Just then, an aged voice drifted through the air.
A mont later, several human High Guardians flew out of the spacecraft. Leading them was not Guardian Aether, but the second strongest human, Aurelius.
In private, Aurelius called Guardian Aether "Elder Aether," as the old man was the most senior among the living Stellar Class experts, second only to The Martial Paragon.
However, in public, Aurelius remained the second-in-command of the human race.
Upon hearing Aurelius’s voice, the geniuses gathered nearby imdiately fell silent.
"This secret realm trial represents the hope for our race's rise. You must exert your utmost effort to obtain as many rewards as possible.
Furthermore, it would be best if you could help one another inside!
Only when the human race grows strong will you and your descendants secure a better future! The trial begins now. Good luck!"
Aurelius spoke with a solemn expression. As soon as his words fell, the geniuses exchanged looks before transforming into streaks of light, hurtling toward the spatial rift.
Among them were many powerful Planetary Class experts.
"Elder Aether, Aurelius, are you entering as well?"
Ignis turned to the other Stellar Class experts standing nearby.
"Not for us old fossils. You go ahead. Soone needs to stand guard out here. If I'm not mistaken, traitors within the human race have likely already inford the other four major races."
"Indeed. At our age, it's nearly impossible for us to obtain any legacy. Hurry inside!"
"Once Lance arrives, it'll be up to you to protect the boy!"
The High Guardians shared a smile and nodded toward Ignis.
"Very well. I'm going!"
Ignis gave a curt nod and, without hesitation, plunged into the spatial rift.
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"Master, let’s go too!"
Watching the swarm of people entering the space below, Selina felt a surge of excitent and flew directly toward the entrance.
Hummmm!
After a brief ripple of spatial energy, Selina vanished into the secret realm.
………………
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Hummmm!
Following another spatial ripple, the human geniuses crossed the threshold and arrived in an entirely different patch of the starry sky. Everyone stood frozen in shock.
It truly was a vast expanse of space, and below it lay a colossal continent—so massive its borders were nowhere in sight.
The leading Planetary Class experts looked on in horror.
"Gods... how can a secret realm be this enormous?"
"Yeah. The largest Galactic Realm secret realms we've explored before had a diater of ten million kiloters at most. This place clearly far exceeds that!"
"Could this be the legendary Star Sea Realm?"
"This is fantastic! Heaven is blessing humanity. If we can obtain treasures from a Star Sea Realm, the human race will beco the absolute masters of The Milky Way!"
………………
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The crowd broke into an excited frenzy.
"A Star Sea Realm secret realm? Is a Star Sea Realm truly this massive?"
However, one person's expression shifted slightly.
It was Ignis. Her voice cut through the chatter, leaving those nearby confused as they turned toward her.
The mont they realized who she was, their faces paled.
"Lady Ignis!?"
"It’s really Lady Ignis!"
"Greetings, Lady Ignis!"
"We pay our respects, Lady Ignis!!"
………………
………………
Whether they were Planetary Class experts or Great Grandmasters, everyone present imdiately bowed respectfully.
"No need for formalities. It seems the grade of this realm far exceeds our imagination. Your luck is your own. I will go down first to test it; you all follow afterward."
Ignis spoke calmly. A surge of crimson energy radiated from her, gently lifting everyone from their bows. Then, she dove toward the continent below at high speed.
Hummmm!
The mont Ignis touched the continent, a wave of energy swept over her body.
[Beep! Scanning complete. Talent barely ets the criteria. Entry permitted.]
The cold, electronic voice rang in Ignis's ears, sending a chill down her spine. Her talent... was only barely enough?
"That Tatar planetary expert seed to have S-rank talent. As we suspected, S-rank is only the baseline!"
Ignis’s face grew grim. This standard was far stricter than anything they had encountered before.
"Everyone, co in!"
She shouted back toward the human geniuses in the sky.
The crowd surged forward with excitent. The first to enter was a Rank 4 Planetary Class expert who appeared to be over seven thousand years old; he was clearly there to try his luck.
One after another, the Planetary Class experts flew in.
[Beep! Mass scan initiated. Subject count: 334. Failed subjects: 254. Comncing extermination!!]
The voice ca out of nowhere. It didn't just drain the color from the Rank 4 expert's face; it left everyone around him white as sheets.
Splat! Splat! Splat!
Before they could react, invisible energy erupted, instantly obliterating every "unqualified" person who had stepped inside the barrier.
They exploded instantly, turning into a mist of blood that filled the air. So of the dead had even higher talent than those who survived, yet they were gone in a heartbeat. The rest of the crowd stopped dead in their tracks.
"What is happening!?"
Even Ignis was stunned. She quickly pulled up the data on the casualties.
She found the pattern imdiately.
"Wait... those who died are all old!"
"No, it's not just age. It's the ratio of their age to their total lifespan! Every dead Planetary Class expert was over three thousand years old. The survivors are all under three thousand!"
"I see. A powerful master choosing an heir wouldn't pick soone with very little life left. After all, if they die before breaking through, won't all the treasures given to them go to waste?"
………………
………………
The other experts quickly deduced the logic.
Although Ignis was twenty thousand years old, a Stellar Class expert could live for a hundred thousand years. She was the equivalent of a twenty-year-old human.
The thought sent a wave of lingering dread through her. It was a stroke of luck that the other High Guardians hadn't co; otherwise, every single one of them—save for her—would have perished.
"So you’re saying that even if the Martial Paragon arrived, he wouldn’t be able to enter this place!?"
Ignis’s expression turned solemn. It seed this Secret Realm would depend entirely on them.
"Anyone with less than seventy percent of their lifespan remaining, leave now! Go back and report this to the other High Guardians!"
