When I first entered high school, the system insisted that I was destined to be an emperor in my lat

The Blackwater Swamp, a hidden realm in the Northwest.

The sky was shrouded in a perpetually lingering gray-black miasma.

Beneath their feet lay a black swamp churning with bubbles, the air thick with a dense aura of dark spiritual energy and a putrid stench.

Here, even breathing requires circulating one's inner energy to resist the corrosive effects of toxins.

"Quack—quack—quack!"

At the edge of the swamp, a third-tier alien beast, the Netherworld Ink Frog, whose body was covered in disgusting pustules, was hopping around searching for rotting flesh.

However, the moment it landed on a black, withered leaf...

"Whoosh!"

A seemingly dead black tree nearby suddenly sprang up its tangled roots and instantly wrapped the black frog tightly around it.

"Snap, snap!"

With a chewing sound, the black frog's body was swallowed and absorbed.

A fourth-tier plant-type mythical beast—the [Ghost-Faced Banyan Tree]!

In this swamp where the strong prey on the weak, slaughter is everywhere.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

In a clearing not far from where the demon banyan was feeding, the sounds of a fierce battle were echoing.

"Wan'er, flank from the left!"

"Changfeng, be careful to keep your distance!"

Lin Xing, who was in the lead, let out an angry shout.

He held a large black spear, his body radiating a powerful aura, wielding the spear with impenetrable force, desperately holding off the frenzied attacks of a swarm of Netherworld Ink Frogs.

On his flank, Yu Wan'er, wielding a dagger, weaved through the swarm of frogs, each flash of her dagger taking the life of a black frog.

Behind them, Yan Changfeng, his ten fingers gripping the threads of true energy, was sweating profusely as he manipulated two puppet mechanical beasts, desperately resisting the roots reaching out from the surrounding [Ghost-Faced Banyan Trees].

The three worked together very well and managed to stabilize the situation for a while.

However, the beasts here were far more cunning than they had imagined.

Just as Yan Changfeng was fully focused on controlling the mechanical beast to resist the demonic banyan.

"Splash!"

The calm black swamp beneath our feet suddenly exploded!

A gaping maw full of sharp fangs lunged straight at Yan Changfeng to bite!

A fourth-tier peak-level exotic beast—the [Iron-Scaled Shadow Crocodile]!

"Changfeng, watch your step!"

Lin Xing hurriedly tried to turn around to help, but the swarm of frogs seemed to have gone mad and clung to him tightly.

As a mechanic, Yan Changfeng's strength lay entirely in his puppets, leaving him with weak close-combat defense, making it impossible for him to defend himself in time.

"It's over..."

"Whoosh!"

Just when Yan Changfeng thought he was about to be bitten to pieces, a piercing sound suddenly came from afar.

An arrow wrapped in wind-attribute true energy shot into the eye of the Ironscale Shadow Crocodile with a "whoosh," piercing through its skull and pinning it firmly to the swamp!

At the same time, several [Ghost-faced Banyan Trees] around seemed to have sensed the prey's weakness, and countless thick roots descended upon Yan Changfeng!

"roll!"

A cold voice rang out in mid-air.

"boom!"

A tall, slender figure draped in a black cloak descended from the sky!

The newcomer was holding a long black spear.

He just casually stirred it with one hand!

The violent gunfire instantly transformed into a meat grinder!

"Aaaaaah!!!"

The moment the spear light touched several peak fourth-tier Ghost-Faced Banyan trees, distorted human faces appeared on their trunks, emitting shrill screams like vengeful ghosts.

Immediately afterwards, he was shredded into countless pieces of flesh by that one shot!

The power of a single shot is terrifying!

With the crisis averted, Lin Xing shot the last few black frogs away with a single spear thrust, then hurriedly rushed to Yan Changfeng's side, glancing at the scraps of flesh on the ground with lingering fear.

Then he looked up at the boy holding the black gun, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said gratefully in a loud voice, "Lin Xing of Beiyue City, thank you very much, Brother Ye, for saving my life!"

