Chapter 193: The Mountain Secret Realm

After bidding farewell to Ulysses, Richard quickly made his way to the arena on the eleventh floor of the residential area.

Thud! Thud! Thud..

A series of muffled sounds echoed from the arena platform.

On the platform, Jimmy the Bald was engaged in a match with a burly wizard. No, rather than a match, it was more like Jimmy was attacking one-sidedly, as the opposing wizard stood motionless, allowing Jimmy to strike at will.

Jimmy's muscles bulged, transforming him into a five-meter-tall muscle giant. The giant was covered with intricate magical patterns that flashed with energy with each attack.

Yet, despite Jimmy's earnest efforts, the two-meter-tall wizard remained unfazed, occasionally turning to let different parts of his body absorb the blows.

Watching this, Richard couldn't help but think of an absurd idea: it seemed like Jimmy was giving the wizard a massage.

A third-circle wizard, focused on physical evolution, was giving a full-force attack that seemed nothing more than a massage to this wizard.

On the stands, several wizards watched. Each wizard radiated a life force as intense as a furnace. Even a peak apprentice near them would feel overwhelmed by the life force, leading to fear and weakness.

Richard found an empty seat and casually asked the wizard next to him, "Friend, who is that master sparring with Master Jimmy? Is it our club's minister?"

The wizard glanced at Richard, noticing his second-circle wizard life force, and respectfully replied, "You must be new, Master. The only wizard in our club who can take Jimmy's hits like that is the minister himself."

Grand Wizard Garon, the club's minister, was the first wizard to become a Grand Wizard during the pioneering era, and his power was rumored to have reached the sixth circle.

Ordinarily, such a figure would spend each day in a secret realm, pursuing the path to truth and striving to become the sixth Truth Wizard. But Garon seemed uninterested in becoming a Truth Wizard. Richard had heard Jimmy say that Garon's current passion was cultivating wizards who followed the path of physical evolution.

At Garon's own wizard academy, nearly half of the wizard apprentices pursued physical evolution, and he often appeared in the academy to encourage students to follow this path.

Richard sensed there was more to Garon's intentions. He couldn't believe a sixth-circle Grand Wizard would engage with them for mere amusement.

Soon, Jimmy stopped punching, reverted to his normal size, and said breathlessly, "Minister, you've gotten stronger. I can't even move this avatar of yours."

Grand Wizard Garon stretched, leisurely walked over to Jimmy, and patted his shoulder.

"Jimmy, this avatar is modeled after your peak. Your combat skills have improved, but your magical body state is slightly below its peak, by two-thousandths. Although minor, I must tell you something."

"Jimmy, you're getting old."

Jimmy's expression changed slightly, a fleeting hint of sadness crossing his face.

But then he smiled, scratching his head. "Minister, I'm aware of my age. I'll ensure the club finds a good successor for you."

Garon nodded, patting Jimmy's head like a mentor.

"I leave the rest to you."

With that, Grand Wizard Garon took a step, and his avatar vanished without a trace.

Jimmy ascended into the air, scanning the arena with his mental power, then suddenly focused on Richard.

"Hmm? You've reached the second circle?"

Jimmy was surprised to perceive the change in Richard's life force.

He remembered that this young wizard had barely reached the first circle before the planar expedition, and now he was already at the second circle.

Noticing Jimmy's gaze, Richard offered a humble smile, thinking how keen the senses of wizards following the path of physical evolution were.

Even Jolord hadn't noticed his advancement to the second circle, yet Jimmy had discerned something amiss with just a mental sweep.

Jimmy smiled back and flew over to Richard.

"Richard, this planar war has been quite fruitful for you."

Richard stood, giving a wizard salute.

"Master, your perception is remarkable. I did gain something from the planar war."

Jimmy patted Richard's shoulder, roughly gauging his physical condition.

"One hundred points, seems like you just advanced."

"Next time you advance, let me register it. Using outdated strength data for arrangements could lead to ineffective combat."

With that, Jimmy returned to the center of the arena.

After about six hours, most of the wizards who received Jimmy's invitation arrived at the arena.

Looking at the sparse yet imposing wizards, Richard couldn't help but marvel at the might of those following the path of physical evolution.

