Chu Hao left the dormitory.
Inside, the dorm was almost completely empty.
Outside, a sea of people flowed.
Most of them were heading toward the Tian Ding University plaza, but Chu Hao walked in the opposite direction, making him stand out from the ordinary crowd.
At the plaza, Vice President Wang Zhizheng addressed all the graduates, delivering what would be their last speech at the university.
Today, Wang Zhi seemed especially happy.
This was partly because the quality of this year's graduates had improved significantly, and partly because Principal Bai Chen had spoken with him yesterday.
Clearly, this powerful and beautiful woman had finally let go of her obsession, stopping the seemingly endless low-dimensional research, and had returned to oversee the university's teaching.
Moreover, she had announced that she would dedicate extra resources to create a new assessment world for the students—one designed by Bai Chen herself, stronger than the previous one.
"Dear students… (speech omitted for brevity)."
Wang Zhi explained future plans to the graduates.
Suddenly, he noticed a figure at the edge of his vision.
It was Chu Hao, walking along the plaza's edge toward the exit.
Before leaving the school, Chu Hao glanced back at Wang Zhi standing in the plaza.
He nodded slightly.
Wang Zhi returned the nod.
"In the second academic year, we will conduct the so-called fourth assessment, rebuilding that powerful assessment world as your ultimate goal!"
"Some may ask, why set such a difficult assessment as the final test? Why create a goal so abstract and nearly impossible to reach? Because…"
Wang Zhi quoted Chu Hao's own words to him:
"The mountain is there!"
Chu Hao walked out of the school gates.
Outside lay a new world.
No one at Tian Ding University knew where Chu Hao went after graduation or what he was doing.
He vanished like a ghost.
Years later, when a major event he personally initiated unfolded, everyone remembered his name almost simultaneously.
---
Several months later…
In the Mist Realm, within a previously unconquered secret territory.
"Monsters… the creatures of the end have arrived!"
A peak-level legendary alien warrior stumbled into his king's palace.
In his panic, he nearly smashed through the palace's dazzling diamond gates.
At this apocalyptic moment, no one blamed his recklessness.
Almost everyone in the palace felt the same fear.
Terror spread rapidly through their hearts.
Every expression reflected hopelessness…
Occasionally, someone would lift their head, glancing at the distant sky where a black-and-red vortex swirled…
"Your Majesty, those twisted monsters are approaching. You must leave!"
The alien warrior ran into the palace hall, addressing his king.
At the far end of the palace, on a throne of gold and gemstones, the silent king sat upright.
Perhaps from days of worry, the king's expression showed clear pain.
"Your Majesty, the three corps we deployed at the front have been annihilated, and…"
The warrior recounted the battlefield's horrors.
Though this secret world had faced invasions for countless years, relying on its strength to repel intruders, this time was different.
This time, they faced creatures twisted to the extreme, devoid of reason, mercy, or emotion.
They had grotesque, indescribable forms, thousands of terrifying abilities, and emanated a corrupt aura that induced despair merely by proximity.
These were not beings that could naturally exist in a normal world.
Their origin must be a chaotic, twisted, suffocating land of horror.
As the warrior described the monstrosities in every vile detail,
"Ugh… aah!"
The king suddenly groaned in pain and vomited a large amount of black blood.
"Your Majesty!"
The warrior rushed forward, unsure of what had happened.
But as he approached, he detected…
Poison?
The scent of toxins.
"Was it you? Why…"
The warrior's eyes widened in disbelief, fixing on a shadowed corner of the palace.
The king's eldest son, the crown prince, emerged with a sinister smile.
The warrior felt a chill run down his spine.
Because the crown prince now bore twisted horns identical to those of the outside monsters.
His eyes had turned the same terrifying crimson.
"No reason… I simply succeeded in using a small ritual to communicate with the great will of that world. They made me a promise…"
Greed and madness gleamed in the prince's eyes.
"What promise?"
The warrior gnashed his teeth, ready to kill the usurper.
As a legendary warrior, he could easily crush the prince's neck. No escape would save him.
But the prince only smiled, walking to the empty throne.
"Their promise is that I may become the next king, ruling over this decayed, corrupt kingdom!"
Hearing this, the warrior carrying the king's body laughed bitterly.
"Haha, you are truly mad! Our world is about to perish—what king will you be, and who would still obey you?"
The prince smiled meaningfully, pointing at the palace gates.
"Him, her, and them!"
Boom!
The palace gates collapsed.
The warrior's pupils widened.
A group…
Like the prince, corrupted warriors, wielding various weapons, appeared beyond the fallen gates.
Behind them, one formidable primal demon after another.
Above the palace sky, the slowly rotating black-and-red vortex's center.
A pair of eyes, hidden in darkness, watched indifferently.
It was about to…
Devour this secret world, corrupting everything into its territory.