Chapter 61: The Palace Of Sharia Dynasty

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: The Palace Of Sharia Dynasty

"What... just happened?" Mira breathed, staring at the empty grassland in disbelief.

She slowly lowered the Grade 4 Exploding Pill she had been about to swallow.

Only moments ago, she had been prepared to burn through her strength and fight the Steel Hyenas and Shadow with everything she had.

She had expected a desperate battle.

Instead, Mr. X had appeared and ended everything almost instantly. It had all happened so quickly that she could barely process it.

"That was spatial suppression, wasn’t it?" she said, turning toward Evelyn. "What kind of martial technique can actually freeze space?"

Evelyn shook her head.

"I have no idea," she said, her expression just as complicated.

The first time Mr. X appeared, he had already left her deeply shaken.

Not only was he a young master capable of refining Grade 5 pills, but his combat strength was also terrifying enough to kill a peak second tier monster with almost no effort.

And now he had displayed an ability that looked almost identical to the legendary spatial abilities possessed by Star Sea Realm experts.

Evelyn could not even begin to understand what kind of person he really was.

Grant was equally stunned.

Could Mr. X actually be a Star Sea Realm martial artist?

The thought surfaced in his mind. At their level, they had never even come into contact with ninth grade martial techniques such as the Heaven Piercing Sixfold Finger.

Their understanding of the realms was relatively straightforward. Body Tempering warriors refined their physical bodies and strengthened their mana and blood.

Foundation Establishment warriors condensed spiritual energy and strengthened their foundations.

Spirit Platform warriors could begin manipulating the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, giving them enough power to shatter mountains and split boulders.

Above that was the Star Sea Realm, where martial artists could begin comprehending mysterious laws and awakening extraordinary abilities.

Spatial manipulation was one of those legendary abilities.

So for a moment, Grant genuinely suspected that Mr. X was a Star Sea Realm expert. But he quickly rejected the idea.

"The Hunting Ground Secret Realm only permits Foundation Establishment martial artists to enter," he said.

"That’s an absolute restriction. Mr. X couldn’t possibly be at the Star Sea Realm." He shook his head. "Unless he entered as a Foundation Establishment martial artist and somehow broke through afterward."

He immediately dismissed that possibility too. The secret realm had only been open for several days, and going from Foundation Establishment to Star Sea in such a short period was simply absurd.

Looking through the entire century of martial arts development since spiritual energy had awakened, Grant had never heard of anything remotely like it.

"This Mr. X is becoming more mysterious by the minute," he said.

Evelyn nodded slowly.

"He probably isn’t a Star Sea Realm martial artist," she said.

"But whatever technique he’s using, its effects are almost identical to the spatial abilities of Star Sea experts."

Grant’s expression became serious. A Foundation Establishment martial artist possessing an ability comparable to a Star Sea Realm supernatural power.

The implications were enormous. He suddenly felt excited. He needed to report this immediately. The Extraordinary Division absolutely had to learn about Mr. X’s existence.

"Let’s head back," Grant said. "I need to report this—"

"Wait," Mira suddenly interrupted him.

Grant looked at her. She remained silent for several seconds before pointing toward the southeast.

"Captain Grant, let’s go another 30 kilometers in that direction," she said, then hesitated. "I... have a feeling we’ll find something important there."

"A feeling?" Grant asked, exchanging confused glances with Evelyn.

Mira could not possibly tell them the truth.

Inside her body, Lydia had suddenly spoken. She had recognized the surroundings.

This place was connected to the fragments of her memories, and somewhere approximately 30 kilometers southeast of their current position was the palace she remembered.

But Mira could not reveal Lydia’s existence, so she could only call it a premonition.

"Thirty kilometers isn’t far for us," she said. "If we hurry, we can investigate and return before it gets too late."

Grant studied her for a moment, then nodded.

"Fine. Let’s go," he said.

The three immediately set off. For Foundation Establishment martial artists moving at full speed, 30 kilometers was not much.

Less than twenty minutes later, they arrived at the location Mira had described.

The moment they reached the destination, all three stopped, their expressions changing simultaneously.

Before them, rising from the middle of the seemingly endless grassland, stood an enormous palace. It towered hundreds of meters into the sky, and somehow, despite the vast wilderness surrounding it, the magnificent structure looked completely untouched.

