Mara Canyon, located at the end of the Pear Corridor.
Under normal circumstances, this was nothing more than a barren gorge—impoverished and desolate in both territory and economy, frequented by no one save a handful of destitute natives.
But now, a secret realm entrance had changed everything.
Ever since one of the entrances to the Ganges Secret Realm was discovered here, wizards from every direction had descended upon the place, engaging in one bloody battle after another.
In the end, the Hunting Squad and the Combat Squad of the
Almost immediately, a steady stream of wandering wizards and apprentices spontaneously banded together to form a wizard market around the secret realm entrance.
The higher-ups of the Four Seasons Garden, well aware that blocking was less effective than guiding, promptly dispatched personnel to build a small town centered on this wizard market, welcoming all wizard factions except the Dark Wizards.
The moment Leilin stepped into the small town, the first thing he noticed was the overwhelming bustle.
"Looking for party members! Everyone is a Third-rank Apprentice! We have a healer!"
"Latest secret realm maps—only five hundred Magic Stones!"
"Earth Dragon Flower! Freshly picked from the Ganges Secret Realm—six thousand Magic Stones! Selling at a loss!"
"Looking for a party! Third-rank Apprentice, can handle both offense and defense! I've recorded three healing-type Zero-level Spells…"
From the town entrance onward, every variety of vendor, adventuring party, and fully-fledged wizard had crammed themselves together, constantly squabbling red-faced over the price of one thing or another.
Here, every single person was at least a Wizard Apprentice. Not a single ordinary mortal could be found.
The entire town resembled a raucous vegetable market.
It took Leilin considerable effort to finally squeeze his way to the Four Seasons Garden's administrative office at the center of town.
Compared to the clamor outside, the moment he passed into the town center—guarded by wizards from both the Combat Squad and the Hunting Squad—the surrounding environment turned instantly quiet.
Leilin couldn't help but recall the two fully-fledged wizards he had seen standing watch at the entrance to the administrative office.
Having two actual wizards standing guard certainly placed enormous pressure on any wizard or apprentice who came here.
Wizards milled about in hushed conversation, occasionally passing in front of Leilin, all wearing expressions of hurried purpose.
"Hello! Are you here to complete the entry procedures? First, prove you aren't a Dark Wizard. Then pay five hundred Magic Stones, and you'll receive one chance to enter!"
Leilin approached a service window. The clerk inside spotted him and immediately launched into a formulaic recitation, as though hawking tickets.
In truth, the higher-ups of the Four Seasons Garden really were treating access to the secret realm entrance like a ticketed attraction.
"I'm not an outside wizard. I belong to the Four Seasons Garden's Potionology Division—I received a transfer order to report here!"
Leilin slid his identity badge directly through the window.
"Ah… my apologies, Wizard Leilin!"
The clerk glanced at the markings and name on the badge, then immediately stood and bowed.
"No matter." Leilin glanced at the several long queues stretching before the other windows and asked evenly, "Have many wizards been going in recently?"
"Far too many! Once we opened access to outside wizards, the number of applicants almost overwhelmed us… We even had to request several wizards from the Hunting Squad to station here just to maintain order!"
The clerk's face was a mask of exhaustion.
Leilin already knew something about this policy.
Before coming here, he had wandered around the town and gathered quite a bit of information.
Although the entrance was controlled by the Four Seasons Garden, the number of wizards and apprentices flocking here each day was anything but small. If they had continued monopolizing the entrance, it would inevitably have bred resentment.
Apprentices were one thing, but once numerous wandering fully-fledged wizards began hiding among the crowd, the situation became much harder to manage.
And if the Dark Wizards were to stir things up deliberately—it would be an outright catastrophe.
Therefore, after a brief deliberation, the White Wizard Alliance had made the decision to open the secret realm entrances to the public.
Every entrance controlled by the White Wizard factions issued the same regulation: any wizard who was not a Dark Wizard could gain entry to the secret realm by paying five hundred Magic Stones.
Under this arrangement, apprentices were required to hand over fifty percent of their harvests from within the secret realm to the White Wizard forces controlling the entrance. Even fully-fledged wizards had to surrender ten percent of their profits.
But even so, the wandering wizards and apprentices flocked to it eagerly.
They poured into the secret realm in a ceaseless stream, risking their lives to explore. Some fortunate ones returned alive, bringing with them vast quantities of resources—true overnight fortunes that attracted ever more apprentices to brave the secret realm.
