The job change is a bizarre and calamity; the nation begs me to tone it down.

"This is fucking slow..."

Gu Xu had mentally complained about this countless times.

Keep in mind that nearly four hours have passed since we entered the core of the secret realm.

It took four hours to push it to 87%.

This speed would be acceptable under normal circumstances.

But what time is it now?

In the middle of the night, he was still sitting here cross-legged like an old monk in meditation.

However, despite his complaints, Gu Xu wasn't actually that anxious.

After all, these things can't be rushed. The assimilation process of the core of the secret realm is like a cup of water slowly seeping into a dry sponge.

It doesn't matter how much you pour on it, the sponge absorbs it just the right amount of time.

No matter how much you rush, it won't speed up.

So he could only wait.

But while waiting, Gu Xu gradually noticed something different.

To be precise, it started when the assimilation progress exceeded 80%.

His range of perception has changed.

How to describe it?

Previously, his consciousness was completely immersed inside the core sphere of the secret realm.

Everything outside was a complete darkness to him.

I can't feel anything.

It's like plunging your head into the water; whatever happens on the surface has absolutely nothing to do with you.

But from 80% onwards, the situation changes.

He began to vaguely sense "the outside world".

At first, there were only some extremely vague signals.

It's like suddenly hearing someone talking on the shore while you're in deep water; the voice is muffled and you can't make out the details at all.

But you can be sure of one thing—there was sound.

Gu Xu initially thought it was an illusion caused by fluctuations in his mental energy.

After all, having stayed in the core of the secret realm for so long, my consciousness had been in a state of high concentration.

It's not uncommon for people to experience hallucinations.

But he quickly ruled out that possibility.

Because those signals are becoming clearer.

It is not an illusion, but a real perception.

As his assimilation progressed, his connection with this secret realm deepened little by little.

It was as if he was becoming part of the secret realm, and the "vision" of the secret realm was gradually opening up to him.

This feeling is wonderful.

He sat there, but his consciousness could vaguely "see" the world outside the secret realm.

Saying you see it isn't quite accurate; it's more like an extremely rough perception—like closing your eyes and touching a map with your hand, where you can feel the raised mountains and the sunken valleys.

But what it actually looks like, all the details are blurry.

Gu Xu tried to extend his perception outwards.

Sure enough, as he took the initiative to explore, the vague signals became slightly clearer.

He could sense the land outside the Cloud Ghost Domain, the outline of the distant undulating mountains, and even vaguely detect traces of energy fluctuations.

"Wow, what's this? Has he gained supernatural insight?"

Gu Xu raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

What are the perks of the fourth-tier job advancement?

Or is it a natural phenomenon that occurs after the secret realm has been assimilated to a certain extent?

Who cares? I'll just accept the benefits if they come in handy.

However, just as he was enjoying the novelty for a couple of seconds, his senses suddenly picked up on something that wasn't quite right.

Far away, in a very far place.

There is a fluctuating force.

Moreover, it wasn't just ordinary power fluctuations—that kind of intensity, even from such a great distance, could only be perceived through such a blurry sense.

It still sent a shiver down Gu Xu's spine.

There were not just one, but several, fluctuations of power.

In Gu Xu's perception, they were like several flames that suddenly lit up in the darkness, dazzling and scorching.

Even if it's just a blurry outline.

It also allows people to clearly judge that these things are of a very high level.

How high is it?

Gu Xu couldn't figure it out for the time being.

After all, his current perception is like looking at something through frosted glass; he can only see the general outline.

But that intuitive sense of alertness had already arisen.

He was there before entering the secret realm.

The outside world remained calm and peaceful.

But now, several power fluctuations of this level have suddenly appeared?

What happened?

Gu Xu's curiosity was immediately piqued.

Without hesitation, he directly drew back a portion of his thoughts that were scattered throughout the assimilation process and concentrated them in one place.

They probed in the direction where the fluctuations of those forces were strongest.

The process of extending the thought was slow, more like a line slowly being thrown outwards from the location of the Cloud Realm.

The initial part was blurry, like looking at the surface of the water through deep water, but as the thought stretched further and further, the image began to become clearer little by little.

First, the outline of the earth.

Then there are the mountains.

And then—

Gu Xu's brow twitched slightly.

He recognized him.

That is the north of Shenxia.

To be precise, it is an area near the northern border of Sheikha.

He wasn't particularly familiar with the terrain, but he could still figure out the general geographical location.

Having spent so much time in the military, he had at least seen a general map of the Divine Xia Empire.

But the problem is—the condition of that area is very wrong.

In his blurry perception, a large area near the northern border had been completely transformed.

The earth cracked, and soil and rocks surged.

The entire area looked as if someone had dropped a bomb from the sky, creating a giant crater with a radius of unknown distance.

It stretches as far as the eye can see!

Smoke was still billowing from the edge of the crater, and ash and rubble floated in the air, making visibility frighteningly low.

And it's not just the ground that's damaged.

The space itself in that area also seems to have a problem.

Distortion, obvious spatial distortion.

Gu Xu could sense that the spatial structure of that area was becoming disordered, like a mirror that had been forcefully twisted.

The light was deflected there, and even tiny spatial cracks appeared in some places.

This level of destruction...

It couldn't have been caused by a demigod.

Gu Xu's expression began to change.

His thoughts continued to penetrate that area, trying to see more clearly.

The images gradually pieced together in his mind.

It's like a disassembled jigsaw puzzle slowly taking shape.

Then, he saw people.

No, it's not human.

It was a... humanoid target lying in the very center of the crater.

The man was covered in blood, with a huge wound on his left chest. Through the tear in his clothes, one could see that the exposed flesh had been burned by some kind of inexplicable energy.

His face was ashen, like a dead man's, and blood kept gushing from the corner of his mouth. He lay motionless in that huge pit.

Vitality is being lost at an extremely rapid pace.

Like a lamp that's about to run out of oil.

If they don't receive treatment soon, they'll die within minutes.

Gu Xu did not recognize this person.

But he could tell that this person was not a Shenxia person.

They seem more like... people from the Northern Alliance?