The Natives of This World Are Fierce

It takes Fairies or other Secret Realm researchers countless years to create, or even improve, a single Secret Realm Technique. They stumble through the existing theoretical frameworks, where even the slightest success is a cause for celebration.

But what Qin Xiaoxia and the Red Demoness accomplished today...

Calling them the most talented Secret Realm Weavers was no exaggeration. In fact, if Doudou and Mumu weren’t complete amateurs when it came to Secret Realms, one might even dare to call them the *strongest* Secret Realm Weavers—in terms of pure skill, of course, not raw power.

The news would probably be enough to make a whole group of Magson’s ancient Fairies rise from their graves.

Doudou glanced at Mumu, who was still dazed and unresponsive. ’Now *this* is what a tree is supposed to act like.’

In any case, the Secret Realm had been successfully re-woven.

Qin Xiaoxia retracted his long whip and clapped his hands together.

"Not bad. As expected, Secret Realms really show their potential when woven cooperatively. It’s definitely a little stronger than my last one."

Qin Xiaoxia was completely immersed in his sense of accomplishment.

’Could Big Cousin be any more shameless?!’

If it weren’t for the threat of terrifying "domestic violence," Doudou would have blurted that right out.

The structure of this Secret Realm had completely exceeded Qin Xiaoxia’s expectations.

The Red Demoness, after all, hadn’t fully adapted to her new life. The immense consumption of Magic Power left her panting.

Su Su quickly ran over to support her.

"Sis— uh, Sister Hong, are you okay? You’re so amazing, just as amazing as Mentor!"

Sister Su was too excited for words. She didn’t quite understand the principles behind the resurrection, but she knew the Red Demoness had been among the observers when she was officially Engraved with the Dawn Seal and awakened her Magic Power.

It turned out that the woman who had seemed so solid back then was already dead, and now, reborn, the Red Demoness had become human.

It was just like the story of Lady Bai.

"Su... Su~"

"Yes, yes! I’m Su Su."

"I’m not... not as amazing as your Mentor..."

The Red Demoness stabilized her magical aura and recovered some of her strength, walking back to Qin Xiaoxia and the others with Su Su.

"Well, that’s true. Mentor is the Scepter Manager, after all, and Dawn’s only remaining ’Sage’~"

Su Su casually flattered Qin Xiaoxia, then started whispering to the Red Demoness, pestering her to teach her how to weave such a cool Secret Realm. She praised the Red Demoness as the epitome of wisdom and beauty.

For once, Doudou, still in a state of shock, didn’t make a snide remark about Su Su overestimating herself. Instead, he started wondering if he should also learn Secret Realm Weaving. ’Watching them fiddle around just now, it didn’t look that hard!’

Although Qin Xiaoxia’s expression seemed calm and composed, inwardly he was probably just as excited as Su Su.

This freaking Secret Realm was countless times more badass than the last one. Not only did it greatly increase the possibility of the subsequent Secret Realm Ring project, but it also laid the groundwork for solving some key problems.

Most importantly, he had originally suffered considerable losses in the Flame Demon incident, aside from a magical weapon that wasn’t strictly necessary at the moment.

But now, the tables had completely turned.

The Secret Realm was stronger and more wondrous than before, the Endless Abyss was in his hands, and he himself had grown stronger in Magic Power, soul, and body. On top of all that, he had gained a helper like the Red Demoness—both powerful and easy on the eyes.

Aside from a few precious Magic Energy Crystals and some Wishing Gold Coins, he had come out with a massive profit.

’So what if I lost some Magic Energy Crystals? I’ve got Mumu, my personal "blood-bank" Ginseng Spirit!’

’Wishing Gold Coins? I’ve got my bratty little cousin, Doudou!’

’Lost some money? I’ve got that fucking moneybags Sun Tian!’

With a calm and composed expression, Qin Xiaoxia was already roaring internally: ’A massive, massive profit!’

SNAP. He snapped his fingers.

The Secret Realm shuddered. Like a flickering afterimage, its boundaries instantly expanded to the banks of the Winding Loach River.

The sky turned azure once more, sunlight streamed in, and the exchange of air became much smoother.

The rice in the paddies swayed back and forth—a sign of the wind’s stirring.

