Technological advancement begins with devouring.

Chapter 80 The Realm Within a Realm Opens!

In the distance, a mountain range was shrouded in endless gales.

Above the mountains, thick cumulus clouds hung in the sky, with streaks of lightning flashing between them, as if thunder could strike at any moment.

This world is called the 'World of Thunder', largely because the thunder is incredibly terrifying.

The data doesn't mention how strong the attack ceiling is.

In any case, even a ninth-tier star-level expert would be instantly annihilated without even having time to react if hit by a single blow.

Within this 'Wind and Thunder Canyon,' not only is the destructive power of lightning terrifying, but the gales are also exceptionally dangerous.

If it were in the very center of the mountains, where the storms were most fierce, even a cosmic-level physical body couldn't withstand it. In a matter of moments, all the flesh and blood would be blown away by the gale, and death would be certain.

In the world of the Realm Lord, almost everything contains a large amount of primordial energy, which is completely different from the similar items and weather phenomena commonly found on ordinary planets.

One of the items required for the trainee mercenary assessment, the 'Windhorn Stone,' can only be found in the Wind and Thunder Canyon.

The deeper you go, the more 'wind-corner stones' you'll find.

Jiang Chen and his group dared not venture deep into the Wind and Thunder Canyon. Instead, they found a cave in the outer area, hid inside, and used their telekinetic powers to reach out and intercept the wind-blown stones one by one by waiting for them to be swept away by the gale.

Even a ninth-level Stellar Spirit Master can only extend their mental power about one meter into the gale-force area. Any further, and they simply cannot maintain it under the gale-force winds containing a large amount of primordial energy.

Of course, strong winds don't happen all the time; there will be times when they stop.

But only when strong winds blow can the 'Windstone' be carried to the outer area of ​​the mountain range.

The efficiency of this "wait-and-see" approach is, as you can imagine, extremely low.

Even with good luck, you might only get two or three 'Windstones' a day at most. If you're unlucky, you might not get anything for several days in a row.

"Master, we have obtained another 'Wind Corner Stone'." Luo Feng's servant respectfully handed over a 'Wind Corner Stone'.

Luo Feng's face lit up with joy, and he said repeatedly, "With this one, we'll have all the necessary items for our mission. As long as the storm stops, we can quickly leave this area, return to Canglan Star to submit the mission, and our assessment will be complete."

After nearly two months in the Thunder World, I have finally gathered all the items needed for the assessment mission.

Jiang Chen was alright, but Luo Feng, Hong, and Lei Shen were much weaker. Even with Jiang Chen's help, they were constantly on edge and extremely tired.

Now that the mission is finally complete, Luo Feng just wants to leave 'Thunder World' as soon as possible and find a safe place to rest.

Hong and Lei Shen were also quite excited.

This adventure in the 'Thunder World' has broadened their horizons considerably.

Both Hong and Lei Shen believed that this experience would definitely make their future cultivation path smoother.

The three people's chatter forced Jiang Chen to detach his consciousness from the system library and return to reality.

After glancing at everyone, Jiang Chen said, "No, let's stay here."

"Stay here?" Luo Feng asked doubtfully. "The mission is complete, what's the point of staying here? Even if it's for combat training, the environment of Wind and Thunder Canyon isn't suitable for fighting the enemy!"

Within the Wind and Thunder Canyon, numerous teams, all participating in the assessment, were engaged in fierce battles.

Whenever the gale subsides, it becomes the time for the various teams to fight and hunt each other.

Waiting passively for a strong wind to bring the 'Wind Corner Stone' out from the depths of the mountains is entirely a matter of luck.

It's actually faster to intercept other squads and steal from them.

Perhaps, by defeating a team, you can obtain several or even a dozen 'Windstones'.

However, with Luo Feng's detector, the group was always able to spot other teams early on, and Jiang Chen kept asking them to avoid battle and stay away from other teams.

Since entering the Wind and Thunder Canyon, the group has not yet fought against any other examiners.

Before, when Jiang Chen hadn't collected all the quest items, he wasn't willing to steal them from other teams. Luo Feng naturally didn't think that now that he had all the quest items, Jiang Chen would want to actively fight with other teams.

“I’ve received word that a special treasure is about to be unearthed in the ‘Thunder World,’ right here in the ‘Wind and Thunder Canyon.’ Let’s wait a while and see if we can stumble upon it,” Jiang Chen explained.

Luo Feng and the other two were very puzzled, but no matter how they asked, Jiang Chen did not offer any further explanation.