Mira’s heartbeat quickened.

She had found it.

The enormous structure stood alone in the middle of the wilderness, completely out of place amid the endless grassland. Its walls were the color of polished white jade, while broad jade steps led toward the entrance.

Ornate railings surrounded the building, and magnificent phoenixes had been carved into its pillars and beams.

The palace rose more than a hundred meters into the sky, its sheer scale giving it an overwhelming sense of grandeur.

Yet its massive gates remained firmly shut. In front of them stretched a vast stone plaza, completely deserted. Not a single monster was anywhere in sight.

Mira, Grant, and Evelyn stared at the palace for several seconds without saying a word. Finally, Grant broke the silence.

"There’s actually a palace hidden inside this secret realm?" he said, his eyes slowly widening. "Could this be an inheritance realm?"

The moment he said those words, both Mira and Evelyn reacted. An inheritance realm. That possibility changed everything.

There were generally two categories of secret realms that appeared in the human world.

The first were invasion type secret realms. Their existence was a direct threat to humanity, since once the creatures within such a realm found a way into the human world, they would begin spreading outward, occupying territory and attacking humans.

Humanity could only respond by destroying the invading creatures or preventing them from establishing a foothold.

Inheritance realms were completely different. These secret realms contained legacies left behind by ancient civilizations or powerful beings, and those who entered might obtain martial techniques, treasures, weapons, cultivation methods, or other forms of inheritance.

Much of humanity’s current martial arts development had been influenced by such discoveries, and the various inheritances obtained from secret realms had allowed human martial artists to continuously advance and gain the strength necessary to resist powerful monsters and alien races.

Even Mira’s Great Evolution Spirit Absorption Technique had originally come from an inheritance within a secret realm.

More importantly, inheritance realms generally posed little threat to the human world. The creatures inside were often guardians rather than true invaders.

According to the research conducted by humanity, many of these monsters had been deliberately left behind by ancient civilizations to protect the inheritances contained within their secret realms. ℯℯ𝑙.

And if nobody succeeded in obtaining the inheritance within the specified period, the secret realm would usually disappear on its own.

In many cases, the portal would vanish after roughly a month, and when that happened the creatures inside would lose their opportunity to enter the human world as well.

That was why Grant’s heart had begun racing after seeing the palace. If the Hunting Ground really was an inheritance realm, then the threat hanging over the surrounding cities was nowhere near as serious as they had initially believed.

Even if nobody managed to obtain the inheritance, the monsters would eventually disappear along with the realm.

"What do we do now?" Evelyn asked.

Grant stared at the palace for a moment before making his decision.

"We return immediately and report this," he said, his voice becoming serious.

"An inheritance realm is valuable enough that we can’t make this decision on our own."

There was another reason. Inheritance realms were rarely easy to enter. The monsters surrounding them were often the first trial, and without sufficient strength, most martial artists would not even reach the entrance.

Once inside, there could be even more dangerous trials waiting, and obtaining an inheritance was often a gamble with one’s life.

Grant believed the safest approach was to report their discovery first.

That would accomplish two things. First, everyone in the surrounding cities would know that the Hunting Ground was probably not an ordinary invasion realm, which would greatly reduce the panic.

Second, the Extraordinary Division could gather its strongest martial artists and work out a strategy for exploring the palace.

No one could afford to underestimate an inheritance capable of potentially advancing humanity’s martial arts.

Mira agreed with his reasoning. But there was someone inside her who strongly disagreed.

Go inside!

Lydia’s voice had become increasingly anxious. The moment she saw the palace, she had experienced an overwhelming sense of familiarity. It was almost as though she had suddenly returned to her own home. She desperately wanted Mira to enter.

But Mira had no idea what awaited them inside. She also did not know where Lydia’s missing soul was hidden.

Walking into an unknown inheritance realm without preparation was simply too dangerous.

Lydia, calm down, Mira communicated silently. We have plenty of time. We’ll find your soul eventually.

I don’t want to wait! Lydia’s response was immediate. If you won’t go in, then I’ll come out and enter myself!

Mira’s expression tightened.

Don’t be reckless, she pleaded.