Fortunately, Liora did not have to confront this slumbering "beast".

Otherwise, even with her strength and the World of Heart protecting her, she strongly suspected that she would end up on the losing side.

After she showed her identification documents and revealed her student identity, the weapons on the walls shifted their aim.

The soldier in charge did not make things difficult for her. After confirming her identity and that she was not a trespasser, he took the initiative to lead the way toward her destination.

As he let her enter the fortress and walk through the miniature city’s streets, the middle-aged man let out a sigh.

"I don’t know what the War Academy is thinking.", he shook his head with clear confusion.

"The Blood Forest Realm is not a place where students should be, much less first-year students. It doesn’t matter if you’ve reached Rank 4. Even if you were at Rank 7, I would still heavily discourage you from entering the secret realm."

The soldier glanced at Liora with pity, and his eyes revealed that he had already regarded her as a dead person.

Liora noticed his gaze, but merely offered a smile in return.

Seeing her attitude, the soldier softly exhaled and stopped speaking.

Seemingly having foreseen her death, he didn’t even go through the effort of striking up a conversation.

He walked through the streets, leading her toward the other side of the fortress.

Flight was strictly prohibited within the city.

As such, it took the pair nearly an hour to reach their destination.

Once they exited the city again and the secret realm’s gate appeared in the distance, the soldier finally broke the awkward silence.

He glanced at the hundred-kilometer-long tear in the very fabric of space, and spoke up.

"Either way, now that you’re here, you have no other choice but to try and complete the Trial."

"Seeing that you’re young, I’ll give you a final piece of advice."

"While within the Blood Secret Realm, you should never reveal your real identity. The beings within are extremely xenophobic."

"Also, never reveal information about the Human Federation.. It doesn’t matter how worthless it may seem. Even revealing your real name is forbidden!"

Saying this, a cold, murderous aura erupted from the soldier.

Though only Rank 5, the killing intent forged through thousands of battles made the man’s aura far more oppressive than that of ordinary Awakeners.

"Don’t think that the Human Federation won’t know if you betray the human race. The Information World can also monitor the secret realms. If you choose to become an alien spy, you will be immediately executed upon your return!"

"Each year, millions of human spies are executed through the federation!"

An odd expression flashed in Liora’s eyes, but she didn’t try to argue.

She nodded her head in agreement.

The soldier spoke no further. Motioning with his hand, he checked the entrance and gestured for her to step inside.

And she did.

After taking a final look at the soldier and the traces of deadly aura in front of the spatial rift, Liora did not hesitate to enter the secret realm.

Soon, only the soldier remained standing there, with the giant fortress covered in weapons and troops clouding him in its shadow.

As he watched Liora’s figure disappear, a trace of emotion flashed in his eyes.

He gave a military salute at the spot where she previously stood, before returning to his post.

--

Liora originally did not know what to expect.

Although the entrance of the secret realm appeared like a giant door carved into the fabric of the space, she didn’t believe it would function the same way.

At least, she didn’t believe that she would be teleported to a set place.

If that were the case, the entering students would have to face a similar fortress as the one outside the very moment they entered it.

Fortunately, she soon discovered that this was indeed not the case.

When Liora opened her eyes again, she was not facing the weapons of the "alien races" but a giant floating continent.

At the moment, she was floating high in the sky, while a membrane stood behind her, blocking any further retreat as though it were a wall.

"I see...", she muttered.

She turned to look at this membrane and quickly realized that she could leave the secret realm if she pushed her way through it.

However, she obviously wouldn’t do so at this point in time.

She was required to stay in the secret realm for three months.

If she returned any earlier, she would suffer a severe punishment that would not be any different from simply dying in here.

With that in mind, Liora shifted her gaze to the continent below.

She understood this should be the "main part" of the secret realm and the land where the native creatures lived.

More importantly, this was the place where the greatest danger lurked.

"I wonder what would happen if I just floated here for the next three months. Would that satisfy the requirements of the Trial?", she couldn’t help but wonder, sensing that the Information World still existed around her.

Though she could not enter it at the moment, it was still tracking her progress in the Trial.

However, Liora quickly suppressed that thought. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

She knew that things were not that simple.

Most likely, there were bound to be dangers even in this space, perhaps even more dangerous than the ones she would face on the continent below.

She did not plan to test it.

After taking a deeper look at the land, she began to descend, lowering her altitude at high speed.

The route she followed appeared random at first glance.

However, it was carefully chosen after several investigations and a brief communication with Alpha.

The journey did not take long.

Within minutes, she had finally landed in the "real" Blood Forest Realm.

A deafening boom shook the surrounding landscape.

The ground beneath her feet collapsed, while a massive crater formed and spiderweb-like cracks spread in all directions.