As this endless supply of free labor died off, the Four Seasons Garden sat behind the scenes, successfully siphoning off a portion of their harvests, raking in enormous profits. Moreover, through systematic acquisition and coercion, they had now mapped roughly one million acres inside the Ganges Secret Realm, securing invaluable first-hand intelligence.
For a major power like the Four Seasons Garden among the White Wizards, the resources currently inside the secret realm were merely the tip of the iceberg. What they truly valued was the entire secret realm itself and its inexhaustible output.
Therefore, using the resources within the secret realm as bait to lure other wizards into exploring on their behalf—in exchange for precious terrain, climate, and vegetation data—cost them nothing at all.
And the other wizards, even if they understood this dynamic, had no choice but to walk into the trap the White Wizards had set if they wished to continue down the path of wizardry. A perfect case of one willing to strike and the other willing to be hit.
Such masterful manipulation—even Leilin couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"I have two Great Knight retainers. They departed ahead of me. Have they arrived yet?"
Leilin then asked.
"One moment, please—let me check!" The clerk immediately began leafing through the thick records and lists in hand.
"Found them! They arrived yesterday. Your two Great Knight servants brought your mount and luggage. After presenting your token of identification, they were assigned to Zone D-9, Building 23!"
The clerk bowed deeply.
"I will notify my superiors of your arrival as soon as possible. As for your work assignment, a designated person will contact you shortly!"
"Mm. Good." Leilin nodded, left a mark with the clerk as proof of his arrival, and then departed the administrative hall through the rear exit.
Behind the administrative center, neat rows of wooden houses stretched out in orderly fashion.
The houses were extremely simple in design, their lines rough and utilitarian, as though they had just been rushed to completion.
Among these wooden structures, one could occasionally spot wizards and apprentices wearing the insignia of the Four Seasons Garden.
At the very center of these buildings, a towering white-gold gate rose several dozen meters high, standing proudly like a mountain.
It stood there in silent majesty, as though it had existed since time immemorial. Across the surface of the gate—appearing to be forged from white-gold—countless interwoven runes were inscribed, and some of them seemed alive, ceaselessly drifting along the door frame.
The mere aura emanating from this secret realm gate was enough to make Leilin feel his breathing grow labored.
"Is this the entrance to the Ganges Secret Realm?" Leilin looked up at the gate that seemed to pierce straight into the sky, his eyes filled with indescribable wonder.
The preciousness of a secret realm could be directly gauged by its entrance.
The kind of secret realm the Soul-Slaughtering Sect had possessed—its entrance was something even Leilin could destroy at will. And that Gegewu, equivalent to a Second-rank Wizard, had possessed the terrifying power to shatter the secret realm entirely.
But if that Gegewu came here, it probably couldn't so much as chip off a tiny corner of this gate.
A secret realm spanning over ten million acres would必然 possess internal defenses of unimaginable solidity. Even if Second-rank or Third-rack Wizards waged fierce battles inside, the entire secret realm would remain unharmed.
Leilin even speculated that for a Fourth-rank Morning Star Wizard to destroy this white-gold gate's entrance—it would not be an easy task.
A secret realm of this caliber was nothing short of a national treasure—the very foundation upon which a major wizard organization could grow, or even dominate the world.
Having seen the Ganges Secret Realm with his own eyes, Leilin finally understood why it had drawn virtually every wizard faction on the South Coast and sparked a full-scale wizard war.
"What a pity—right now, no single wizard faction on the South Coast has the confidence to devour the Ganges Secret Realm whole. In the end, it will inevitably be carved up…"
Leilin sighed, then shifted his gaze downward to the base of the gate.
Below the enormous white-gold gate, more than twenty wizards clad in Four Seasons Garden attire patrolled and stood guard like soldiers.
The elemental energy fluctuations radiating from these wizards were intense and unrestrained—every single one was at least at the semi-elementalized stage or above.
Moreover, the scent of blood clinging to them was pungent, making it clear they were no soft targets raised on a diet of resources. These were true wizard warriors forged in countless battles.
A flicker of blue luminescence flashed through Leilin's eyes as the Chip instantly scanned the several magical arrays deployed around the secret realm gate—some were defensive in nature, others purely alarm-based.
With defenses this rigorous, even Leilin in his current state would have only one outcome if he attempted to sneak in uninvited: death.
"This is probably only what's visible on the surface. In the shadows, there must be at least one Second-rank Wizard presiding over the area!"
Even outside the Four Seasons Secret Realm, a Second-rank Wizard was stationed there at all times to stand guard. Leilin certainly didn't believe that when facing the Ganges Secret Realm—vastly superior to the Four Seasons Secret Realm—the Four Seasons Garden would be stingy.