After all, through the rigorous selection of planar wars, weaker wizards had long been eliminated by native aliens.

Seeing almost everyone present, Jimmy took a crystal ball from his pocket. Its design was identical to the secret realm crystal ball Richard once received from the Black Tower Grand Wizard.

"Fellow wizards, I'm Jimmy.

I'll keep it brief. Today, we're entering a secret realm called the Mountain Secret Realm.

The internal gravity is ten times that of the wizard world, with some areas having even higher gravity.

Additionally, this secret realm's era is the medieval period of the Mountain World, home to many physically evolved native aliens. While these natives have submitted to Grand Wizard Garon, we can still challenge them.

These natives possess a combat knowledge called the 'Path of the Mountain.' If you succeed in a challenge, you may take this knowledge after transcribing a copy for the club.

However, many of these natives are weak. Do not engage in wanton slaughter.

They are Grand Wizard Garon's property, so please restrain your nature and avoid causing trouble.

Lastly, no fighting is allowed between wizards during this exploration. If you wish to spar, please return to the wizard world. The secret realm journey will last one year. May you all gain satisfactory rewards."

With the instructions given, Jimmy used the crystal ball to open a massive spatial rift.

Wizards holding invitations queued to enter the secret realm before Jimmy.

When Richard's turn came, Jimmy took his invitation, smiling, "You're young. In this secret realm journey, fight the native aliens to learn about physical combat."

"Thank you for the advice, Master."

Richard nodded gratefully to Jimmy, then entered the secret realm.

...

The Mountain Secret Realm originated from a medium-sized world called the Mountain World, controlled by Grand Wizard Garon.

Medium-sized worlds, second only to large worlds, were teeming with powerhouses. Conquering them required several academies working together, and even then, failures and Grand Wizard casualties occurred.

However, in planar wars, risk equated to reward.

Medium-sized worlds were dangerous but offered substantial returns. Their native heritages often surpassed wizard research in depth.

These heritages were the greatest treasures for wizards conquering medium-sized worlds.

Upon entering the Mountain Secret Realm, Richard immediately felt his body grow heavy as his internal mana consumption spiked.

Surveying his surroundings, he saw low vegetation and towering mountains.

The mountains seemed unremarkable, but under the Mountain World's intense gravity, their density was terrifying. Richard tried using a spell, and a 2,000-energy-level Annihilation Heart only made a half-body-sized dent in the rock.

Molten lava flowed down the crater, forming sharp stone spikes that shattered upon hitting the ground.

"Ten times gravity is truly remarkable," Richard marveled.

Under the Mountain World's gravity, Richard's flight mana consumption increased tenfold, but he didn't abandon flying.

The Mountain World's mana concentration was about ten times that of the wizard world. This wasn't particularly high, and Richard's mana was slowly depleting as he flew.

However, Richard noticed that under the gravity, his body's efficiency in absorbing mana from the environment was gradually increasing.

Though subtle, this change was as noticeable as a shooting star to Richard, who had long trained his adaptive body and was familiar with his body's data.

Even flying under the Mountain World's gravity was a form of training.

"Perhaps I can create a gravity chamber using gravity runes to simulate a high-gravity environment," Richard mused.

The Mountain Secret Realm was vast, with towering mountains and narrow plains inhabited by the native Mountain Dwarves.

These dwarves had brownish-gray skin, eyes, a single nose, and human-like mouths and teeth, resembling subspecies humans. Ordinary individuals stood about one meter tall, while stronger ones were taller.

The dwarves were physically robust, with ordinary adults reaching high knight levels and exceptional ones reaching legendary knight or advanced wizard apprentice levels.

Those who practiced the "Path of the Mountain" became Mountain Monks, first-tier beings, joining ancient mountain temples to protect ordinary dwarves.

Now, these temples had submitted to Grand Wizard Garon, allowing Richard easy entry and making him an honored guest.

"Esteemed wizard, how may we assist you?"

A bald Mountain Dwarf, clad in metal armor robes, respectfully addressed Richard.

Richard nodded, reciprocating the courtesy, "I wish to learn your 'Path of the Mountain.'"