Seeing this, the three had no choice but to suppress their doubts for the time being and reluctantly agree to wait there with Jiang Chen for a while.

-

Time flies, and nearly a month has passed in a short time.

During this month, countless battles took place in the Wind and Thunder Canyon, but thanks to their excellent detectors, the group managed to avoid all the 'enemies' and never came into contact with anyone.

On this day, the group was cultivating when suddenly...

Rumble~!

A deafening roar shook the entire Thunder World violently.

All the assessment teams looked around in alarm.

This massive, unannounced upheaval clearly indicates that something major has happened within the 'Thunder World'.

"what happened?"

"Has the 'Thunder World' reached its limit and is about to collapse?"

"Are we not going to die here?"

One by one, the martial artists exclaimed in surprise.

Even Luo Feng, Hong, and Lei Shen could no longer remain calm, and they all began to speculate about what had happened.

The mountains surrounding the entire Fenglei Canyon, spanning thousands of kilometers, began to experience large-scale collapses.

Fortunately, the violent tremor caused the gale-force winds in the Wind and Thunder Canyon to subside, allowing the martial arts teams to escape from their hiding places in the caves.

Jiang Chen and his group also flew out of the cave, soaring into the air and looking around in astonishment.

"Look over there!" Hong was the first to notice the anomaly and shouted in a direction.

Jiang Chen immediately turned around and saw a terrifying scene.

The whole world seemed to be torn apart, opening a dark rift.

The crack quickly transformed into an almost circular shape, resembling a giant black hole.

The upper half of the black hole was in the air, while the lower half landed in the mountains, releasing a terrifying suction force that sucked in a large number of boulders from the mountains.

Upon seeing this, Babata screamed wildly in Luo Feng's mind.

"A world entrance?! This 'Thunder World' actually contains a 'world within a world'?!"

"You're going to be rich! Luo Feng, you're going to strike it rich!"

"The cost of building a realm within a realm is extremely high, and it is usually done to hide precious treasures! If you could obtain the treasures of a realm within a realm, the wealth would be beyond your imagination!"

Babata's voice echoed in Luo Feng's consciousness, making him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

But he immediately noticed the key point in Babata's words: "A world within a world?!"

-

There are many martial artists taking the test in the Thunder World. Just around the Wind and Thunder Canyon alone, there are tens of thousands of martial artist teams.

Babata wasn't the only one who recognized the 'world within a world'.

Many martial artists immediately reported the situation to their backers.

Some martial arts teams wanted to enter the Realm Within a Realm before everyone else and seize its wealth. As soon as they recognized the Realm Within a Realm, they rushed toward the entrance.

Jiang Chen kept a close eye on the activity at the entrance. After observing for a while, he said, "The robots that the most recent team sent in to explore have returned. It seems there's no danger at the entrance. We can go now."

Luo Feng suddenly thought of something and quickly lowered his voice to ask, "Ah Chen, do you know there's a 'realm within a realm' here?"

Hong and Lei Shen also looked at Jiang Chen. They both remembered that a month ago, when the group had gathered enough items for the mission assessment, Jiang Chen said that a treasure was about to be born here, and as the 'captain,' he ordered them to continue waiting in the Wind and Thunder Canyon.

At this moment, the emergence of the Realm Within a Realm is exactly what Jiang Chen said.

"Now is not the time to talk about these things. Just follow my instructions. First, enter the Realm within a Realm and find the treasures inside." Jiang Chen said, then got up and flew towards the entrance of the Realm within a Realm.

Luo Feng and the others exchanged glances, then quickly took to the air and followed behind Jiang Chen.

-

The news of the emergence of the Realm Within a Realm spread quickly.

Within the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, the two holy lands, four major organizations, and sixteen major families wield considerable power, each commanding a large number of stellar-level warriors. Naturally, many of them are also participating in the assessment in the 'Thunder World,' and they all received the news immediately.

After being reported up the chain of command, it quickly reached the attention of some truly important figures.

By tracing the origins of the 'Thunder World', many people have concluded that the Realm Within a Realm was created by a very famous Realm Lord named 'Kabu'.

Some of those who knew something about the 'Lord of the Kabu Realm' could even deduce from the Lord of the Kabu Realm's wealth that there must be a large number of treasures within the realm within the realm.

On this day, the entire Black Dragon Mountain Empire was shaken by the emergence of the Realm Within a Realm.

One by one, powerful figures quickly mobilized their forces and rushed to Canglan Star.

-

The innermost part of the boundary.

