Chapter 24: First taste of the cultivation world. When Liang Chen stepped into the blue gate, a dizzying sensation grabbed hold of him, his stomach churning as his vision spun around. It felt like there was an unseen force pressing down on every inch of his body, straining his muscles and causing his bones to creak, his breath forced to stay within his lungs. Just as Liang Chen was wondering how long this feeling would continue, it abruptly vanished, a bright light flashing in front of his eyes and blinding him. As he was waiting for his vision to return, he felt a chilly breeze blow past him, so he guessed that he had properly entered the hidden realm. After a short moment, the blinding light had completely vanished, allowing Liang Chen to open his eyes and scan the surrounding area. He was standing at the top of a small hill, to his left was a vast expanse of rolling hills that continued for as far as the eye could see, while to his right and to his front stood a large forest, the trees so tall that they felt like they could touch the clouds. Far into the distance, Liang Chen could see what seemed to be a pillar stretching all the way into the heavens. It was so far away that it was hard to see, looking no thicker than his little finger, but the fact that he was still able to see it meant that the pillar was most likely truly massive in size. The sky was a beautiful blue, there was even a golden sun high above that warmed up the land, yet everything was covered by a fine layer of snow, with more snow constantly fluttering down towards the ground. As Liang Chen stood there, he felt an immense pressure bearing down on him, slowing not only his movements but even the speed at which his Qi flowed. Feeling the suppression, Liang Chen could not help but gape in awe. Was such a suppression filling the entire hidden realm? Just how mighty had the person who created it been? At the same time, he could not help but be excited. With the pressure crushing down on every inch of his body, simply walking around would be a form of training that would strengthen his body. And with the pressure even suppressing his Qi, it would flow faster and smoother once he left the hidden realm. Liang Chen took a deep breath of the air and stretched his body, his muscles straining and his bones releasing a low creaking sound. The air was fresh and chilly, the density of Qi in the air was somewhat higher than the outside world, making cultivating easier. While Liang Chen was marveling at how wonderful this hidden realm was for cultivating, a somewhat gruff voice sounded out from his right. “Alright kid, I don't like killing children like you, but I will if I have to. Just hand over everything you have and then you can be on your way.” Liang Chen's pupils immediately contracted and hardened upon hearing the voice, as he had not been able to sense anyone approaching him. He quickly took a few steps to the left, his entire body tensing up as he turned towards the right. Not far to his right stood three people, two men, and one woman. He was unable to see their cultivation level, but he could feel that they were more dangerous than Yi Huang. He was uncertain if it was because of their cultivation or because of the hidden realm, but he was unable to sense the electricity flowing in their bodies, which was why he hadn't been able to notice their approach. The one who had spoken was one of the men, a man with a tall and sturdy body. He was clad in a robe made out of bear hide, the front part of the robe opened up so that he could show off his hairy chest. He had a bald head and a large scar that almost split his face in half. To his left stood a somewhat lanky man with short brown hair that had dark eyes, he was looking at Liang Chen like a snake observing its prey. To the right of the sturdy man stood a woman with a curvaceous body and long orange hair, a sweet smile on her lips. Liang Chen looked at the three people, his fingers moving slightly, tapping against the hilt of his sword, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what he should do. His eyes kept moving between the three people as if he was trying to spot any openings, but his instincts kept shouting at him that there was no way he could fight them. In the end, he could only give an unsatisfied click of his tongue, straightening his body and raising his arms in defeat. He unfastened the two bags he wore, tossing them both towards the three people. The sturdy man caught the two bags, opening them and inspecting their contents as he spoke. “Smart. It is good to know when one should give in. But man, you really didn't have anything, huh?” The sturdy man clicked his tongue after he saw the contents. The Demonic beast blood was nice, but he doubted that it would be of much help to them. The same went for the herbs, they were decent, but not really up to the standard that they were used to. When they saw Liang Chen enter alone, they thought he might be a child from some large clan, entering the hidden realm to meet up with his elders. But even after he had entered and spent a bit of time checking the surroundings, no one came to pick him up. Coupled with his low cultivation, they quickly guessed that he was a lone child who had decided to enter the hidden realm for some reason. They did not care about his reason for entering the hidden realm, all they cared about was how much they would get from robbing him, so they quickly showed themselves, lest someone else rob him while they were observing the situation. The sturdy man handed the two bags to the woman on his right. Once the bags entered her grasp, they suddenly vanished, causing Liang Chen's eyes to narrow somewhat. He had seen a small flash of light as the bags vanished, the light coming from a metal ring that the woman was wearing on her fingers. It did not take Liang Chen long to guess that the ring was an interspatial ring, an item that contained a separate space one could use to store items. After the woman stored the bags into her ring, the sturdy man waved his hands towards Liang Chen, shooing him away. “You can run along now, kid. But I advise you to leave this hidden realm, it isn't a place for someone like you.” The man only gave Liang Chen a warning because he felt it would be a bit of a shame if a child like Liang Chen were to lose his life here, but he didn't really care whether or not Liang Chen chose to follow his advice. He swept the surroundings with his eyes for a short second, before taking his two comrades and dashing into the forest, quickly vanishing from sight. Liang Chen stood still as he looked at the three of them vanishing, his teeth grit and his eyes dark. He had just entered the hidden realm, he hadn't even had the time to take a single step, yet he had already been robbed. The only things he had left now were his weapon and the robe he was wearing. But how could Liang Chen know that this was what the cultivation world was like? The weak could only be quiet and serve as fodder for the strong, obeying all their whims. Liang Chen did not spend too long looking at the direction that the three people had headed towards, turning away and moving towards the forest ahead of him. Staying angry and sulking would do nothing, only action would be able to accomplish anything. But the current Liang Chen could not even take any such actions, he would first have to get stronger.