The terror of the Headless had forced all Adventurers to recognize just how mysterious Ashina truly was.
Because of this, Wool Warrior became famous overnight. When he logged into the Secret Realm again, hundreds of Adventurers had already gathered around the crystal he controlled, waiting to watch.
"When the Headless appeared, I was out exploring and missed it. What a legendary scene to lose!"
"The Headless is probably the strongest wild monster in all of Ashina."
"Probably!"
"He's stronger than rare elites like Lady Butterfly, the Oni Division Commander, and Ashina General Renjiro."
"Sure, he can't compare to peerless legends like Sword Saint Isshin, but as a monster, he's already at the ceiling."
"A place as small as Ashina hiding horrors like that… the world of Ten Kingdoms Chronicle is a hundred times richer than we imagined!"
"That old mastermind really has no limits!"
"..."
While the crowd was buzzing, Wool Warrior teleported directly to the Deep Valley Ghost Buddha.
That saved him two to three hours of travel.
Two paths appeared before him again. The left one descended toward the Headless's cave. Just thinking about that chilling encounter made his spine go cold and his scalp tingle.
If he hadn't seen it himself, he would never have believed such a monster could exist.
That bone-deep terror.
That despair of an insect trying to shake a towering tree.
He never wanted to experience it again in his life.
Without hesitation, Wool Warrior chose the other path.
This ancient road wound along the cliff face into the depths of the canyon, passing through many man-made plank road tunnels. However, years of decay had ruined much of the route.
Only by using the Shinobi Prosthetic could he continue.
Wool Warrior leapt between cliffs and walls for over half an hour. By now, he was far from Ashina Castle. Vegetation thinned rapidly, replaced by bare gray-black rock shrouded in mist.
The deeper he went—
The more desolate it became.
The more silent it grew.
"So mysterious…"
"I wonder what we'll run into."
"Could it really just be an abandoned road?"
"No way. Everything in the Secret Realm is created by Lord Qi."
"Exactly. With his style, there's no way he'd design all this scenery for nothing. There has to be something hidden here — either lore or a major secret!"
"..."
The Adventurers were full of anticipation as they enjoyed the scenery.
The unknown always stirred excitement.
Wool Warrior continued deeper into the canyon. Beneath him was a thousand-meter abyss, while the surrounding cliffs were bare and scarred with strange impact marks and deep friction grooves.
"The wind down here smells… fishy."
He took a breath.
Then suddenly noticed something.
"Huh? Everyone look — what's that?"
A massive white curtain hung from the cliff ahead. It was enormous and rectangular, clearly hundreds of meters long when fully stretched.
The others hadn't seen clearly yet.
But Wool Warrior was already moving toward it.
When he grappled to a dead branch on the opposite cliff, everyone finally saw what it was — and their expressions froze in shock.
"Snakeskin?"
"More precisely… shed skin!"
"Seriously?!"
"That thing is hundreds of meters long even as shed skin. Then the real body would be—"
"This place is dangerous. We should leave!"
"What are you afraid of? Don't chicken out — go look!"
"..."
Wool Warrior already felt uneasy. Just as he hesitated, the canyon suddenly shook, as if mountains were shifting and the earth was tearing apart.
A massive moving body appeared ahead.
This was—
A snake.
A gigantic white snake!
Its body was at least four to five meters thick. From what was visible alone, its length easily exceeded five hundred meters. It could coil through mountains and span the entire canyon.
From a human perspective…
It was impossible to see its full form.
This was a living natural disaster.
Wherever it moved, mountains trembled and the earth roared. Vegetation and stone alike were crushed effortlessly beneath its body. Its very existence shattered common sense.
"What are you standing there for, kid?! Retreat, now!"
The veteran Adventurer Boulder snapped Wool Warrior out of his daze.
That's right.
This was a monster no human power could contend with.
Wool Warrior had never imagined a snake could grow this large — so massive it could coil among mountain ranges like an ancient god. The shock hit him straight in the soul.
