"Young hero, the Heart Method is extremely difficult to cultivate. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, feel free to come to Shenxiao Palace and find me."
As Chongxuzi spoke, he handed over a diamond-shaped jade pendant.
[Chu Xuanxu's token.]
[Description: Looks quite valuable.]
Unfortunately, it's not equipment.
Li Rui still happily put it away.
The logic was simple, Wu Mengying had said before that there was once a vice president of the Chi Jia Association whose soul was sealed by a certain Nether Emperor of Fengdu, indicating that the place called Fengdu was very dangerous.
Sun Qian originated from Fengdu and had competed for the Northern Nether Emperor many years ago. Although he lost, his strength shouldn't be underestimated, and he was instantly killed by one of Daoist Chongxu's ultimate moves, indicating that this old Daoist must have at least Nether Emperor-level strength.
Therefore, the Shenxiao Palace he came from should also be a force not inferior to Fengdu.
It was mentioned during special training that although the Secret Realm dungeons are not open worlds, they are under the same world view. Having this token might come in handy if he encounters someone else from Shenxiao Palace in other dungeons.
After all, a prominent figure like Chongxuzi is likely very high-ranking in Shenxiao Palace.
After Li Rui put away the item, he looked up and found that the old Daoist had vanished without a sound.
"That old man is surprisingly kind."
He thought to himself, "Helped clear monsters, taught skills, and gave a token."
He glanced at the countdown, seeing that there were more than three hours left. Li Rui looked around and saw that the monastery had been completely demolished into rubble during the battle between Chongxuzi and Sun Qian, with only the Spirit Bone Tower in the middle remaining somewhat intact.
"Do I have to spend another three hours?"
Li Rui sat down gloomily on a broken wall, "That Sun Qian died, but didn't drop anything. Bad luck."
Just as he thought this, the Secret Realm's prompt appeared.
[An unknown error was detected, boss data from the unupdated version was lost, Secret Realm collapsing, all connections will be interrupted in 30 seconds.]
?
Li Rui froze for a moment.
Unupdated version's boss?
He squinted his eyes, suddenly understanding.
"No way, does that mean Sun Qian wasn't supposed to be the boss to eliminate now, but I forcibly triggered it?"
At this moment, he suddenly felt sorry for that guy, who might have still been hiding at this location, only to be pulled up and beaten to death prematurely. After all, he was a candidate for the Nether Emperor.
Li Rui sighed, "Looks like there's no main quest reward, but oh well."
Anyway, compared to the main quest, the rewards for those random events are much richer. I'll ask about it once I'm out, find out what uses the various items and materials have.
Thinking about getting out, he felt a little apprehensive.
"I wonder if they are getting anxious waiting outside."
...
In the Secret Realm protection room on the 12th floor of Guotong Mansion, the atmosphere was summed up in two words: heavy.
The captains of some other teams had already left, believing there was no point in waiting any longer since ten Black Stars had appeared. Now, the only suspense left is whether Li Rui would wake up.
Wen Yan still held Li Rui's hand, carefully observing the inscription on the back of his hand, waiting for any change.
Unlike her and Wang Ba, Wu Sun was the most relaxed because he was younger, with an agent level of only 15, having experienced less, so he didn't hold the same reverence for a ten-star dungeon.
He nudged Wu Bing, who was wearing sunglasses next to him, "Why don't you calculate whether Li Rui can make it or not?"
Wu Bing glared askance at him from behind his sunglasses, "That cooldown has already been used to calculate the current scene folding in Celestial King Town, and besides, I've said it before, the Prophet's ability is unstable, it's not like you can calculate whatever you want at will."
Wu Sun awkwardly shut his mouth; he could only boast in front of Li Rui. The seniors from the Baili Association were different; they are of higher rank, and in the world of Secret Realm agents, strength is everything.
"It's over."
Wen Yan's sudden shout broke the atmosphere, and team five's captain Wang Ba and Wu Sun immediately stood up.
"Is he awake?" The two asked in unison.
Wen Yan silently shook her head.
"....."
Wu Bing pushed up his sunglasses and stood up, "I'll go instruct them to make the Spirit Embrace Branch potion."
As he walked toward the door, he stopped in his tracks when passing by Li Rui, seeing the young man's arm twitch.
"Phew—"
Li Rui took a sharp breath, waking up from the Secret Realm.
"Wow!!" Wu Sun exclaimed with delight.
Wang Ba nearly fell back into his chair excitedly this time it was out of joy.
Wen Yan was calmer than the men, quickly unfastening the metal clasps on the chair and bringing over a cup of hot water, "How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
Li Rui had completely regained his composure, shaking his head, "Just like last time, no discomfort."
Wu Yan smiled, "See, I told you! So what if it's a ten-star dungeon? It's not like dying inside would definitely cause your soul to dissipate!"
Now, Wang Ba and the others indeed couldn't refute because he was right.
Wu Yan boasted, helping Li Rui up, "Don't push yourself, dying in the Secret Realm leaves you recovering outside for a while. I've experienced it."
Wang Ba snorted, "You seem quite proud of yourself."
"Good thing you woke up, a single failure isn't a big deal. Currently, no Secret Realm agent can pass every single time, so don't be discouraged."
Everyone was in a relatively good mood, at least they had preserved the newcomer's consciousness. Anyway, he was only level one, so even if experience points were deducted, it couldn't go below zero.
In fact, like most games, character death leads to experience deductions based on a percentage, so the higher your level the more painful it is, as lower levels require less experience to level up. The further you go, each percentage of experience becomes very precious.
Therefore, in the early stages, it's all about ensuring consciousness isn't lost, and most people start in Secret Realms of fewer than three stars, which is relatively safe, rarely encountering situations like Li Rui's.
Hearing their conversation, Li Rui pondered for a moment and asked, "What exactly are you guys talking about? I didn't die in the Secret Realm."
"What?!"
Everyone was taken aback.
Wang Ba said, "Did you, perhaps… fail to complete the dungeon but survive? That shouldn't be, wasn't it a survival-type dungeon?"
There is risk in dying in the Secret Realm, so if completing the dungeon is deemed impossible, Secret Realm agents prioritize survival. But for survival-type dungeons, the main mission is to survive, which contradicts this.
Li Rui confidently replied, "Isn't it possible that I successfully completed it?"
"Impossible, definitely impossible."
Once again, everyone spoke in unison.
"That was a ten-star dungeon, you were only level 1! And you went in alone."
Li Rui chuckled, "I'm level 6 now."
He glanced at his own hand, seeing the large number "1" representing his level on the inscription was blurring, about to morph into a new shape, it was barely recognizable, but it seemed to actually be a "6".
Everyone was dumbfounded.
"Could it be true..... he might have broken another record."
At this moment, Wang Ba had already picked up his phone displaying a group call, with the other three captains on the line.
"Hey, do you guys know that our team five's Li Rui has successfully completed a ten-star Secret Realm?"