ACSP: Chapter 14: Li Yanran Becomes Famous, Is Jiang Chen Just Trash?
At the same time...
...outside the secret realm.
At the moment Jiang Chen killed the young Zabuza with Chidori...I
...the secret realm stone tablet being watched by countless people refreshed once again.
[Secret Realm Difficulty (Hell): Speedrun Team — Li Yanran! (Time: 17 minutes 49 seconds)]
"Holy crap, even the Hell-level difficulty secret realm has been cleared, and it only took 17 minutes. How on earth did this Li Yanran do it?"
"Since this secret realm was discovered, no one has ever been able to clear the Hell-level difficulty. I didn't expect someone to clear it today."
"Damn, Li Yanran is definitely cheating. Clearing a Hell-level secret realm in 17 minutes? How is that possible? It takes me over two hours just to clear a simple one."
"Is this secret realm stone tablet broken?"
Everyone looked at the refreshed secret realm record on the stone tablet, finding it hard to accept for a moment.
Some people's jaws literally dropped.
Because they never imagined...
...that this secret realm, which had never been cleared before, would be cleared today.
And in only 17 minutes.
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes...
...they wouldn't have believed it in their wildest dreams.
...
The news of Li Yanran breaking three secret realm records in a row quickly spread online.
In an instant...
...Li Yanran's name resounded globally, making her a benchmark figure among this year's awakened professionals.
Hangzhou City, Dragon Country.
A young man who had just finished a secret realm run showed an expression of immense surprise after learning that a newcomer had already cleared a Hell-level beginner secret realm this year.
But soon...
...the look of surprise on his face turned into a strong fighting spirit.
"Hmph, this Li Yanran is just a newcomer with an 8th-grade talent. I have a 10th-grade talent, and my contracted character is the Third Tsuchikage. How could I be inferior to her?"
Wei Tian snorted coldly and, ignoring his companions' attempts to stop him, also adjusted the difficulty of the next secret realm to Hell-level.
However, after a few minutes...
...his team was teleported back from the secret realm.
And every one of them looked dispirited, so weak they could barely stand.
The people around them all showed looks of shock.
This Wei Tian was the most powerful newcomer in Hangzhou City.
Not only was he a Contractor with max-level talent...
...but he had also contracted a Kage-level powerhouse with a Kekkei Tota.
Just after completing the contract ceremony, he possessed incredibly powerful Earth Release and Dust Release skills.
To think that even he failed the challenge.
After the Wei Family, the leading family in Hangzhou City, learned about this, in order to save face, they immediately issued a statement online saying that the beginner secret realm Wei Tian challenged was much more difficult than the one Li Yanran challenged, which was why he failed this time.
...
Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
At this time, Kameda Sanjiro, who had also contracted a Kage-level Contractor, was leading his team through the Hell-level difficulty Novice Secret Realm.
Unfortunately, however...
His final outcome was the same as Wei Tian's; he failed.
"Baka yarou~ That flower girl from the Dragon Country only has an 8th-grade talent, and her contract partner is just a Jonin. Even she could clear the secret realm difficulty, so how could I fail?"
Kameda Sanjiro slumped on the ground, thinking for a long time without understanding how this happened.
At that moment, a woman wearing a kimono and wooden clogs walked over: "Kameda-kun, news just came from the Dragon Country. The other person with a max-level talent who contracted a Kage-level Contractor like you also failed to clear the stage."
Hearing this, Kameda Sanjiro felt a bit better.
It seemed the problem wasn't with him.
Rather, there was something wrong with that Li Yanran from the Dragon Country.
"Miss Ryuzawa Rara, please go back to the Dragon Country's internet and search again. I want all the information on that Li Yanran."
"Hai~"
...
As the news of Li Yanran leading her team to clear the Hell-level secret realm spread,
The people of the Chen family soon found themselves unable to sit still.
One must know,
They were scheduled to compete against City Lord Li Hongfei in a week.
And based on their understanding of City Lord Li Hongfei,
He would definitely send his daughter, Li Yanran, to compete when the time came.
Initially, they had looked down on Li Yanran.
After all, the Chen family had Chen Chuxi.
Looking at the entire Jinghai City, there was no newcomer who could contend with her.
Moreover,
They had already established an alliance with the Wang family.
Wang Hao from the Wang family was also an 8th-grade talent who had contracted an Elite Jonin.
With the two of them joining forces with Chen Chuxi, they could definitely win that competition easily.
When the time came, that newly discovered Novice Secret Realm would become the Chen family's property.
But now,
The news of Li Yanran successfully clearing the Hell-level secret realm caused a hint of worry to sprout in their hearts.
"If Li Yanran can lead a team through the Hell-level difficulty Novice Secret Realm, then it will be difficult for our Chen family to win the competition a week from now."
A Chen family elder shook his head and sighed.
Chen Zhentian was about to say something when he heard this.
Just then, Chen Chuxi, standing behind him with her arms crossed, tilted her head back and let out a cold snort: "It's just a mere Novice Secret Realm. I, Chen Chuxi, can clear it too."
Chen Zhentian's expression shifted slightly as he turned to look at Chen Chuxi: "Xiao Xi, don't underestimate the Hell-level difficulty Novice Secret Realm. In the past, many people with max-level talent who contracted Kage-level Contractors tried to clear that secret realm, but they all failed in the end."
"Indeed."
The Chen family elder who spoke earlier continued: "As far as I know, to date, only two teams in the world have successfully cleared the Hell-level Novice Secret Realm, and the captains of those two teams were both Super-Kage Level Contractors."
Hearing this, Chen Chuxi became even more energized: "So what you're saying is that Li Yanran has the strength to rival a Super-Kage Level Contractor?"
The Chen family elder paused and said: "That's not what I meant. I just want to tell you not to underestimate the Hell-level difficulty Novice Secret Realm..."
The corner of Chen Chuxi's mouth curled up: "Whether I've underestimated it or not, I'll know once I've tried."
Seeing that his daughter also wanted to attempt the Hell-level secret realm, Chen Zhentian immediately tried to dissuade her: "Xiao Xi, your current task is to hurry up and raise your level so you can win the competition next week. Do not go looking for extra trouble. If you die in the secret realm, you will be in a weakened state for 72 hours in the real world."
Chen Chuxi looked displeased, but she still agreed: "I understand."
At that moment, another Chen family elder suddenly spoke up: "By the way, something very interesting happened at the City Lord's Mansion yesterday. I wonder if you've heard about it?"
Chen Zhentian frowned: "What happened?"
The Chen family elder gave Chen Chuxi a meaningful look before saying: "It's about that kid Jiang Chen. Yesterday, he actually got into a confrontation with a patrol captain from the City Lord's Mansion, and the two of them even fought."
Hearing the name 'Jiang Chen,' a look of disdain immediately appeared in Chen Chuxi's eyes: "That trash has no skill whatsoever; he only knows how to cause trouble. The patrol captains of the City Lord's Mansion are all Contractors above level 50. He wasn't having a confrontation; he was looking for death."