The once-quiet Secret Realm came to life, and the moisture from the river was detected by several Magical Creatures with keen senses of smell.

The Secret Realm had now evolved from merely simulating a false reality to a state where its illusion contained a core of reality.

The scent of the river made the Red Demoness turn around again.

"This river... it leads to the sea!"

"That’s right. The Winding Loach River does eventually flow into the sea. I’ll take you to see this world’s ocean when I get the chance."

Leaving her with those words, Qin Xiaoxia walked toward the house.

Having consumed too much stamina and Magic Power, and with his old wounds still unhealed, Qin Xiaoxia felt an intense wave of exhaustion.

"Oh, right, Mumu. Get rid of all those messy plants inside the house and clear out the pollen. It makes my nose itch when I’m trying to sleep."

He glanced at the Red Demoness, who was also brimming with excitement. ’She’s just been reborn, so she probably won’t be able to sleep for a while.’

...

Meanwhile, although the United States tried its best to keep the "Flame Demon incident" confidential, the commotion had simply been too great.

While there were only a few key battles, the total time, including the slow probing as the Flame Demon approached death, lasted for several hours.

In addition, there were some eyewitnesses and citizens who didn’t trust the government’s official statements.

As a result, confidentiality around the "Flame Demon incident" couldn’t be fully maintained. For the general public, it remained at the level of discussion, and the hype would naturally die down over time. But for other major powers, especially the few nations closely monitoring these strange phenomena, it wasn’t so easy to hide.

The French almost immediately lifted their block on the investigation into America and England regarding the last email incident, demanding to participate in the research on the Flame Demon’s corpse.

Hua Country also sent people to negotiate, expressing their willingness to deepen cooperation and exchange current information.

This step was always going to happen; the Flame Demon’s ferocity had merely pushed the timeline forward a bit.

The engineering and construction project Norton had been hoping for was finally approved after this incident.

To be honest, the countries Norton most wanted to exchange information with were actually Hua Country and France.

France wanted to participate in the study of what was currently the world’s only "Death Illusion Barrier."

As for Hua Country, they were leading the way in construction progress. There was even intelligence indicating they had successfully defended against an emergency during their pilot program, meaning they had a wealth of experience to learn from.

What Norton didn’t know yet was that Hua Country and Russia had already obtained information about Evolvers.

Today’s airport pickup involved Norton, along with the returning Baru and other elites from his team, waiting for the Hua Country delegation at Saint Louis International Airport.

"Sir, do the Huaguo people insisting on seeing the battlefield really just want to study our tactics?"

Anthony asked, standing beside Baru and addressing Norton, who seemed to be in a relatively good mood.

"Perhaps they just want to verify the monster’s destructive capabilities. After all, the main aircraft that recorded the battle were destroyed. You can’t tell much from just the few video clips from the beginning and end."

The plane arrived soon after, and Norton led his people forward to greet them politely.

The moment Huang Jiutian stepped off the plane behind Tao Xingzhi, his gaze locked onto Baru. After a moment of surprise, the latter immediately understood.

Their eyes met for only an instant before they both looked away.

But the same thought crossed both their minds.

’Someone from the Association!’

Even the "withering" Dawn that Master Sage spoke of was continuously revealing new depths of its power.

They had intervened to eliminate the terrifying Flame Demon that the United States had been helpless against. Regardless of their losses, the fact that they disappeared without a trace afterward showed they hadn’t lost their composure.

Yes, even without information from within the Association, Baru knew very well who possessed the power to stop the Flame Demon.

Their foundation was eternally unfathomable. They had unknowingly infiltrated key departments of the world’s two largest economic superpowers, maintaining their prescience by learning from the lessons of history.

It was hard to imagine how powerful Dawn must have been in its glory days, and even harder to imagine how terrifying the Demons must have been to have pushed Dawn to the brink of extinction countless times.

Huang Jiutian’s thoughts were similar to Baru’s, just with a slightly different perspective.

The two groups shook hands amicably.

When it was Huang Jiutian and Baru’s turn, Huang Jiutian offered a friendly greeting in fluent English.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, my American friend. We have a long road ahead of us."

"The pleasure is mine, my friend from Hua Country!"