On the other side, at Red Maple Academy, Luca had arrived at the Heavenly Pool Grand Hall.
The blind elder, Medel, had gone to the front lines, and now there was no one guarding the Heavenly Pool Grand Hall. He rummaged through his Storage Ring and found a Celestial Pool Jade, placing it on the stone pedestal in the hall, feeling a mix of emotions.
According to Orf, one could only enter the Celestial Pool Secret Realm once a month. It hadn’t even been half a month since Luca entered the Celestial Pool Secret Realm, and he wondered if he could enter again…
Then Luca realized he was overthinking it. Green patterns began to emerge on the stone pedestal, and suddenly he felt a blur before his eyes.
When he opened them again, a steaming hot spring lake enveloped in mist appeared before him. Compared to the outside world, this place remained tranquil and serene, seemingly unaffected by the disaster in Southwind City.
It seemed that the so-called once-a-month entry was just a rule set by Red Maple Academy, not a restriction of the secret realm itself. This thought relieved Luca greatly; otherwise, he would have to put in considerable effort to enter.
Without lingering, Luca took a deep breath and jumped directly into the steaming waters of the Heavenly Pool.
Having experienced the Soul Forge last time, Luca was somewhat familiar with this place. Before long, he spotted the massive crimson sun at the lake’s bottom, alongside a golden spear that resembled a pupil.
“Elder? Elder?” Luca communicated with the golden spear using his mental energy, but he received no response.
After several attempts, just as he was about to run out of breath and surface.
He finally heard that familiar, aged voice. Surprised, he said, “Why are you back? Didn’t you say you would improve your strength before coming here?”
It seemed the spirit of the Solar Divine Spear was unaware of what was happening outside.
Luca hurriedly recounted the changes in Southwind City to him.
To his surprise, after listening, the Solar Divine Spear merely responded with a soft “mm,” showing no further reaction.
Luca felt a rush of urgency.
“Those monsters are slaughtering civilians! Aren’t you going to go save Southwind City?” he urged desperately.
The Solar Divine Spear was silent for a moment before sighing, “It’s not that I don’t want to save them; it’s that I can’t.”
Luca was puzzled, not understanding what he meant.
With a hint of resignation, the Solar Divine Spear said, “Just come and see for yourself.”
Before Luca could respond, he felt a flash of golden light in front of him.
When he regained his senses, he found himself in a golden space.
Everywhere was filled with burning flames, seemingly originating from within the golden sun. Surprisingly, the temperature around him wasn’t high at all.
Luca took a careful look around.
He soon realized that these flames seemed to be illusory.
His gaze shifted to the center of this space.
In an instant, he understood why the Solar Divine Spear had said he couldn’t save anyone.
A magnificent divine weapon, a golden spear over three meters long, floated in mid-air. Around it, blood-red runes emerged, and a series of red chains tightly bound it, preventing any movement!
“Is this some kind of secret technique?!” Luca’s eyes widened.
He sensed an incredible power emanating from these chains. Any one of them was countless times stronger than any secret technique he had encountered before!
He even felt that if he touched those blood-red runes, he would be instantly annihilated by their terrifying power!
These were secret techniques beyond the Transcendent level!
In that moment, he realized the implications, his mind swirling with tumultuous thoughts.
In two lifetimes, this was the first time he had witnessed such a level of secret technique!
And all these top-tier techniques were merely used to bind one weapon!
What level must the original wielder of the Solar Divine Spear have reached?!
Luca hesitated to think further.
The voice of the Solar Divine Spear resonated in his ear, saying, “These divine spells come from certain powerful beings. They have imprisoned me here for thousands of years. It’s not that I don’t want to help Southwind City through this crisis, but I simply lack the power to do so.”
Luca fell silent.
Though he didn’t know what these divine spells were.
But he could guess they were a form of even more powerful secret technique.
For someone like him, it was practically impossible to free the Solar Divine Spear.
It seemed this trip was in vain.
But—
Could he really just stand by and watch as Orf and the others, along with Southwind City, were destroyed by Pandora?
Luca clenched his fists, frustration and helplessness flashing in his eyes. The power of a mere mortal felt utterly insignificant against these monsters.
“Is there really no other way?” Luca asked, hoping to grasp at any sliver of hope.
The Solar Divine Spear remained silent, the golden space falling into a stillness.
Sensing the unusual quiet, a spark of determination flickered in Luca’s eyes.
He spoke directly, “If you have any requirements, elder, please let me know. I will do everything I can to fulfill them!”
He wasn’t just saying this casually.
If he waited until Pandora broke through to the divine realm, it would be too late for regrets.