However, Ye Junlin merely turned his head slightly, glancing at him with indifferent eyes.

There was no nod, no speech.

It was as if rescuing them had merely been a casual sweep away of a few ants by the roadside.

"Giggle giggle..."

A soft, charming laugh came from behind.

Feng Changge, who had just fired an arrow, walked over, dressed in a fiery red outfit and swaying her lithe waist.

She toyed with the longbow in her hand, looked at Lin Xing, and her beautiful eyes held a hint of condescending admiration.

"Lin Xing, your marksmanship is not bad."

"How about it? Why not bring your men and join our team, becoming Ye Ge's henchmen?"

She pointed behind her and said proudly, "This time we're going deep into the Blackwater Swamp to hunt down those beasts of the fifth rank and above!"

"You should have seen the latest points leaderboard, right?"

"Our Brother Ye is currently at the top of the list, by a landslide!"

"We've got this league championship in the bag, and your Beiyue City will get a piece of the action too."

Lin Xing followed her gaze.

Behind Feng Changge stood a young man with a gloomy face, Lu Jinyu, the "Ghost Hand".

Following the three of them were four or five elite students, all with cultivation levels around the fourth rank and eighth star.

This is a top-tier team with all its members at the highest level!

In terms of overall strength, with the monster Ye Junlin leading the team, they are indeed the most qualified team to win the championship.

But Lin Xing was not blinded by the other party's promise.

He slammed his spear into the mud and shook his head with neither arrogance nor servility.

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Feng."

"Our Beiyue City belongs to Jiangnan Province, and the team leader this time is Jiang Feng."

"Now that we've entered the secret realm, we should follow Captain Jiang's orders and absolutely must not switch sides."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jinyu, who had been silent until now, suddenly sneered, his eyes full of mockery: "Lin Xing, I think you've lost your mind."

"Don't blame us for not warning you, we students aren't the only ones entering the secret realm this time."

"We have concrete intelligence that other forces have infiltrated the secret realm and are hunting down talented individuals across its various areas!"

"But with Brother Ye around, we'll kill as many as they come!"

"As for the three of you..."

Lu Jinyu sneered, "Without Brother Ye's protection, with your current lineup, you'd better pray for your own good fortune in this Blackwater Swamp!"

Ahead, Ye Junlin seemed to have lost his patience.

He didn't look at Lin Xing again, his black cloak billowing as he walked directly into the depths of the swamp.

Seeing this, Feng Changge and Lu Jinyu stopped talking and followed with their men with cold smiles.

Only after Rongcheng's team disappeared into the black mist did Lin Xing put away his spear and turn around to help the still-shaken Yan Changfeng up.

"Changfeng, are you alright?"

Yan Changfeng shook his head, patted the mud off his clothes, and looked somewhat pale: "Brother Lin, what Lu Jinyu said earlier... could it be true?"

Lin Xing frowned.

From the first day they entered the secret realm, they were teleported to the edge of this blackwater swamp.

After several days, they were exhausted from dealing with the poisonous miasma and strange beasts. They had not been to the forest or the snowy area and were completely unaware of what was happening in the outside world.

Yu Wan'er, standing to the side, bit her red lips and said with some worry:

"Brother Lin, I don't think Lu Jinyu would lie to us about something like this."

"If there really are other forces operating in the shadows, then Jiang Feng and his group... are probably already in grave danger."

She glanced at Lin Xing and tentatively whispered, "In that case, why don't we go with the flow and cooperate with Ye Junlin?"

"No!"

Without a second thought, Lin Xing decisively shook his head and refused.

"Ye Junlin represents Chengdu!"

"If we rely on the past, wouldn't we become a tool in someone else's hands, helping Chengdu to trample on our Jiangnan Province to win the league title?"

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the thick miasma, looking towards the area outside the Blackwater Swamp.

"Jiang Feng isn't that easy to get into trouble with."

"Our top priority right now isn't to become someone's lackey, but to find a way to reunite with Jiang Feng and the others as soon as possible!"