Chapter Eighteen: Clearing the Secret Realm, A Terrifying Leap in Level!

The increase in his level did not fill Yi Shen with self-satisfaction. Instead, he continued to throw himself into the process of clearing monsters. In this world, experience and levels are actually divided by different systems. That is, although his current level ceiling had been restricted, he could still continue accumulating experience points.

This meant that as long as Yi Shen could keep pushing forward to the bottom of the canyon and slay the final boss of this secret realm, he could complete the breakthrough quest! Moreover, all the experience he had stockpiled would be instantly applied to his level-ups.

Having already used wind elementals to grind down an elite monster, Yi Shen was very confident about killing the next elite as well.

What’s more, this particular secret realm was somewhat unique. The first elite monster required high base stats, tripping up many teams. However, the one lurking deeper in the cave could be cheesed using the terrain, making the fight significantly easier—some even called it a “freebie.”

So, Yi Shen quickened his pace, sending wind elementals to open the way while he followed behind, dealing steady damage and pushing forward unhindered.

It had to be said: after entering the second phase of the secret realm, Yi Shen’s luck had indeed improved somewhat. Most of the materials dropped were grade E, and he even found several pieces of equipment. These were EF-grade items for levels 13 to 17, highly sought after in the market, especially among martial school students. For those stepping out into the world, this batch offered the best value for money.

...

[Ding! You conducted a spell specialization, converting absorbed materials into 21 specialization points.]
[From this specialization, you gained: Intelligence +22, Endurance +11, Spirit +6, Strength +6, Agility +9]

...

[Ding! You conducted a spell specialization, converting absorbed materials into 19 specialization points.]
[From this specialization, you gained: Intelligence +16, Endurance +7, Spirit +3, Strength +6]

...

While killing lesser monsters, Yi Shen periodically dismantled equipment and materials. Although his level didn’t rise, his stats steadily increased, making subsequent battles easier and easier.

After spending nearly an hour and a half and slaying over two hundred monsters, Yi Shen finally reached the depths of the canyon.

Once deep inside, the light surprisingly grew brighter, not dimmer. The monsters here were level 17 and 18, causing much of Yi Shen’s output to be mitigated—one reason for his slower progress toward the end.

But the hardship came with rewards. In the distance, Yi Shen could see the shadow of the final boss of this Frozen Canyon. Defeating this creature would mean the secret realm was completely cleared.

This boss was a massive, spider-like eight-limbed beast, marked as a level 19 experience monster on the forums—a full nine levels above Yi Shen. The damage reduction at such a level gap was terrifying. Yi Shen estimated that even an Arcane Blast from him would barely deal more than twenty points of damage!

“Distance and angle,” Yi Shen mused. He didn’t rush into battle, but instead carefully reviewed the strategy guide three or four times, comparing the pictures with the scene before him.

The eight-limbed beast had five skills: venom spray, flying limb attack, gaze, summoning small limbs, and elemental ignition.

According to the guide, there was a hollow cavern on the creature’s right side, large enough to accommodate a ten-person team. If he knocked down the rocks above, he could create a special chamber from which to attack the spider. In this chamber, aside from assigning someone to deal with the summoned small limbs, the team would be essentially safe. After the rocks fell, another small tunnel in the back led directly to the canyon’s middle level, ensuring the team wouldn’t be trapped inside by the boss.

In other words, as long as he could kill the giant bear before and clear out the lesser monsters in each cavern, this elite monster would be a free kill!

The boss had over twenty thousand health points. Relying on the wind elementals’ meager damage would take forever. Yi Shen had to take matters into his own hands to efficiently bring it down.

...

“Phew!” Yi Shen was bold. After all preparations were complete, he sent in three wind elementals to draw the boss’s attention, then dashed into the hollow area himself. With a few fireballs, he blasted the rocks from the cave ceiling.

Every monster in a secret realm had its own memory, so the eight-limbed beast, as always, went for the wind elementals first before turning its gaze to Yi Shen.

Yi Shen, breathing deeply, followed the strategy to the letter, quickly constructing the secret chamber. The rocks and walls blocked the boss completely; it couldn’t attack him at all!

With a flash, more wind elementals formed and began attacking the boss, their wind blades howling.

“-4”
“-6”
“-5”

Just as expected, the damage mitigation rendered the wind elementals’ attacks almost negligible.

Yi Shen started by applying a Burning Bomb, then unleashed Arcane Blast.

“Pop!” Blue arcane light appeared on the monster’s body, and a moment later, a two-digit damage number flashed.

“-17”

His Arcane Blast, which dealt over eighty damage to regular monsters, only did seventeen here—a pitiful amount.

While attacking, Yi Shen kept an eye on his escape route. If the boss made any unexpected moves, he was ready to flee through the tunnel.

Of course, the strategy had been refined over more than a decade, and this secret realm had been thoroughly farmed by others, so nothing unexpected happened.

Yi Shen continued his assault, and as the stacking bonus of Arcane Blast built up, each hit began dealing over thirty damage—a significant improvement.

Now began a long cycle of damage. A ten-person team would rely on concentrated fire, but Yi Shen had the advantage of unlimited, cost-free attacks. He could fire off two Arcane Blasts per second, totaling about sixty damage per second. Combined with the Burning Bomb and the wind elementals’ chip damage, his DPS reached roughly ninety per second.

After about twenty seconds, the boss began using its skills. Most were blocked by the rocks, and only small versions of the eight-limbed creature flooded in.

These little monsters were low level and weak in stats; under Yi Shen’s Burning Bomb and multi-target attacks, they barely lasted any time, and their explosions even damaged the boss itself.

This damage cycle continued for over five minutes. As the eight-limbed beast finally collapsed, Yi Shen had single-handedly cleared every monster in the secret realm!

Now, the terrifying advantage of solo-clearing a ten-person instance became evident. Yi Shen’s breakthrough quest was complete, and the eight or nine thousand experience points he’d stockpiled were instantly unlocked, rocketing his level from 10 straight to 15! It was the greatest leap in level since his arrival in this world.