35: First Yellow-Rank Secret Realm Raid

I can finally splurge for once.

Ever since Zhang Sheng Cultivated the Object Manipulation Art to Perfection, he had been eyeing the spirit tool flying daggers in the mall. Now, all these Spiritual Artifacts had been incorporated into the Myriad Treasures Net.

Zhang Sheng spent seventeen thousand five hundred Spirit Pearls, buying five spirit tool flying daggers and one Spiritual Artifact Tang Saber in one go.

After placing the order online, he brought the five flying daggers and the Tang Saber directly from the school warehouse back to his apartment.

Alloy flying daggers would be destroyed when used against Qi Sea Realm Yao Beasts with slightly stronger defenses. Spiritual Artifacts, however, were much tougher and could be enhanced by injecting spiritual power.

Zhang Sheng spent another Spirit Pearl to buy a copy of the Spiritual Eye Technique Secret Manual. Because the private spread of Cultivation Techniques could not be restricted, various Secret Manuals were sold especially cheaply on the Myriad Treasures Net.

Zhang Sheng had long coveted An Shenhu's ability. Although he couldn't possess his Talent, if he Cultivated this Spell to the Perfected State, achieving instant casting, the effect should be comparable.

In addition, Zhang Sheng also downloaded a set of close-combat martial arts, the “Chain Overlapping Wave Saber.” Although the One Cut Slash was useful, it had obvious drawbacks: the offensive Move was singular, it lacked blocking and counterattacks, and it was difficult to sustain continuous combat or fight groups.

The Chain Overlapping Wave Saber perfectly compensated for this shortcoming... Cultivating knows no time, and seven days passed in a flash.

Zhang Sheng successfully Cultivated the Spiritual Eye Technique to the Perfected State, achieving instant casting of the Spell. He could even maintain the state of casting the Spiritual Eye Technique without others noticing, and the consumption of spiritual power was negligible.

Under the Spiritual Eye Technique, the distribution of spiritual power and spiritual power fluctuations had nowhere to hide. He just didn't know if his current self could see through the Secret Realm Demon Spider from back then.

The Chain Overlapping Wave Saber was also Cultivated to Perfection. Zhang Sheng, at the Perfected State, comprehended Chain Saber Intent.

Saber strikes were chained together, airtight, layer upon layer like overlapping waves, accumulating force that was hard to resist.

It was time to set off!

Zhang Sheng opened the campus network.

"Zhang Sheng applies to participate in the Yellow-rank Secret Realm Extermination!"

..."Are you ready?"

Zhang Sheng looked at the message sent by Dean Hou. As the Dean of the War God Academy, the first application for a Yellow-rank Secret Realm Extermination definitely needed his approval.

"Dean, I am ready!" Zhang Sheng replied.

A few seconds later.

Hou Wu: "You must come back alive."

Just after Zhang Sheng completed his application, Hou Wu in his office opened a notebook and wrote down the number "121: Zhang Sheng." There were 120 names before him.

This was the sequence of students who applied to participate in the Yellow-rank Secret Realm Extermination, but some names had already been marked with a bright red cross.

Afterward, Zhang Sheng received a document—a will.

This was something every applicant heading to a Yellow-rank Secret Realm needed to prepare. A will served as an explanation to worried relatives and friends, letting them know the danger of the journey.

The slightest bit of carelessness could lead to loss of life; even with the utmost caution, a little bad luck could mean dying in the mouth of a Yao Beast.

Zhang Sheng thought for a long time but didn't know how to start writing.

The pen felt exceptionally heavy; every word he left behind seemed to weigh a thousand catties.

There was even a moment when he wanted to shrink back and give up the application for the Yellow-rank Secret Realm Extermination.

But thinking about the possibility of stronger Secret Realms appearing in the future, what was the point if he couldn't even protect his relatives and friends?

Zhang Sheng thought of his parents;

He thought of Fatty, Li Bin, and Sun Jie;

He thought of the handsome Classmate Xiao Tian;

He thought of Professor Liu who had helped him;

He even thought of his ex-girlfriend who had deceived and betrayed him.

Zhang Sheng never thought of himself as selfless or great; rather, he was selfish, introverted, and disliked trouble.

If he hadn't Awakened the Talent of Once Certified, Forever Certified, he might have been content to be a lazy bum, peeking at female classmates' beautiful legs with Fatty in the summer.