Then fear followed.
He hadn't expected that in a single day, he'd experience two completely different kinds of extreme terror.
The Headless brought dread, eeriness, and despair.
The White Serpent God brought overwhelming scale, crushing oppression, and absolute dominance.
This creature was the embodiment of raw natural power — a walking catastrophe that erased any thought of resistance. Before it, humans were no different from ants.
Run!
Every instinct screamed the same command.
Wool Warrior immediately turned to retreat.
But at that moment, amid the horrified cries of the watching Adventurers, a massive shadow fell from the sky behind him. The pressure was like a collapsing mountain.
Not good!
Even though he was mentally prepared, the moment he turned around, the scene burned itself into his mind forever.
Part of the White Serpent God's body was still coiled hundreds of meters away along the cliff — but its head had somehow appeared right behind him, gazing down with emotionless, icy eyes.
The contrast was absurd.
An Adventurer standing before the White Serpent God…
Was like an ant standing before a grown man.
The Adventurers watching felt its immense scale and crushing presence with terrifying clarity. This sudden, overwhelming spectacle — with no warning — made everyone question reality itself.
Too big.
Too unreal.
How could something like this exist in Ashina?
What other secrets did the world of Ten Kingdoms Chronicle still hide?
How much more madness was left in Lord Qi's imagination vault?!
The White Serpent God's head was the size of a small hill. Its scarlet eyes glowed like burning lanterns, and its tongue flicked out with a hiss that echoed through the canyon. Thick saliva dripped onto the rocks, sizzling as if corrosive.
Each movement of its mountain-like body scraped against the cliffs, producing thunderous sounds. If it exerted even a little more force, entire mountainsides would collapse.
Facing such a suffocating sight, Wool Warrior's mind completely blanked.
If the White Serpent God attacked now, he would die instantly.
But it didn't rush him.
Instead, its massive body coiled around the mountains, as if playing with a helpless insect — savoring his trembling fear.
Run!
Every cell in his body screamed it.
Wool Warrior fired his grappling hook, launching himself toward a nearby tree to create distance.
That movement enraged the White Serpent God instantly.
It released a thunderous roar that shook heaven and earth, then surged forward at more than ten times its previous speed. Its scales scraped violently against the cliffs, triggering massive landslides.
The next instant—
The snake's head, larger than a steam locomotive, lunged at him. When it opened its bloody maw, Wool Warrior saw rows of dense, massive fangs like giant swords.
Boom!
It bit down.
The dead tree and a huge chunk of mountain rock were torn apart.
Wool Warrior immediately fired his grappling hook again, barely escaping its mouth. He fled along the ancient road and dove into a mountain tunnel, trying to use the terrain to hide and shake off the monster.
But—
It was useless.
The White Serpent God slammed straight into the rock wall.
Mountains collapsed. Stones shattered. The earth shook violently.
The rocks around Wool Warrior cracked and fell, forcing him to sprint toward another exit — only for a massive section of the serpent's body to crash down and block his path.
"Get lost!"
He slashed at the scales with his sword.
Sparks exploded.
Not only did he fail to break through — his arms went numb, and his palms tore open from the shock.
Each scale was half a meter wide, gleaming like cold steel — tougher than armor and completely impervious to blades.
Boulder shouted, "Its scales are too thick — those aren't vital points! Attacking there is useless!"
Iron Heart yelled, "Go for its head or eyes!"
The White Serpent God's body was covered in unbreakable scales. Only its head lacked that armor — the only possible weak point.
The problem was—
Easier said than done.
You try it if you can!
The White Serpent God suddenly whipped its tail.
Wool Warrior's sword shattered under the impact.
He felt like he'd been hit by a speeding truck — no, a train. His body was launched across the canyon and smashed into the opposite cliff face.
The next moment—
The White Serpent God lunged again with its bloody maw wide open.
Already gravely injured, bones shattered, Wool Warrior could only watch helplessly as he was swallowed whole.
Everything went dark.
