left the classroom.

The students, curious about the Fourth Spirit Realm, gathered in groups to discuss it with their teammates.

Only Zhao Zheng felt a bit down and returned to his room alone.

Zhao Zheng knew why Old Master Chu didn't reveal the content of the first ten Spirit Realms all at once.

This was actually a requirement from above; students must complete a Spirit Realm adventure before they can learn about the next realm's content.

Additionally, revealing too much at once might not be a good idea. Some Spirit Realms are terrifying, and knowing about them in advance could affect the students' mental state, causing fear and impacting their regular training.

By revealing the information gradually, students have ample time to grow, and when they encounter more dangers in the Spirit Realms, they will have the courage to face them head-on.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end