General Harold Han swept his kindly gaze over the crowd and spoke in a warm, steady voice: "All of you standing here have passed layer upon layer of assessments—proof enough of your excellence. But remember, there’s always someone stronger, always a higher sky. The Secret Realm is a treasure land, packed with endless Treasure Herbs, but it’s also a death zone crawling with countless Demonic Beasts. So, I hope that once you enter, you’ll stick together and cooperate wholeheartedly—otherwise, you might just lose your lives. That’s all I have to say. I hope the number who enter the Secret Realm is the same as the number who come back out. Deputy Commander Logan, please explain everyone’s benefits and tasks!"
Harold Han smiled and stepped back. Logan Long strode forward, facing the squad: "I won’t go over the basic War God Squad benefits again—you all knew those before you came. Now, let me tell you about some things you don’t know yet."
Over these years of exploration and research, we haven’t just fully opened up the Space-Time Wormhole—we’ve also established a base on the other side.
We’ve also captured plenty of Demonic Beasts and gathered lots of Treasure Herbs. Research shows that the flesh and bones of Demonic Beasts have amazing properties. So, our scientists have refined two special medicines from their meat and bones.
One is called the Blood-Qi Pill, and the other is the Bone-Forge Pill.
Taking a Blood-Qi Pill greatly boosts your blood-qi. Blood-qi is the foundation of the body—the stronger your blood-qi, the tougher your physique.
The Bone-Forge Pill, meanwhile, makes all your bones tougher and denser. We’ve tested it: an Innate First-Layer martial artist who’s taken one Blood-Qi Pill and one Bone-Forge Pill is about ten percent stronger than one who hasn’t.
Besides those two pills refined from Demonic Beast flesh and bone, our scientists have also developed other medicines from Treasure Herbs.
For example, there’s the Energy-Nurturing Pill to boost true-qi, the Essence Recovery Pill for quick true-qi replenishment, the Body-Forging Pill to strengthen your meridians and bones, and the Snow-Ginseng Pill for rapid healing.
Listening to Logan’s explanation, everyone except Ian Song felt a rush of excitement.
"So, how do you actually get your hands on these pills and medicines our scientists refined?"
Seeing everyone’s eager faces, Logan Long continued, "You exchange Merit Points for them. And how do you earn Merit Points? In the Secret Realm, of course! If you kill a D-class Demonic Beast, you get one Merit Point; a C-class nets you fifty; a B-class, five hundred; and an A-class, ten thousand. As for S-class Demonic Beasts—don’t even think about it. If you see one, your best bet is to run for your life."
Of course, after killing these beasts, you’ll need to haul their corpses back to base to actually claim your Merit Points.
You can also earn Merit Points by collecting Treasure Herbs. We divide them into Human-grade, Earth-grade, and Heaven-grade: a single Human-grade herb gets you fifty points, Earth-grade gets five hundred, and Heaven-grade gets five thousand.
As for the prices of pills and medicines, you’ll find all that out at the base treasury once you’ve earned some Merit Points.
"Alright, before we enter the Secret Realm, I need to take everyone to pick out some gear!"
With Logan leading the way, everyone headed to the armory.
The armory’s weapons fell into two categories: cold weapons and hot weapons.
Logan picked up a silver Laser Pistol and introduced it: "This is a Laser Pistol—its penetration power is incredible. Unless you’re up against a C-class Demonic Beast with truly insane defense, it’ll punch right through. I recommend everyone carry one as a backup."
Of course, the weapons here aren’t free. You have to buy them with Merit Points.
The Laser Pistol costs ten Merit Points and comes with ten shots. Once you’ve used them up, you’ll need to bring it back for a recharge—each recharge costs one Merit Point.
Right now, none of you have any Merit Points, but we’ll advance a hundred points to everyone. If, after one month in the Secret Realm, your balance is still negative, you’ll be kicked out of the War God Squad!
A Laser Pistol that can punch through a C-class Demonic Beast really is a decent weapon.
Even though everyone here is an Innate martial artist, your true qi isn’t unlimited. Once you run out, the Laser Pistol could be your lifesaver.
After introducing the Laser Pistol, Logan picked up a set of soft armor: "This armor is made from the hide of a certain Demonic Beast. It can absorb about eighty percent of a normal Innate Sixth-Layer strike. Price: fifty Merit Points. Highly recommended!"
"And these cold weapons are all forged from Demonic Beast bones or claws. Each costs twenty Merit Points. Pick whichever suits you best—these weapons are way better than your so-called divine blades!"
Finally, Logan led everyone to the medical section and pointed to some powders and liquids: "This is Blood-Stanching Powder—it makes wounds heal fast, five Merit Points per bottle. This is Trauma Remedy for internal injuries, ten Merit Points per bottle!"
Alright, I won’t introduce anything else—if I did, you’d just drool over stuff you can’t afford. Now go pick what you want, but don’t spend more than a hundred Merit Points. Register your purchases outside the treasury when you’re done."
Ian Song didn’t pick the Laser Pistol or the soft armor. He figured the pistol’s firepower was too weak—he could flick a coin and do the same damage. As for the armor, his physical defense was even tougher than a normal Innate Sixth-Layer, so he didn’t need it at all.
When it came to cold weapons, after browsing for a while, he settled on a pair of snow-white Silkworm Gloves.
According to the description, the Silkworm Gloves are extremely breathable and even amplify true qi a bit. Since all of Ian’s martial arts rely on hand techniques, they’re the perfect choice for him.
The Silkworm Gloves cost twenty Merit Points. With his remaining eighty, Ian bought twelve bottles of Blood-Stanching Powder and two bottles of Trauma Remedy.
After finishing his selections, Ian walked out of the treasury, registered at the counter, and received an identity card.
Beep!
He swiped his card at the magnetic reader, and his personal info plus Merit Point balance popped up on the computer screen.
Seeing his balance at negative one hundred, Ian couldn’t help but wince.
Two hours later, everyone had finished registering.
Then Logan Long led the squad to a massive metal gate.
With a solemn look, he pointed at the gate: "This is the Space-Time Wormhole to the Secret Realm. Every activation burns an insane amount of energy, so you’ll have to stay on the other side for a full month before we can bring you back!"
Boom!
As soon as Logan finished speaking, the metal gate rumbled open, revealing a deep, endless-looking spatial tunnel beyond.