Li Wei stared at the heart inside the Stone Coffin, a look of surprise on his face.

The heart was still beating.

Its pulse was incredibly faint, but he could see it rise and fall.

The heart wasn’t dead yet.

This couldn’t be a human heart.

It was larger than Li Wei’s own head.

Li Wei watched it for a moment, then reached out to take the heart.

He had no choice. The Object Control Skill didn’t work within three meters of the Stone Coffin.

He could only use his hands.

The moment his fingertips touched the heart, Li Wei felt a jolt run through his body as an immense sadness flooded his mind.

When he came to his senses, his face was streaked with tears.

Li Wei understood.

This was the heart of a Giant Dragon.

This was a Dragon Heart!

Li Wei’s own heart began to pound in his chest, a mix of excitement and exhilaration.

The Dragon Race had vanished without a trace for hundreds of years.

Yet here he was, holding a living Dragon Heart. It was an earth-shattering stroke of luck.

This Dragon Heart was priceless.

Li Wei suddenly understood why the black shadow had opened the Stone Coffin and then immediately left.

It knew that once he saw the Dragon Heart inside the Stone Coffin, he would never just leave it be.

Li Wei pulled his right hand back.

He was incredibly conflicted.

Whether it was the black shadow that wanted the Dragon Heart...

...or the inherent value of the Dragon Heart itself...

As soon as the Dragon Heart left the Bone Palace, it was certain to cause a massive uproar.

’What’s the point of overthinking it? If I don’t take the Dragon Heart, I can’t leave this place anyway.’

With that thought, Li Wei stopped hesitating.

He picked up the Dragon Heart from the Stone Coffin and put it into his Spatial Ring.

Seeing that the Dragon Heart fit into his Spatial Ring, Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

So many crises in stories began with the protagonist finding a treasure, only to discover it couldn’t be put into a storage item, thus attracting countless enemies.

Thankfully, he hadn’t run into such a frustrating situation.

Li Wei glanced at the Stone Coffin Lid, picked it up, and stored it in his Spatial Ring as well.

The thing was incredibly sturdy.

He suspected that not even Tier Six Magic could destroy it.

It was definitely a great item for self-preservation.

It was more than enough to serve as a Heart-Protecting Mirror over his chest.

Unfortunately, while the Stone Coffin appeared to be just resting on the stone platform, it couldn’t be moved.

So, Li Wei could only take the Stone Coffin Lid.

’At least I got something out of it,’ Li Wei consoled himself.

After he took the Dragon Heart, the Bone Palace began to shake.

The great doors slowly swung open.

Li Wei walked out of the Bone Palace.

Leaving the Bone Palace, he glanced back one last time at its wide-open gates before flying toward the Blood Pool without looking back again.

Li Wei was a bit surprised.

After all that had happened, it had all ended without him having to draw a weapon.

He glanced at his Magic Badge.

After the Death Knight’s demise, the credit had gone to him.

The Credit Points on his Magic Badge had increased by ten.

Li Wei smiled. Although the black shadow and the Dragon Heart introduced new uncertainties, so far, he had only reaped benefits.

Flying from the area of the Blood Pool, Li Wei looked down at it.

He wondered what exactly this Blood Pool was.

’Is it really blood?’

There was no way to know.

No attack seemed to have any effect on the Blood Pool.

When Li Wei had thrown a Fireball into the Blood Pool, it had simply vanished.

Other than that, however, the Blood Pool showed no signs of aggression.

Perhaps it was just a strange landmark. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Li Wei scanned his surroundings and flew toward the exit of the Secret Realm.

’I hope they haven’t left yet.’

Li Wei really didn’t want to be trapped in the Secret Realm.

Being trapped in the Secret Realm was slightly better than being trapped in the Bone Palace.

At least someone would definitely open the Secret Realm Teleportation Gate within a month.

At least there was hope.

BOOM!

Li Wei saw the explosion created by Magic and breathed a sigh of relief.

The battle was still ongoing, which meant the others hadn’t left yet.