But! I Awakened the SSS-rank Talent, Once Certified, Forever Certified, so there are always some things I need to do myself.

If his relatives and friends died in the mouth of a Yao Beast, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself even if he went to the Yellow Springs.

Zhang Sheng picked up the pen:

"First of all! I, Zhang, am not inferior to anyone in this life. Even if the world is destroyed, I won't die!

In the extremely unlikely event that I kick the bucket—I mean, one in a quintillion chance—that I kick the bucket.

Mom and Dad, you are both Cultivators now, and your bodies are young again. Hurry up and have ten or eight children while you're young to take care of you in your old age. Then I can rest easy below.

Written by your unfilial son, Zhang Sheng."

The content of the will was very short, but Zhang Sheng felt it was enough.

After writing the will, Zhang Sheng still felt the trip was too dangerous. He then drew hundreds of vajra talismans, bought an expensive Spiritual Artifact internal armor, 20 Rejuvenation Talismans for treating injuries, and 20 divine speed talismans for acceleration.

The most recent Yellow-rank Secret Realm Extermination mission was not inside the Secret Realm, but outside of it.

Zhang Sheng accepted it.

The cause of the incident was a Yellow-rank Secret Realm within Myanmar that failed to be wiped out within seven days and descended upon the real world. Now, scattered Yao Beasts had begun to cross the China-Myanmar border into Yunnan Province, and the situation was extremely critical.

On the morning of June 11, 2030, Zhang Sheng did not tell anyone. He participated in this cleanup operation alone as a rogue Cultivator, taking a military transport plane from the capital, Capital, and flying directly to the Yunnan border.

the military always welcomed rogue Cultivators to participate in Yellow-rank Secret Realm Exterminations, but there were a few requirements: they were responsible for their own life and death, and they needed to wear the military's Smart Terminal to receive and report various information.

If they encountered danger, they could request military rescue, but whether the military would come to save them depended on the situation, as the military always prioritized its own mission.

They had freedom of action, but they must not interfere with military missions. At necessary times, they must obey military orders. If their behavior was poor, they could even be banned from future participation in Yellow-rank Secret Realm Exterminations.

Zhang Sheng did not hide his identity. After learning that Zhang Sheng was from First University, the battle-hardened soldiers were quite enthusiastic and proactively explained the precautions for fighting Qi Sea Realm Yao Beasts.

The transport plane landed on a runway between the mountains and forests. The map already showed they were close to Northern Myanmar.

Zhang Sheng's Smart Terminal displayed the area he was assigned to clear: a jungle southwest of the border, inside Myanmar territory.

Because it was a dense jungle with extremely complex terrain, even drones found it difficult to spot the Yao Beasts hiding within.

Zhang Sheng and the other soldiers could only clear the area section by section on foot, at most equipped with some small, silent drones.

Those cunning Yao Beasts would disappear without a trace as soon as they heard the sound of a helicopter or a large drone.

Zhang Sheng, however, was lightly equipped.

Tall bushes completely blocked Zhang Sheng's forward view, but fortunately, the Smart Terminal on his arm was still functioning normally.

The weather in June was hot and humid, especially in this dense jungle.

The ground was wet and muddy, but fortunately, Zhang Sheng possessed the Roving Dragon Movement Technique at the Perfected State, making silent travel easy.

After traveling several kilometers consecutively, the further he went, the stranger Zhang Sheng felt.

He couldn't quite pinpoint why it felt strange. Zhang Sheng's Spiritual Eye Technique remained active, yet he didn't detect any spiritual power fluctuations.

The Smart Terminal on his arm suddenly vibrated slightly. It was a mass inquiry from the Extermination Mission Commander, asking if any abnormal situations had been discovered.

Zhang Sheng was startled.

He knew what the strangeness and disharmony he felt were.

Silence!

It was too quiet!

The jungle at this time should be filled with the chirping of insects and the croaking of frogs, but the surrounding environment was terrifyingly silent.

There wasn't even a single mosquito or ant, nor could he see their corpses.

This was undoubtedly extremely abnormal!

Zhang Sheng immediately became alert, observing his surroundings with full concentration, and reported the situation to the Commander. In fact, Zhang Sheng wasn't the only one who noticed.

However, apart from finding the jungle unnaturally silent, no one else had discovered anything else.