Chapter 222: Blackwood
For Duane, developing the Heavenly Mountain Secret Realm presented two major challenges.
First were the Mutated Demon Beasts within the Secret Realm, especially that giant Black Bear.
Until they were dealt with, not even Kaelon could safely enter and exit the Secret Realm at will.
Second was the Secret Realm’s effect on the human mind—the so-called Ancient God’s Whisper—which made it impossible for ordinary people to stay inside for long.
Given the rate of Duane’s power growth, the first problem should be solvable before long.
But as for the second problem, he had no idea how to handle it.
After all, once the demand for Black Demon Vines and Pale Fungi increased, he couldn’t very well have his Warriors specialize in gathering them.
Moreover, there were numerous other tasks like expanding cultivation and logging; it was impossible without the participation of ordinary people.
Fortunately, the new Qingming Wine had perfectly solved this problem for him.
Although ordinary people needed to stop for seven days after a month of continuous consumption to eliminate side effects, that one-month effective period was more than enough for them to work in the Secret Realm.
When the Qingming Medicine Wine’s effects wore off, he could simply send in a second group to work in rotation.
The importance of the Qingming Medicine Wine was clearly far greater than that of the Intoxicating Honey Wine and the Deep Blue Enlightenment Wine.
As a result, Duane’s focus on the Jade Demon Vines growing in his backyard intensified.
He had Agricultural Officer Haien take special care of them and planned to clear a plot of land specifically for cultivating Jade Demon Vines.
This way, he would be prepared for when demand inevitably grew.
At the same time, Duane began a period of intense magical study, often forgetting to eat or sleep.
At present, he possessed 37 Spell Models.
This included eight Level 1 Magic, eleven Level 2 Magic, six Level 3 Magic, and thirteen Level 4 Magic spells, the last of which included Shaping Magic from the seven elemental schools.
Aside from the 16 spells that had already reached the Skilled level, he could raise the Skill Level of all the rest to Skilled through practice.
Of course, if he could use these magic spells in actual combat, their Skill Level would increase even faster.
Therefore, after raising the Skill Level of several important spells like Stealth Magic to the Skilled level, he summoned his warhorse and charged into Thorn Valley.
As he neared the area with the avian sentinels, Duane immediately cast his Stealth Magic and entered their surveillance range.
A gentle breeze rippled out from him, probing the surrounding area for any movement.
Initially, the Level 3 Spell, Wind of Inquiry, could only detect things within a 300-meter radius.
After Duane raised its Skill Level to Skilled, the detectable area expanded to 800 meters.
Through the perception of the Wind Element, Duane once again detected the mutated birds, and their numbers were greater than last time.
It seemed that new birds had flown into the Secret Realm and been corrupted by the Ancient God’s Whisper.
’But they haven’t spotted me.’
At the Skilled Level, Stealth Magic could last for 30 minutes. As a Level 2 Magic spell, its consumption was not high, making it more than sufficient for Duane to enter the Secret Realm.
Moreover, Duane’s Basic Meditation Skill was now on the verge of a breakthrough, and his Magic Power regeneration was not slow. He didn’t have to worry about mana consumption at all.
Soon, he passed through the Space Gate and re-entered the Secret Realm.
This time, there wasn’t a single Demon Beast guarding the inner side of the Space Gate.
Just as he’d thought, as long as he evaded the birds’ detection, the Demon Beasts in the Secret Realm couldn’t track his movements and prepare an ambush in advance.
’The Black Demon Vines here have grown back.’
Duane moved a little closer to inspect them. Because he was in a state of stealth, the Demon Vines showed no reaction.
’In the Secret Realm, the Demon Vines grow much faster than they do outside.’
In just two or three months, the Black Demon Vines had already grown to be two meters long.
However, they hadn’t grown any barbs or seeds yet.
Duane tightened his grip on the sack he was carrying.
His purpose for entering the Secret Realm this time was not only to gather Shadow Thorn Flowers, Pale Fungi, and Wailing Roots, but also to sow seeds.
Following his memory, he made his way as quickly as possible to the nearest area of Black Vines.
He took out his Big Ring Saber and chopped off a number of black vines. Then, he gathered them, carried them to another area, and knocked the seeds out from their barbs.
After repeating this process several times, Duane had already expanded the planting to several new areas.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Duane spotted a sea of black trees.
’What’s this?’
This sea of black trees was completely different from the black vines.
The vines grew along the ground, whereas this was a forest of upright trees.
Duane concealed himself again and moved closer, quickly getting a clear view of the situation.
They were black trees that resembled pines and cypresses.
Their entire bodies were pitch-black like Refined Iron, and the serrated leaves on their branches seemed to display their dangerous nature to the world.
’That’s it! These are the same as the club in the Long-armed Ape’s hand and the black tree it used as a weapon!’
Duane had suspected at the time that he and Kaelon might have overlooked such trees in the Secret Realm, and now it seemed he was right.
Duane channeled his Fighting Qi and punched the black tree in front of him. Under the immense force of the impact, the tree trembled violently. A dense web of cracks spread across its surface, and a viscous, silver-black sap oozed out.
’It took thirty percent of my strength without falling. Its hardness is extraordinary, at least tougher than oak!’
Next, he cast the Flame Technique.
Under the scorching flames, the black tree merely smoldered and emitted black smoke, but it didn’t catch fire.
’Its fire resistance is excellent, too!’
Duane’s eyes lit up. He had discovered another treasure in the Secret Realm.
This type of wood could not only serve as a substitute for oak but could also be used to make things that were impossible to craft from oak.
For example, Fire Resistance Shields, Fireproof Armor, Heat-Resistant Clamps, and more.
’Unfortunately, this forest is only the size of three to five soccer fields. It’s not very large.’
As Duane was surveying the area, a series of "OOKA OOKA" sounds came from within the forest.
Soon, seven or eight Long-armed Apes came swinging through the branches, arriving in front of Duane with incredible speed.
Two of them looked very familiar to Duane; they were the same Long-armed Apes that had ambushed him that day.
The moment they saw Duane, they reacted like cats that had spotted a mouse, growing excited and swarming toward him all at once.
’The noise I made just now must have attracted them.’
Duane gave a cold smile. "Perfect. I’ll take care of you right now!"
With the giant bear’s deterrent presence gone and the Level 6 Long-armed Ape nowhere in sight, Duane felt no fear. He gripped his Long Spear and began to take them down one by one.
While Duane was frantically leveling up in the Secret Realm, the nobility of the Pruck Kingdom, both great and small, began making their own preparations.
In these relatively peaceful times, opportunities to be granted a Territory and become one of the Kingdom’s new nobility were scarce.
In recent years, after all was said and done, Duane was the only newly appointed Baron.
Now, King Eric was using the martial tournament as an opportunity to publicly grant rewards. Such a chance was incredibly rare and worth scheming over for many people.
For instance, some wealthy families not only had their direct heirs participate but also recommended many others.
The purpose of this was to have these recommended "fall guys" voluntarily surrender when they faced a direct heir, allowing the latter to advance automatically.
Others joined together to write letters to His Majesty the King, strongly urging him to establish ten prize-winning spots.
Even if not all of the top ten were granted land, they could still be given rewards like money or honorary titles. This would allow more people a moment in the spotlight and make the founding celebration even more lively.
Still other nobles contacted each other in secret, beginning to plot how to ensure their own candidate won the championship.
After all, a valuable fief was at stake—one that might even hold strategic importance in the future. It was only natural for all parties to use every means at their disposal to compete for it.
While there were some, like Duane, who intended to win first place through pure strength, they were in the minority.