A huge [Death] screen appeared.
Adventure failed.
He exited the Secret Realm once more.
Another unforgettable experience.
His stamina was completely exhausted.
More than four hundred Adventurers had witnessed the encounter. The White Serpent God's sheer presence and terror shook everyone to their core — a blow that shattered their understanding and overturned their worldview.
"That thing is insane — that's Tier 3, Two-Star peak!"
"What?! Another Tier 3?!"
"No — it's scarier than that. It's only Tier 3!"
"The destructive power alone is basically a natural disaster!"
"..."
The crowd erupted.
The White Serpent God was simply too massive — too awe-inspiring.
According to the monster guide, it was still classified as Tier 3. If its spirit essence could drop and be contracted, how terrifying and majestic would that be? It would be the ultimate weapon for sieges and large-scale warfare!
Sure, killing it sounded insane and nearly impossible.
But Adventurers were fearless. After all, running Secret Realms was basically gaming — you didn't really die. A spirit essence this powerful was more than enough to drive everyone mad with desire.
Now the situation was clear.
This side path led to two locations.
One was the Headless's cave.
The other was the canyon lair of the White Serpent God.
Neither was something ordinary Adventurers could challenge.
As for Wool Warrior…
It was hard to say whether his luck was good or bad.
Both explorations had thrown him straight into horrors beyond human comprehension.
But what was certain was this:
His discoveries were priceless.
These two monsters would dominate discussions in Miracle City for a long time. Countless Adventurers would inevitably attempt to challenge them — and be mercilessly harvested.
At the same time, the emergence of the Headless and the White Serpent God further enriched the depth of the Ten Kingdoms Chronicle Secret Realm.
It made everyone painfully aware of how little they understood.
Lord Qi had placed two such powerful, iconic, top-tier monsters in a remote mountain corner — completely unrelated to the current main storyline.
That alone proved how vast and deep this world truly was.
Even revealing just the tip of the iceberg was enough to shake everything.
Thus—
Today's exploration officially entered its final stage.
While Bihua, Wool Warrior, and a few others made major discoveries and lore breakthroughs, other Adventurers were grinding monsters, clearing areas, and advancing the main storyline.
For example—
At this very moment.
Three Bamboo launched his tenth challenge against the Oni Division Commander!
So far, twelve Adventurers in Miracle City had reached Great Hand Gate. The Oni Division Commander had been challenged over a hundred times — without a single victory — but enough experience had finally been accumulated.
By now, Three Bamboo and the others had fully memorized his moves.
Their reactions had grown sharp and precise.
His spear techniques were powerful and domineering, but lacked sufficient variation. Once you understood his attack patterns, most of his seemingly unstoppable blows could be deflected.
In addition, he possessed several dangerous techniques — throwing his spear, cavalry charges, and trampling attacks — but Adventurers could use Wolf's danger perception to predict and respond in advance.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Oni Division Commander swung his cross-shaped spear relentlessly, attacking from every angle. Three Bamboo stood firm like a mountain, calmly deflecting each strike. Sparks flew as the spear was repeatedly knocked aside.
"You little—!"
The commander pulled back to throw his spear, but Three Bamboo anticipated it and dodged. He then used a rope to snag the shaft, spinning it like a windmill and sweeping it horizontally.
Clang!
As Three Bamboo precisely deflected the sweeping strike, a sharp light flashed in his eyes. He fired his grappling hook — not at terrain, but directly at the commander's armor.
"Not good!"
Realizing too late, the commander felt a powerful force yank him forward. Though he tried to brace himself against his warhorse, Three Bamboo reeled himself in, closing the distance instantly.
The next moment—
The blade slipped into a gap in the armor.
Piercing cleanly through the neck and carotid artery at a perfect angle.
A fatal strike.
The old general's eyes filled with anger, regret, and guilt.
He wasn't afraid of death.
He only worried about the land beneath his feet —
And the man who carried Ashina's final hope.
"Sorry… Renjiro…"
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