Ignis didn't hesitate. As soon as the order was given, the majority of the powerful warriors could only retreat in frustration. Their lifespans had almost all been depleted by more than thirty percent.
Even the geniuses who had once attended the Vanguard Elite Institute were forced to leave. There was no other way; by the ti they had graduated, their ages had already exceeded the required standard. The only exceptions were the current students of the Vanguard Elite Institute. Aside from a few senior students who were nearing the end of their thousand-year stay, the entire group remained.
The remaining crowd cautiously attempted to descend again. To their amazent, the danger had vanished. Every one of them passed the talent test.
"There were over ten thousand of us, and now barely a thousand remain!"
Selina’s eyes lit up at the sight. With fewer competitors, her chances of obtaining the inheritance had skyrocketed. With that thought, she flew straight in.
[Ding! Talent-qualified personnel have not reached the required 3,000. Unable to initiate Inheritance Mode!]
A cold, synthesized voice suddenly echoed from the sky. The announcent left everyone stunned.
Unable to initiate Inheritance Mode?
Did that an they couldn't claim the inheritance? Had those who just died sacrificed their lives for nothing?
"It’s because of the S-Rank requirent. Finding a thousand S-Rank geniuses with seventy percent of their lifespan left in the entire Human Race is difficult enough, but it needs three thousand? Are we really forced to cooperate with the other four major races!?"
Ignis’s face darkened completely. She knew the other races would soon arrive to claim their share, and the Human Race would eventually be forced to open the Secret Realm. That was exactly why they had rushed here—to scavenge everything before anyone else arrived. They had hoped the Human Race might claim the inheritance outright.
Now, the plan had crumbled. Unwilling to give up, she prepared to charge downward.
[Ding! Death awaits those who trespass upon the Inheritance Continent without initiating Inheritance Mode!!]
The icy warning jolted Ignis out of her impulsive state. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead; she was lucky the system hadn't simply vaporized her on the spot. If she had moved a second sooner, there would be no coming back.
"There’s actually a quota!? What’s going on?"
Sovereign Glacia was equally puzzled. Judging by the sheer scale of this Secret Realm, she was certain it was at the Domain Lord Class level. But why would a Domain Lord Class realm have a minimum occupancy requirent for its inheritance?
"Of course... there are no SSS-Rank geniuses here, let alone anyone higher. Since there are no top-tier talents, the system has to rely on numbers. It seems the Intellect controlling this realm is getting desperate after being without a successor for so long. If that's the case, the danger level of this trial is likely to spike significantly!"
Sovereign Glacia quickly deduced the truth. It all ca down to a lack of talent; if a true monstrous genius appeared, there would be no need for such arbitrary quotas.
[Ding! Your talent barely ets the criteria to initiate the inheritance. Do you wish to enter the inheritance grounds alone?]
Suddenly, a private prompt echoed directly in Selina’s mind. She froze.
"Did you hear that voice just now?" Selina hurriedly asked the presence in her mind.
"I heard it. Is this thing really that desperate? It’s even willing to take an SS-Rank talent now. Since it’s offering, go for it! With here, the danger should be manageable," Sovereign Glacia replied.
"But if I just go down there, won't everyone see !? It’s too conspicuous!" Selina worried.
"Don't worry. That Intellect has already cloaked you. The people around you can't see a thing. If you don't believe , fly forward a bit and look back."
Selina blinked, then curiously flew forward about ten ters. When she turned around, she gasped. Another "Selina" was still standing in her original spot—a perfect virtual projection. She even flew right up to Ignis’s face, but the High Guardian didn't react at all.
"This is amazing! Is this the technology of a high-level civilization?" Selina’s face filled with wonder.
"Get moving. If that brat Lance gets here, there won't be any good spoils left for you!" Sovereign Glacia urged.
She felt a secret sense of relief. Lance ran off to cultivate at such a critical ti? Well, his loss is our gain.
Of course, she had no idea that Lance’s Rank 10 Intellect had already analyzed the situation: without Desolate Grade talent, no one could obtain the true inheritance. No matter how desperate a Domain Lord Class inheritance beca, it wouldn't settle for diocrity unless soone like Sovereign Glacia was personally guiding them to bridge the gap.
A Secret Realm usually ant its master was long dead. No master wanted their legacy to fall into the hands of the talentless. Even if Selina and the others passed the trials, they would likely only receive Universal Class treasures. The idea was that they would grow strong enough to bring even more gifted descendants back to seek the true treasures one day—waiting for the eventual arrival of a Desolate Grade genius.
Sovereign Glacia suspected as much, but Universal Class treasures were already a massive windfall for them at their current level. Once Selina’s talent improved in the future, they could return for the final legacy.
With that plan in mind, the two descended onto the continent.
[Ding! Inheritance Trial initiated. Pass three trials to obtain the Universal Class inheritance of the Secret Realm Master!!]
The mont Selina’s feet touched the ground, the prompt rang out.
"Wait! I thought you said this was a Domain Lord Class inheritance!? Why does it say Universal Class?" Selina asked, confused.
Sovereign Glacia, not wanting to dampen her spirits, improvised an excuse. "Maybe I miscalculated. Or maybe the owner was just incredibly wealthy and bought a Domain Lord Class realm to store a Universal Class legacy. Don't worry about the details, just focus on the trial!"
"Oh, that makes sense!" Selina nodded, trusting her completely. "Actually, a Universal Class inheritance is great. If it really was Domain Lord Class, I probably wouldn't be able to pass it anyway, right?"
Poor kid... it’s my fault for being so powerless right now, Glacia thought, feeling like a parent watching their child settle for scraps.
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