Imprisoned for a Trillion Years, I Was Worshipped by All Gods!

Alan nodded.

Earlier, when he approached the lake, he had already sensed a terrifyingly powerful magic array lingering beneath the water.

Though it was incomplete, if someone were to recklessly dive in like that young man before, the moment they touched the fractured array, death would be inevitable!

"This secret realm is one that even a coalition of powerful mages from various factions couldn't breach head-on. We must proceed with the utmost caution,"

the Third Princess warned once again.

Her bright eyes remained locked on the distant island. As a royal, she knew many secrets unknown to others—and was even more aware of the dangers here.

Alan fully agreed. Even though this secret realm was left behind by Nicolas in his youth, considering his overwhelming talent far beyond his peers, it was only natural that this place would still be filled with all sorts of perils.

In the next moment, the Third Princess seemed to sense something. Her long blade flashed out with unimaginable speed, leaving a trail of ice along the ground, spreading rapidly forward.

Crack!

A nearby tree behind them was instantly frozen and then shattered by the blade's light.

A nimble youth, agile as a monkey, quickly retreated and widened the distance between himself and the two. There was a hint of fear on his face—

clearly, he hadn't expected the Third Princess to possess such keen perception and terrifying strength!

However, the Third Princess didn't pursue him. She merely scoffed coldly,

"If you don't have the strength, don't waste our time!"

Watching the Third Princess radiate such overwhelming dominance, Alan could feel several hidden, prying gazes quietly vanish.

Clearly, many were intimidated by the Third Princess!

Sensing this, Alan fully understood what she had said earlier:

Only strength can inspire fear in others.

Now free from the many watching eyes, the Third Princess summoned a magic carpet, which appeared in front of Alan.

The two stepped onto it, and under the Princess's command, they swiftly approached the island.

They didn't travel too fast, carefully sensing the fluctuations of the magic array beneath the lake as they moved.

This array wasn't static—it was constantly shifting!

However, for the two of them, this was no real challenge. They navigated through it smoothly and arrived on the island without incident.

But just as they landed, a blonde woman greeted them, leaning on a slender, umbrella-like sword, eyeing them coldly.

Beneath her long legs lay the corpses of several mages, their hearts, brains, and other vital areas pierced through—

each killed in a single strike!

The blonde woman looked at Alan and the Third Princess like a hunter eyeing prey that had walked into her territory. A sly smile curled on her lips.

"To enter the secret realm, you'll need to pay one hundred mana stones—or ten Level-2 mana stones!"

she declared seriously, gripping her sword tightly.

The Third Princess shook her head and coldly glared back at her.

"Robbing others is none of my business—but trying to rob me? Who do you think you are?!"

"Alan, attack. Deal with her."

The moment her words fell, Alan was about to strike when the blonde woman moved first, stepping forward with killing intent.

A cold, razor-sharp spike shot straight toward Alan's forehead.

Alan felt a sharp pain between his brows, like a silver needle piercing his spirit—his mind briefly went numb.

Clearly, this woman had mastered a magic skill capable of targeting the soul!

Alan didn't dare be careless. He gripped his staff-sword tightly and secretly activated his magus abilities.

In the next second, a fierce [Blade Spirit] surged forth—compressed to the size of a palm, but the power it radiated was terrifying.

This time, Alan held nothing back!

BOOM!

The [Blade Spirit] clashed with the cold spike like a crashing wave, shaking the air and triggering a series of explosive shockwaves.

The blonde woman froze, clearly not expecting Alan to react so quickly—

nor for his attack to be so ferocious. Even she could only fight to a draw against that move!

Just as she was preparing her counterattack, she suddenly noticed that the nearly-dispersed [Blade Spirit] had reformed—this time moving even faster, locked onto her!

She didn't anticipate Alan's techniques to be so unpredictable.

Caught off guard, she barely managed to raise her sword. A constellation of seven stars appeared before her, distorting the incoming [Blade Spirit] wave.

"Wait! Your strength is impressive—go ahead and enter!"

Seeing Alan ready another strike, the blonde woman hastily backed off and made way.

She had clearly realized how terrifying Alan's strength was.

Continuing the fight would lead to uncertain outcomes—especially with an even more unfathomable presence standing beside him.

Alan was a little surprised at her sudden retreat.

But what shocked him even more came right after.

The Third Princess suddenly lunged toward the blonde woman, drawing the blade at her waist!

Her speed was so fast that even Alan, who was partly focused on her, could only catch a vague afterimage.

Not until the attack ended could he see what had happened.

As a magus, Alan could barely sense her presence at all!

The blonde woman didn't sense any danger until it was far too late.

In panic, she raised her sword to block.

But the Third Princess struck with absolute dominance.

The blonde woman managed to parry the first slash, but was clearly struggling.

As the second slash came crashing down, her bones felt as if they had shattered under its force!

There was no way she could defend against the tidal third strike!

Under Alan's watchful gaze, the blonde woman was torn apart after just two exchanges.

Her body was sliced into pieces, her aura falling to nothing.

She struggled for a brief moment… and then perished completely.

"In your next life, remember—some people you simply cannot afford to provoke."

After delivering three swift and lethal strikes, the Third Princess said coldly.

Alan didn't say much, and quickly looted the valuable items from the woman's corpse before following the Third Princess.

The woman had clearly robbed quite a few people—she carried an impressive amount of gold coins and supplies!

The thrill of such a fast harvest left Alan feeling a bit intoxicated.

Had he tried to earn that much through other means, who knew how long it would've taken?

Before long, the two reached a glowing portal at the center of the island.

Upon arrival, Alan suddenly felt his staff-sword grow restless.

Noticing the change in his expression, the Third Princess curiously asked:

"Did you sense something?"

Alan pondered for a moment, feeling like he really did have some sort of connection to this secret realm. He looked at the Third Princess and said:

"Let's go in—but once we pass through the portal, don't stray too far."

The Third Princess didn't quite understand, but nodded nonetheless.

Soon, the two stepped into the portal—and the world around them changed drastically.

Countless winding paths appeared before them, dense and complex like an ant nest. It was no different from a maze!

Both Alan and the Third Princess had a strong hunch:

If they took the wrong path, it would be nearly impossible to leave or obtain any fortune within.

Seeing this, the Third Princess immediately turned to Alan. It seemed he had anticipated this situation.

Alan closed his eyes and focused, then dashed toward a hidden corner.

"The true legacy should be down this path!"

Seeing his certainty, the Third Princess said nothing more and followed him.

After all, the maze had countless paths—

and she had no way of knowing which one might contain the inheritance of that forbidden magus.

As they followed the path Alan chose, they passed by many bloodstained corpses—obviously the remains of other talented mages who had entered earlier.

"Are you sure this path is safe?"

the further they went, the more curious the Third Princess became.

They had already ventured quite far, and the path ahead was even blocked off—no visible way forward.

Alan, however, threw a punch straight into the stone wall—

The ground shook violently, and the wall crumbled—revealing a hidden passage.