Lu Yuan had maxed out a Basic Knife Skill and saw that his «Weapons Master» at Level 3 was about to reach Level 4.

He estimated that practicing a little longer with other skills could get him to level up—leveling up was usually rather fast when using a new profession.

Lu Yuan placed his long knife back onto the weapon rack, casually grabbed a two-handed broadsword, then opened a few video demonstrations of greatsword fighting techniques.

He was about to watch and practice simultaneously.

At that moment, a message suddenly arrived.

Lu Yuan continued his motions without pause, casually opening the message to read it.

The message was sent by the Information Analysis Department within Yellow Bear. The content was a simple analysis report—

"…Based on the information the Lord provided, the woman depicted in the drawing closely matches the Lady of Nightmares from Burrow Sect mythology.

Legend says the Lady of Nightmares possesses the ability to permanently deprive others of sleep.

Furthermore, in the third month after night descends, she randomly sows dream seeds across the land.

Most of these seeds are nightmares, but a single pleasant dream is mixed among them.

The fortunate individual who receives this pleasant dream will be chosen by the Lady of Nightmares to become her servant for a time, and they will receive the gift of agelessness and immortality…"

Lu Yuan quietly read through the report.

In the morning, Lu Jing had mentioned her friend's issue to him. While Lu Yuan didn't pay it much mind, he still investigated it for her.

What he didn't expect was that this incident was actually related to the Evil God Sect.

Furthermore, it was a sect he was quite familiar with—the Burrow Sect.

The Burrow Sect was the first Evil God Sect he had come into contact with. He still remembered frantically searching for information in the library after encountering the rat man.

Yellow Bear's Information Department combined Lu Jing's friend's life experiences, from childhood to adulthood, with the image of the woman in the dream. They inferred that this event was connected to an ancient evil god from the Burrow Sect known as the "Lady of Nightmares."

Lu Yuan read the information related to this "Lady of Nightmares."

He discovered that her status in the Burrow Sect's legends was actually higher than that of the "Lord of Underground."

She held the position of a "Mother Goddess."

Fantuyas, it is said, claims to control all treasures buried deep beneath the earth. He supposedly possesses boundless strength, wealth, and power, and enjoys eternal life. Yet, he was actually the "pet" of the Lady of Nightmares.

Legend has it that while the Lady of Nightmares was in a deep slumber, her pet, Fantuyas, stole a sliver of power she unintentionally released. This act freed him from his status as a pet, allowing him to escape the Palace of Sleepless.

However, fearing capture and being taken back, Fantuyas dared not sleep nor leave the underground after his escape. Thus, he became the so-called Lord of Underground.

Lu Yuan read this, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

In this world, the Burrow Sect was indeed an Evil God Sect possessing significant strength and influence. Guardian Lin of the Evil Martial Association, known for his horse-like face, wielded the Evil God Power of the Burrow Sect.

He hadn't expected an even higher-ranking Mother Goddess to exist above the Burrow Sect.

There wasn't much information about the Lady of Nightmares, even within Yellow Bear; most of it came from Burrow Sect legends.

There were also no corresponding sect inheritances associated with her.

The Yellow Bear Information Department's report stated that before Lu Yuan's discovery, they had generally believed the legend of the Lady of Nightmares was a fabrication. They thought believers of the Burrow Sect had created her merely to expand their pantheon of deities.

They never imagined such a god actually existed.

"This is more troublesome than I expected…"

As Lu Yuan scrolled to the bottom of the report, his pupils constricted slightly upon seeing a particular piece of information.

This information, which the Information Department had found incidentally, identified the "friend" Lu Jing spoke of. The result was—

Xia Zhijing!

"How could it be her?!"

Lu Yuan froze in disbelief.

He never expected that this deeply involved mysterious incident would happen to Xia Zhijing of all people.

No wonder he thought the sketch's brushwork seemed familiar.

Xia Zhijing had often sent him her sketches before.

The quiet Zhu Bao…

A multitude of memories concerning Xia Zhijing flashed through Lu Yuan's mind.

His expression solemn, he unconsciously pulled up his chat with Xia Zhijing, considering whether to ask her directly about the dream.

Just then, another message popped up.

Lu Yuan glanced at the sender—

[Xiao Rui]!

The content was simple, just one line—

[Lord Tong has arranged for you to enter the Secret Realm. I am now on my way to pick you up.]

Reading the message, Lu Yuan's eyes flickered.

Half a second later, he dispatched a portion of the Yellow Bear forces from the Old City Circle to guard Xia Zhijing.

At the same time, he instructed the Yellow Bear Information Department to continue investigating the Lady of Nightmares.

He wanted to see if there was any way to resolve Xia Zhijing's situation.

After I return from this Secret Realm exploration… Lu Yuan mused, making a silent decision. I'll formally meet with her then.

「Half an hour later.」

Having taken care of everything, Lu Yuan was already seated on the Fly Shuttle, quietly looking down at Burnt Rock dwindling below.

The rhythmic sound of footsteps reached his ears.

Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze from the window and saw the elegant Xiao Rui walking towards him, carrying two cups of steaming beverages.

"Try this."

Xiao Rui handed him a cup of hot coffee and said with a smile, "Balro is a small country on the southern border of the Distant Star Federation, about the size of a sesame seed on a map. Yet, it produces the world's finest coffee beans. Their name is quite lovely too: 'Winter Orchid.' Don't you think it's fitting?"

"Hmm."

Lu Yuan responded briefly, not saying much, and slowly sipped his coffee.

He had a lot on his mind recently. Perhaps it was also related to his promotion to Grandmaster; his entire demeanor was becoming increasingly calm and introverted.

"Xiao Rui, why did Lord Tong suddenly allow me to enter Ash Mountain? Has the exploration of Ash Mountain been going smoothly recently?" Lu Yuan asked after taking a couple of sips of coffee, looking up at Xiao Rui.

Xiao Rui, however, shook her head and replied, "I never said I was taking you to Ash Mountain. Honestly, your strength is quite good now, but entering Ash Mountain is still too risky. Four-winged Flying Bear Generals perish there every day. Unlike them, you can't be quickly Reforged, so you should abandon that idea for now…"

"Then which Secret Realm are we going to?" Lu Yuan couldn't help but frown slightly.

What he was most interested in now was Ash Mountain, the place that retained traces of the Phoenix's rebirth.

Xiao Rui responded, "Have you forgotten? The keys you brought back to the organization before. Just yesterday, the Secret Realm was officially opened."

Lu Yuan was taken aback. A term instantly leaped into his mind—Elephant God Secret Realm!

Back then, he had protected those three stone spheres from the Elephant God Walk; those spheres were the keys to the Elephant God Secret Realm.

He had almost forgotten about this and never thought it would be opened at this time.

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