This is a silent world, almost devoid of any animals, with only some sparse vegetation; the whole world appears deathly still.

Although many martial artists have entered the Realm Within a Realm, this world is still too vast. With hundreds of thousands of martial artists scattered around, it's like a drop of water falling into the ocean.

Jiang Chen and his group quickly distanced themselves from the other martial artists, randomly choosing a direction to break away from the 'main force'. They flew for over a thousand kilometers before gradually reducing their speed.

"Next, we will split up, but not too far apart. Keep a distance of about a few hundred kilometers between each other so that we can support each other immediately if we encounter any danger."

Jiang Chen took out several detectors and distributed them to Hong, Lei Shen, and the others, saying, "My detector isn't as effective as Luo Feng's, and its detection range is smaller, but it can still detect 'Cosmic Crystals.' Also, if you find any stones with low energy content but a small amount of lightning power inside, remember to collect them. There should be quite a few of these stones within the Realm Within the Realm."

In the original work, there is not much description of the 'Thunderstone', and Jiang Chen can only tell everyone the information he knows.

Within and within this realm, the true treasures all require 'Thunderstones' to exchange for.

Starting to collect Thunderstones early will naturally give you a certain advantage.

"Thunderstone? What's that?" Thor asked, somewhat puzzled.

“The more Thunderstones you collect, the greater the chance of obtaining treasures from the Realm Within a Realm. Of course, don’t forget to collect the Cosmic Crystals as well.” Jiang Chen paused slightly, then continued, “I have some understanding of the situation within the Realm Within a Realm, so just do as I say. Whoever finds the Cosmic Crystals keeps them. As for the Thunderstones, we’ll distribute them after the real treasures appear and the exchanges are complete. But until then…”

Jiang Chen looked at Luo Feng and asked, "Luo Feng, you said before that you met a 'big shot' in the virtual universe, from the Virtual Universe Company?"

“Yes, Mingyu is the steward of the Virtual Universe Company’s Black Dragon Mountain branch. Babata said that this position has great power and high status,” Luo Feng said.

Jiang Chen's willingness to come to the Realm Within a Realm, driven by his ambition for the treasures here, stems from his knowledge that Luo Feng has befriended a powerful figure within the Virtual Universe Company's branch.

To put it bluntly, without a certain background, for an ordinary martial artist to obtain a treasure from the Realm Within a Realm is not a windfall, but a disaster.

Without strength or background, yet possessing enormous wealth, one will inevitably attract the attention of other powerful individuals who will kill and plunder their riches.

“Contact him now and tell him about the Realm Within a Realm. Even if we obtain the treasure, we will need his protection to take it away smoothly.” Jiang Chen thought for a moment and continued, “When you contact Ming Yu, you can lower your attitude a bit and claim that we are willing to seize the treasure from the Realm Within a Realm for him in exchange for his reward.”

“Claim?” Hong immediately understood Jiang Chen’s meaning and couldn’t help but laugh, “It’s just a verbal promise, but whether we get the treasure or not is up to us.”

Jiang Chen shook his head and said, "If we obtain a lot of treasures, we should still share some. But as for how to do that, let's figure out a way to win the treasures first."

After connecting to the virtual universe for a moment, Luo Feng suddenly opened his eyes and said, "I have contacted Lord Mingyu. He said that as long as we can obtain the treasures of the Realm Within a Realm, he will definitely not treat us unfairly and will also guarantee our safety."

"Alright, let's split up now. Remember what I said, we need to find the Cosmic Crystal and don't miss the Thunderstone. Don't waste any time; the more time we waste, the less we'll gain," Jiang Chen urged.

"Then let's split up and stay in touch."

"keep in touch."

Good luck to everyone!

The group quickly dispersed, but not too far apart, maintaining a distance of several hundred kilometers between each other so that they could support each other immediately should they encounter the enemy.

Even Luo Feng's two slaves each took a detector given to them by Jiang Chen to search for the treasure.

After watching everyone leave, Jiang Chen said softly, "Jarvis, get to work!"

The space around Jiang Chen rippled in the next moment.

A massive mechanical army, covered in metal armor, appeared around Jiang Chen.

"Environmental parameters confirmed, please confirm the mission." Jarvis's voice rang in Jiang Chen's mind.

Jiang Chen remained silent for a few seconds before speaking: "Mission One: Mine Thunderstone. Mission Two: Mine Cosmic Crystals. Mission Three: The combat troops will lie in wait, monitor the movements of other martial artists, and await further orders."