208: promote

Unlike the previous method where the entire secret realm's 'model' was displayed before their eyes, this time the Soul Fighting Secret Realm did not allow real bodies to enter. Xu Yan and his spirit beasts were directly teleported to a transfer station.

Although called a transfer station, it was actually a fully equipped training ground. Compared to the previous situation where they could only stay in the void formed by special power, unable even to conduct daily training, this was infinitely better.

After the qualification review passed, a small spatial fragment appeared before Xu Yan. Xiong Nian, who had already been informed of the entry method, found a comfortable position and lay down. Then, an invisible soul thought flew out from between its brows and entered the spatial fragment.

At the same time, a projection screen appeared directly in front of Xu Yan.

A lush forest and a dull-looking, somewhat rigid gray bear appeared on the projection screen.

After a few breaths, the gray bear's fur quickly turned black and white, and the look in its eyes became lively, as if a puppet running on preset code had suddenly been injected with a soul.

The greatly transformed black and white bear awkwardly lifted its four limbs one by one and began to move. At first, its movements were a bit jerky and uncoordinated, but over time, they became increasingly flexible and skilled.

In less than an hour, Xiong Nian successfully mastered its new body and began to try using the Power of Heaven and Earth, domain power, and various skills.

Unsurprisingly, the results of the attempts were not ideal.

It couldn't even initially mobilize power for the former, let alone use it. Skills were slightly better; thanks to Xu Yan's Innate Talent improving comprehension, Xiong Nian's skill proficiency was at least at the master level, so it wasn't like the former two where it couldn't even call upon power.

However, to be honest, it was still greatly affected. The mastery and power of skills were directly reduced by one proficiency level. Some complex, high-power skills even showed extremely long wind-ups or very obvious flaws, making their role in combat even negative.

After spending some time sifting out usable skills, combining them, and 're-mastering' them to the best of its current ability, Xiong Nian began to explore outwards little by little.

As the 'novice village' upon entering the secret realm, Xiong Nian's first opponent was not strong, unable even to withstand Xiong Nian's probing attacks. In just a few minutes, it lost its life under the bear's paw.

The moment it died, its once rather large body instantly melted and disappeared, leaving only a fingernail-sized translucent fragment that split into two. The larger piece flew into the center of Xiong Nian's current 'body's' forehead, while the smaller piece directly dissipated, transforming into soul essence that flowed back to Xiong Nian's main body at the transfer station.

At the same time, both Xiong Nian in the secret realm and at the transfer station felt their soul strength and comprehension speed increase, though this increase was extremely small, barely noticeable unless specifically paid attention to.

Neither Xiong Nian nor Xu Yan were disappointed by the small increase. This was merely a 'tutorial level' in the 'novice village' designed for 'new accounts' to experience and familiarize themselves with the game rules. How much experience could one expect to gain at once? Any increase was already good.

After a simple rest, Xiong Nian continued to explore outwards. During this time, Xiong Nian encountered several more opponents, whose strength gradually increased but remained within Xiong Nian's control.

Facing these opponents, whose strength was far inferior to its own, Xiong Nian did not choose to end the battle quickly as it did the first time. Instead, it experimented on them, wanting to see what other methods, besides killing, could achieve the secret realm's so-called 'victory' conditions.

After several opponents, Xiong Nian came to a preliminary conclusion: the secret realm's 'victory' condition required the opponent to be completely unable to fight or resist. Simple control and illusions were not enough; the opponent had to be completely unconscious, trapped in an illusion, or even suffer a mental breakdown.

Although these opponents were weak and provided little improvement to Xiong Nian, accumulating their essence gradually made a difference. At least now, the combined increase from these soul essences could be noticed without special attention.

Having passed the initial familiarization phase, Xiong Nian gradually moved out of the 'novice village'. The strength of the opponents encountered began to grow, and the intensity of battles rapidly escalated.

For the next two months, Xiong Nian was caught in a cycle of 'carrying soul essence,' 'enemies attracted by the essence,' 'battles unfolding,' 'carrying more soul essence,' and 'attracting more and stronger enemies.'

Through battle after battle, Xiong Nian went from easily resolving conflicts to taking them seriously, and then to fighting with full effort, sustaining increasingly severe injuries.

Fortunately, there was another special rule in the Soul Fighting Secret Realm: for every victory gained, one would receive a special effect called 'Triumph,' restoring a quarter of one's overall status, allowing Xiong Nian to recover by hunting weaker opponents to achieve victory.

Otherwise, Xiong Nian would have collapsed long ago due to the accumulation of severe injuries.

Of course, a large number of battles and injuries also brought great improvements to Xiong Nian. The 'experience' given by those 'active monsters' was much more than in the 'novice village'. While soul strength and comprehension might seem vague and hard to quantify, let's talk about what can be quantified.

In terms of level, in two months within the Soul Fighting Secret Realm, the first month completed more than half of its accumulated progress, raising its level by one. The second month directly raised its level by one from scratch.

This was a solid, steady increase in level, where comprehension and accumulation kept pace, without any instability. Moreover, this leveling speed was rapidly increasing with time and the accumulation of soul essence.

Regarding the Power of Heaven and Earth and domain power, from being unable to even mobilize power at first, to being able to deploy it normally, and now to having increasingly deep control, the domain aspect has even barely touched the threshold of the second stage.

In terms of skills, while regaining proficiency, there were also more new insights and usages, steadily improving with increased combat experience.