Chapter 53: One-Star Secret Realm

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“Cloud Secret Realm!”

Han Xing blurted out.

Finding a Cloud Secret Realm here could only be considered a stroke of good luck.

Han Xing steered the floating island and gradually approached the Cloud Secret Realm.

As he drew nearer, he saw a star appear above the vortex.

It represented the difficulty of the secret realm.

“A one-star secret realm?”

Han Xing guided the floating island to the edge of the vortex. At that moment, a system prompt appeared.

[One-Star Cloud Secret Realm: The Lost Palace]

[Difficulty: Moderate. Number of entrants: 1–2. Recommended level: 6–10.]

[Enter?]

“The Lost Palace. Should I go in?”

Han Xing hesitated for a moment.

Although it was only a one-star secret realm, it was certain to pose some danger.

The recommendation was for one or two people to enter. With a companion, the danger would be greatly reduced.

At that moment, Han Xing suddenly wondered whether he should turn back and team up with Chu Yu.

However, he quickly shook his head.

He possessed many extraordinary things: a spatial backpack, a Coal Ball with S-plus growth potential, and legendary-quality purple equipment.

Any one of those items would be enough to make other survivors green with envy.

If he teamed up with someone else, exposing them would be unavoidable.

It would be one thing if the person were someone he knew. But if it were a stranger who went around loudly announcing that Han Xing possessed such treasures, he would become the object of many people’s covetousness.

Until he had established defenses for his territory, Han Xing decided not to take that risk.

Then, something occurred to him. Stroking his chin, he mused, “The system recommends one or two people. I wonder whether pets are included in that calculation.”

“At this stage, apart from me, there shouldn’t be any other survivor with a pet. If that’s the case, then Coal Ball’s combat strength probably hasn’t been counted.”

“If so, my actual combat strength is equivalent to that of two people.”

“Moreover, Coal Ball is far stronger than an ordinary survivor. With its support, I’ll perform much better than I would by teaming up with another person!”

Han Xing’s eyes lit up. This might actually work.

After weighing everything carefully, he decided that he could challenge the secret realm.

Han Xing summoned Coal Ball to his side and clicked confirm.

The next moment, the vortex suddenly emitted a faint glow, and a portal opened.

He then stepped into the vortex with Coal Ball.

…

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The instant he entered the vortex, Han Xing felt the world before his eyes begin to shake. The scene spun wildly.

When his vision returned to normal, the landscape before him had completely changed.

Han Xing found himself standing atop the ruins of a structure.

This place had once been a palace. Collapsed bricks, tiles, and stone pillars lay scattered everywhere.

The palace covered an enormous area, at least five or six thousand square meters.

The entire floor was paved with stone slabs, all buried beneath a thick layer of dust.

The palace appeared to sit in a valley, surrounded by dense clouds. Other than the area within the palace, nothing else was visible.

When Han Xing tried to walk toward the clouds, a system prompt appeared.

[You have reached the edge of the map. Please return the way you came.]

Han Xing pondered this. “So the areas shrouded in clouds are inaccessible. In other words, my movement has been restricted to these palace ruins?”

At that moment, another system prompt appeared.

[The first-stage challenge of the Cloud Secret Realm: The Lost Palace has begun. Survivor, prepare for battle.]

As the notification ended, Han Xing suddenly felt the ground tremble faintly.

“Damn! The battle starts immediately?”

Han Xing was startled.

“This secret-realm challenge is way too direct!”

At the same time, a huge hand suddenly thrust out from the ruins.

Han Xing instantly grew alert.

Rumble!

As bricks and stones came tumbling down, a gigantic yellow humanoid monster sat up from within the ruins.

Only half of its body had emerged, yet it already stood over two meters tall. The other half remained buried beneath the rubble, but its immense size was still easy to imagine.

The next moment, the sleeping giant slowly braced itself and stood.

Only then did Han Xing see the monster in its entirety.

It was over four meters tall. Its entire body appeared to have been molded from earth, but in reality it was made of a special material resembling brass—only far harder than brass, comparable to refined iron.

Faint white patterns covered the surface of the mud giant’s body, resembling human veins, with energy seemingly flowing through them.

They were, in fact, energy channels forged from mithril.

On its chest, a special device the size of a human head radiated a brilliant green light, continuously supplying it with the energy needed to move.

The monster’s attributes appeared before Han Xing’s eyes.

[Psionic Puppet — One-Star Special Creature]

[Level: 7]

[Strength: 48. Agility: 37. Spirit: 35. Constitution: 55]

[Remaining psionic energy of the psionic core: 30]

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[Remaining defense of the psionic core: 100]

[Skills: Energy Shot; Stone Body — Passive Skill. Reduces damage taken from physical attacks by 30%.]

“A psionic puppet? What the hell is that?”

Seeing its attributes, Han Xing was astonished. “Its Constitution is absurdly high—55 points! And with that passive skill reducing physical damage by 30 percent, an ordinary survivor probably couldn’t even break through its defenses.”

Clearly, Han Xing was also a physical-class fighter, so the psionic puppet’s passive skill affected him as well.

Fortunately, his attack power far exceeded that of others at the same level. Even after being reduced, his attacks could still inflict considerable damage.

At the same time, the psionic puppet developed an intense desire to attack Han Xing. It opened its flat, oversized mouth and emitted a stretch of mechanically synthesized speech.

“Intruder. Die!”

The energy core in the psionic puppet’s chest began to shine with a fierce green light. At the same time, energy suddenly gathered in its palm, as though it were charging an attack.

Hum!

The psionic puppet finished charging. A mass of energy burst forth from the energy channels in its palm!

Han Xing sensed an intense threat from the attack.

If it struck him, he would likely suffer severe injuries even if it did not kill him.

Han Xing rolled sharply and dodged the attack.

Before rolling, he had already released the arrow he had been charging in his hand for some time.

Whoosh!

Enhanced by the powerful attack bonus of the Moon-Crowned Longbow, the refined-iron arrow struck the left side of the psionic puppet’s face.

But in the next instant, Han Xing discovered that the arrow had caused no damage at all.

Although it had struck its target, it was like attacking a solid block of stone. The arrow had penetrated less than ten centimeters.

To the psionic puppet, that injury was no more significant than a tickle.

“Damn, that’s all the damage I dealt?”

Han Xing was somewhat dumbfounded.

His attack seemed to enrage the psionic puppet.

It began to move, charging toward Han Xing in great strides.

“For… Lord Kairon!”

Boom! Boom, boom!

Every step the psionic puppet took was like a boulder crashing into the ground, producing a deep, muffled sound.

Before it even drew near, an overwhelming sense of oppression had already swept over Han Xing.

…

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