Chapter 606

The mega-city Mocheng is broadly divided into five regions.

Four urban districts—east, west, south, north—plus a central district at the heart.

Among them, the central district is the most prosperous, followed by the east district.

Caesar Square is one of the most bustling attractions in the east district.

Even before seven in the morning, some tourists had already arrived.

Among the people sitting on the benches around Caesar Square, one girl stood out most prominently.

She had delicate features, long silky golden hair, and emerald eyes as clear as spring water.

Dressed in simple casual wear, her long, slender legs beneath the shorts were dazzlingly pale.

Under the sunlight, her entire figure emitted a faint aura of divinity.

Passersby kept glancing at her.

This girl was Katherine, whom Xu Jingming had seen in the virtual world last night.

"Huh? She's here in Mocheng too?" Xu Jingming was surprised.

But honestly, without her preaching, Katherine really was sacred and beautiful.

He thought for a moment—since they'd all be boarding the same plane anyway, he might as well go say hello.

"Xu Jingming?"

Seeing Xu Jingming suddenly appear before her, Katherine froze for a moment, then her eyes lit up.

She sprang to her feet in one motion, standing rigidly straight:

"May the holy light..."

Mid-sentence, she remembered Xu Jingming's cold rejection last night and abruptly cut herself off.

But she wasn't particularly close to him either—now that she'd stopped, she didn't know what to say next.

Her rosy lips parted slightly, yet she just stared blankly at Xu Jingming, speechless.

Xu Jingming chuckled.

This girl looked proud and aloof on the surface, but in truth she was not only otaku, but also a bit clueless and endearing.

Maybe it was because she'd spent too long in the Arctic.

"Hey, Goddess, not going to keep preaching today?" Xu Jingming teased.

After the Genius Tournament, Katherine had manifested her twelve-winged angel form.

Among the public, she had been upgraded from Saint to Goddess.

"Preaching alone means nothing to you. I'll come find you again when I think of another way."

Katherine sniffed.

She had already given up—but since Xu Jingming was also in Dayangzhou,

she'd have plenty of chances later to find other methods.

"Is that so? Then I'm actually looking forward to it." Xu Jingming sat down casually on the bench.

Katherine glanced at him, unable to think of anything to say, so she sat down beside him.

Xu Jingming had assumed there wouldn't be many people in Dayangzhou.

But half an hour passed, and a steady stream of people began gathering.

"Bro! Good morning!"

"Sis Lin! Good morning too."

They had noticed Xu Jingming and Katherine, and each greeted them in either Daxia or English.

By the time the black obsidian-class warplane landed on the square, twelve people were already waiting.

"It seems training in Dayangzhou really is the universal choice among prodigies."

Xu Jingming thought silently.

But he didn't see Su Yu or Andre among them.

"Get on board—we still need to pick up a few more people in Nixi."

To ensure the prodigies' safety as much as possible, the pilot of the black obsidian-class warplane was a ninth-rank adept.

After Xu Jingming and the others boarded, the plane flew toward the other mega-city, Nixi.

After picking up four more people, it continued toward the Kingdom of Maden in the EU.

By the time they arrived in Maden, it was already 10 p. m. local time.

Maden was an island nation, and the place where Xu Jingming landed was a small island called Stone Island.

As the group stepped off the warplane, none could help but be awestruck by the scenery before them.

In the night sky, a full moon hung suspended, casting its pure light over the sea.

The rippling waves shimmered with silver, reflecting and intertwining with the moonlight.

A sea breeze blew from afar, carrying a faint salt scent—everything was so tranquil, so beautiful.

"It's wonderful," Xu Jingming murmured softly as he stepped down from the warplane.

He wasn't unfamiliar with oceans—he'd seen plenty when traveling by warship to Sakura.

But he'd never seen such a beautiful sea before.

More importantly, beneath the water, he saw not a single trace of ferocious beasts!

That was truly rare.

"Below Maden lie vast sulfuric trenches; the sulfur they release keeps ferocious beasts away.

Otherwise, Maden would have fallen during the initial beast tide invasion.

You wouldn't be able to witness such a tranquil sea surface—only possible before beast invasions."

The ninth-rank adept who stepped down from the black obsidian-class warplane smiled and explained:

"Your accommodations are over there—your room numbers have been sent to your smart bracelets.

The Qingfeng Secret Realm will open on this beach at 9 a. m. tomorrow—just arrive a little early."

"Understood," Xu Jingming and the others all nodded.

Behind them stood a building over a hundred meters tall, most of its rooms lit up.

Xu Jingming entered his room, washed up, and immediately went to bed.

He'd be staying in the Qingfeng Secret Realm for a month—he needed to rest well.

The next day, Xu Jingming donned all his gear and arrived early at the beach.

The remaining top 100 prodigies arrived one after another and, without saying a word, grouped together by their respective nations.

Daxia had 21 people, led by Xu Jingming and Su Yu.

The U. S. had 24, led by Katherine.

Prodigies from smaller nations close to the U. S., like Sakura Rin, stood nearby as well.

As the time neared nine, Norton, who had appeared in the virtual world before, walked over from afar.

Behind him followed three other ninth-rank adepts.

Though all were ninth-rank, it was clear they all deferred to Norton, the S-rank.

In a flash, their figures moved—mere breaths later, they stood before the crowd from hundreds of meters away.

Norton, at the front, spoke: "Ladies and gentlemen! The Qingfeng Secret Realm's reward period lasts one month.

Besides the three opportunities I mentioned, the Qingfeng Secret Realm also holds great danger.

Numerous ferocious beasts inhabit the entire realm.

But unlike those in the outside world, these beasts do not actively attack human adepts.

Of course, if you choose to hunt them, they will defend themselves.

Any casualties incurred during this time are the responsibility of the individuals—officials of the Genius Tournament bear no liability. Please exercise caution once inside the Qingfeng Secret Realm."

If beasts didn't attack first, yet someone still got injured—or worse, died—it was clearly their own fault.

"Then, the Qingfeng Secret Realm is officially open!"

Norton pulled a stone from his space ring, and the entire stone radiated astonishing spatial energy!

Whoosh—

The space above the sea rippled violently, and within moments, a vision of another world blurred into view.

At that moment, Eva's voice suddenly echoed in Xu Jingming's mind:

"Huh? S-rank? This place... is the Flower Goddess's Ruin Space!"