And just as Su Mu prepared to continue accumulating...

In Chuan Provincial City, within an extremely secluded underground space.

Located over a hundred meters below ground, the surrounding walls were densely engraved with runes, their patterns glowing with a slow-flowing faint blue light.

The space was a massive circle over three thousand meters in diameter. High above hung a domed ceiling, projecting a hazy, constantly churning layer of clouds.

After countless years of development, the Assessment Secret Realm was no longer confined to a single fixed location.

In the beginning, the Secret Realm could only open in one city, requiring all candidates to travel long distances to that city to participate in the assessment.

But as the Secret Realm space gradually stabilized, projection technology matured, and runic Formations were continuously refined, the Assessment Secret Realm could now be projected to each provincial city, forming independent projection examination halls.

The projection examination hall in every provincial city remained synchronized with the actual Secret Realm.

Everything experienced by the candidates within the Secret Realm was projected in real time into the circular chambers of each provincial city.

This allowed observers, instructors, and association members from various regions to watch the entire assessment from their nearest provincial city.

The projection examination hall in Chuan Provincial City was one such venue.

Along the perimeter of the circular chamber, a wide corridor encircled the entire space, where a Dungeon Master in a dark gray uniform stood every ten meters.

Their auras were steady, all Professionals of at least Level 40. Further outside the corridor, numerous armed guards equipped with standard-issue gear patrolled the passageways and entrances.

At this moment, seated in the stands within the circular chamber were hundreds of Dungeon Master Association members, military academy instructors, and observers from major factions across Chuan Province.

Through the massive light screens, they watched the candidates' performances in the Ancient Battlefield, occasionally exchanging quiet remarks.

Everything was business as usual.

Then, the sky darkened.

The projected clouds on the ceiling of the circular chamber had originally been a uniform grayish-white.

But now, they began turning black from the center, spreading outward rapidly like a drop of ink falling into clear water. In less than ten breaths, the entire sky turned pitch-black.

"What's going on?" someone in the stands stood up and asked.

"Did the projection malfunction?"

"No, this is..." The face of a Dungeon Master responsible for maintaining the projection paled drastically. "An energy rampage! Someone is interfering with the Secret Realm's stability!"

Before his voice faded, more than a dozen figures moved simultaneously along the outer corridor of the circular chamber.

Moving with extreme speed, they darted out from behind the guards at virtually the same instant, various summons appearing in their hands.

Some summoned giant black hounds, some summoned flying creatures wreathed in black mist, and some drew dark-red cards that shattered instantly as a three-meter-tall Bone Demon stepped out from the the void.

"Enemy attack!" The guard captain roared, drawing his weapon. "It's the Nest Cult!"

But with the attackers striking by surprise, it was nearly impossible to resist.

Those Nest Cult Dungeon Masters had long since infiltrated the crowd, some even disguised as association personnel.

Striking in unison, they instantly overwhelmed the perimeter guards.

The Bone Demon rampaged, sending several guards flying before they could react. The black hounds lunged toward the stands, triggering mass chaos.

"Protect the civilians!" someone shouted.

"Quick, call the Dungeon Master Association! Request reinforcements!"

A middle-aged man in a gray robe stood up from the stands. He was a vice president of the Chuan Province Dungeon Master Association, a Level 60 second transition.

He immediately deployed his dungeon, and a massive stone colossus stepped out from the the void, charging toward the Nest Cult Dungeon Masters.

But the opposition was clearly well-prepared.

A Nest Cult Dungeon Master retrieved a pitch-black token from his sleeve, engraved with a twisted vertical eye that glowed with a dark red light.

He hurled the token fiercely toward the Secret Realm projection in the center of the circular chamber.

Tracing a black arc, the token cut through the chaotic crowd and landed squarely above the projection screen.

"Stop it!" the vice president roared.

But it was too late.

The instant the token struck the screen, a thick cloud of black mist erupted.

Like a giant hand, the black mist clawed viciously into the interior of the Secret Realm projection.

The projection screen shook violently, the previously stable image beginning to distort and fracture.

Having thrown the token, the Nest Cult Dungeon Masters showed no desire to linger.

They turned on their heels, scattering toward the various exits of the circular chamber.

"Don't pursue! Stabilize the Secret Realm first!"

"Quick, shut down the projection channel!"

"Too late, the cult evil token has already entered!"

In the chaos, the vice president led several high-Level Dungeon Masters rushing toward the projection screen, attempting to use dungeon power to seal off the black mist.

But the power of the cult evil token far exceeded their imagination; instead of dissipating, the black mist expanded further, staining the entire projection screen pitch-black.

In less than two minutes, reinforcements from the Dungeon Master Association arrived.

Dozens of Dungeon Masters in uniform swarmed in from the passageways, led by a gray-haired elder at Level 70, the Peak of the second transition. He scanned the scene, his face livid.

"Seal all exits. Don't let a single one escape," his voice was low and icy. "Contact the proctors inside the dungeon immediately."

Meanwhile, inside the Secret Realm.

On the floating platform, the proctors were watching the candidates' performances on the light screens with rapt attention. Su Mu remained in first place, closely followed by Zhao Wuji, Lin Qingyin, Ye Qingxue, and the others. More than nine hundred had been eliminated, leaving fewer than a hundred.

Elder Xiu stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze calm.

Then, his expression suddenly hardened.

"Bastards!"

The word detonated, ringing in the ears of all the proctors on the platform. Elder Xiu had already vanished from the spot.

The crowd looked at one another in confusion, not yet grasping what had occurred. But in the next instant, they felt it too.

The Evil Clan.

The aura of an Evil Clan priest from the Nest Church.

Coming from beyond the Secret Realm's barrier, the aura was potent and wicked, bearing an oppressive weight that made the soul tremble.

That was power at the level of a third transition.

"Everyone on alert!" Elder Zhao straightened abruptly, the dark-gold token in his hand glowing.

"Protect the candidates!"

"Contact the association headquarters!"

Tension gripped the platform as all the proctors deployed their dungeons at once, a burst of multicolored lights erupting across the platform.

But before they could charge off the platform, a violent collision echoed from high above the sky.

Boom...

Boom...

Boom...