A figure streaked across the sky above the Skeleton Sea.

Suddenly, the figure stopped and flew quickly toward Li Wei.

Seeing someone approach, Li Wei instinctively slowed down, his guard up.

When the person got closer, he saw it was the supervising teacher, Jasmine.

Jasmine stopped in front of Li Wei, a pair of cyan Wind Elf Wings on her back.

She looked at Li Wei and asked, "Where did you just go?"

Li Wei replied, "I was chasing the Death Knight."

Jasmine stared at Li Wei for a moment before asking, "What did you see?"

"A Blood Pool," Li Wei said.

Jasmine’s brow furrowed. "You didn’t go in, did you?"

Li Wei shook his head. "No. I used Magic to attack the Blood Pool and found it had no effect, so I didn’t risk going in."

"After killing the Death Knight, I left."

Jasmine nodded. "Good. It’s for the best you didn’t go in."

"The Thousand-Year Blood Pool is one of the most dangerous places on the Ancient Battlefield."

"I have no idea what the Barrier Masters from the Elemental Tower were thinking back then, to actually enclose a part of the Blood Pool within the Magic Barrier."

"Fortunately, the part of the Blood Pool inside the Secret Realm is relatively quiet, but it’s still very dangerous. Don’t go near it casually."

Jasmine warned Li Wei, afraid he might recklessly approach the Blood Pool and trigger some unforeseen event.

Li Wei quickly nodded in understanding. "Yes, I know."

Jasmine looked him in the eyes and asked, "Are you really a Tier Three Mage?"

Li Wei replied, "The genuine article."

Jasmine chuckled. "Hah. Fine. We’ll say you’re a Tier Three Mage while you’re here."

"Since you can kill a Death Knight, there are no longer any enemies in this Secret Realm that can threaten you. I won’t look out for you anymore."

Jasmine turned, about to leave.

Then she suddenly asked, "Did you have a friend who died at the hands of the Death Knight?"

Li Wei froze, not understanding why she would think that.

Seeing Li Wei didn’t answer, Jasmine assumed she had touched upon a sore subject.

She didn’t press the matter and flew off into the distance.

Li Wei scratched his head, feeling baffled.

’I just got to the Elemental Tower. How could I have any friends?’

Li Wei shook his head, putting the matter aside.

WHOOSH!

A Bone Arrow struck Li Wei.

CLANG!

It was blocked by his Invisible Armor.

Li Wei casually tossed a Fireball, blowing up a group of Skeleton Monsters.

The figure of a Skeleton Archer vanished in the fiery light.

It turned into Credit Points on his Magic Badge.

’Forget all that. I’ll just farm some Credit Points for now.’

By the time the practical combat course ended and everyone was leaving the Secret Realm, Li Wei had already accumulated 42.75 Credit Points on his Magic Badge.

The Tier Three and Tier Four Skeleton Monsters in the Secret Realm had been all but wiped out.

In the last half a day, he couldn’t find a single one.

「Secret Realm Plaza」

Everyone was discussing who had the highest Credit Points.

The number of Credit Points earned in the practical combat course was a direct representation of one’s strength.

Naturally, everyone was very interested in the results.

The top spots were usually claimed by the same few people.

Kulu stood in the center of the crowd. He often had the honor of placing in the top ranks of the Orange Level Class’s practical courses.

A figure walked out of the Secret Realm Teleportation Gate.

He glanced over instinctively, his face showing his surprise.

"You’re not dead?"

Kulu exclaimed in shock.

His cry drew the attention of the others.

They all turned to look at Li Wei.

Most of them looked confused, not understanding what Kulu was talking about.

Only a select few understood why Kulu was so surprised.

Just as Kulu was about to ask Li Wei how he had escaped the Death Knight’s pursuit, Jasmine walked out.

After she emerged, the Secret Realm Teleportation Gate closed.

Jasmine checked the students’ Credit Point earnings.

When she saw the Credit Points of the student in first place, she was utterly stunned.