Right now, even a glimmer of hope was worth fighting for.
“Alas…” The Solar Divine Spear sighed heavily, the complexity of its emotions difficult for Luca to decipher.
It said, “Increase your strength to Platinum Grade, then come find me.”
Luca was taken aback. What did achieving Platinum Grade have to do with him?
Before he could ask further, a flood of gold filled his vision.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the Heavenly Pool Grand Hall.
“Did he just agree to help?” Luca realized, a rush of excitement surging through him.
He never expected to actually persuade this powerful being to act! Southwind City was saved!
Without hesitation, Luca quickly left Red Maple Academy and headed toward the Outer District.
Under normal circumstances, leveling up quickly might have been a challenge. But now, the Outer District was swarming with distorted, demonized monsters. With his current strength, it would be a piece of cake to increase his level!
“Does this kid really have such good luck?” Jormungandr murmured incredulously in the contract space. She had originally planned to intervene secretly, but she was taken aback that Luca managed to handle it all by himself. It made her question her own existence for a moment.
After leaving Red Maple Academy, Luca quickly made his way to the Outer District.
With minimal effort, he soon encountered a distorted monster. This creature was crawling on all fours, devouring a man, its body adorned in a brown dress that suggested it had once been a young woman.
However, the once beautiful visage was now completely gone, replaced by a grotesque and horrifying monster. Its formerly fair skin was now rotting and covered in pitch-black scales, resembling a malevolent spirit.
Luca’s expression turned cold and fierce as he summoned the Wind and Thunder Spell Spear, stepping towards the abyssal crawler.
The creature seemed to sense his presence and abruptly turned to face him.
“Roar!!” Its crimson eyes were filled with ferocity as it opened its mouth, letting out a shrill and piercing roar that clearly revealed its bloodstained, sharp teeth.
Before it could even close its mouth, a flash of lightning suddenly cut through the darkness!
“Thud!” The abyssal crawler froze in place as the Wind and Thunder Spell Spear pierced through its gaping maw, emerging from the back of its head.
It was an instant kill!
[Ding! You have killed a level 51 Abyssal Crawler (Normal), earning 169,000 experience!]
Blood dripped steadily from the spear tip.
The kill notification surprised Luca; the levels of these abyssal crawlers were actually at level 50. However, considering Pandora’s strength was far greater than the monsters he had faced before, it wasn’t too shocking after all.
He calculated in his mind.
At this rate of monster hunting, he estimated he would reach level 36 before long.
However, he still had some distance to go before hitting the required level 40 for the Solar Divine Spear.
Time was of the essence. Luca pulled the spear free and quickly made his way toward the meat factory.
Although it was dangerous, it was also the place in Southwind City with the highest concentration and levels of monsters.
If he wanted to level up quickly, the meat factory was the perfect spot for farming.
…
Meanwhile, the battle in the sky raged on.
The terrifying aftermath of the fight wreaked havoc, destroying countless buildings.
Fortunately, there were not many humans left in the area where Orf and the others were fighting. It was hard to say whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
A few kilometers away from the meat factory, in a ruined landscape.
A staggering boy crawled out, covered in dust, with greenish hair matted with gravel, and his face smeared with dirt.
“This is… what a battle between top-tier powers looks like…” He gazed at the dazzling scene in the sky, fear evident in his bright green eyes, but even more so was a deep longing.
“If only I could have that kind of power…” he murmured to himself, staggering out of the ruins. Blood stained his body, and just a few steps later, he collapsed onto the ground.
The surrounding abyssal crawlers, sensing the scent of blood, quickly closed in like sharks drawn to a feast.
Pairs of crimson eyes greedily fixed on the boy.
“…Am I going to die?” Lying on the ground, he stared up at the pitch-black sky, his gaze somewhat unfocused. His name was Isaac, without a surname; he was an orphan scavenger who grew up in the wilderness, previously knocked out and sold to the Mora family by slave traders.
When he first arrived at the meat factory, Isaac had actually felt a bit of joy.
After all, living in the city had always been his dream. Compared to scavenging in the wild, where he could be killed by monsters or bandits at any moment, working in this factory meant he could eat meat simply by doing his job—it felt like paradise.
But that thought faded away in just a few days.
The blood rituals of the Mora family, the slaughter carried out by Ian and his companions, the descending blood hands, the beautiful woman with the black box, the strange black waters that constantly surged, and the civilians who suddenly transformed into monsters.
All of it made Isaac feel as if his entire worldview was collapsing.
At this moment, he only felt that these city dwellers were… far more terrifying than the monsters in the wild!