I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

As Xu Chen left the botanical garden, he saw a number of people rushing in a certain direction.

I only found out after asking around…

"The instructors are starting their classes! They're going to explain some combat techniques to us in Space 003 of the Martial Arts Arena. Hurry, hurry, or it'll be full and we won't be able to get in!"

Those who had experienced the dream were discussing it, their excitement palpable.

"Master Zhu is a top expert ranked fifth on the Earth Ranking! Moreover, the four ahead of him are rarely seen, and none of them should be able to give lectures like Master Zhu."

Who wouldn't be excited that a powerful figure, almost at the pinnacle of the world, was willing to impart some skills to them? This wasn't the first time the masters of the various schools had given a lecture.

Even before the Safe Zone was established, this martial arts master would frequently hold classes at the Ultimate Martial Arts School. The school he founded genuinely taught the Dreamers many practical skills.

Later, during the era of the safe zone, the various museum masters also gave several lectures here.

Within the forum, there are also many practice notes written by the owner himself, or dictated by the owner and written by others.

Therefore, many members of the safe zone have great respect for the museum owners.

Today's lesson is different from usual. The masters have borrowed a space in the martial arts arena and obtained permission to allow a large number of spectators to enter. Naturally, today's lesson is anything but ordinary!

"In the past, the masters of the academy only lectured, but today, we may be able to see the masters take action."

"Let's go, let's go, hurry up!"

After a moment's thought, Xu Chen followed them toward the training ground.

He certainly wasn't there to listen to the lecture, but the words "the master of the academy takes action" caught his attention.

"Before the city collapse disaster, I had several discussions with the masters of the museum."

then,

His cultivation level was lower than Zhu Chenying's, so naturally he was defeated time and time again. Rather than a friendly sparring match, it was more like Zhu Chenying was giving him pointers. Xu Chen asked himself, even if the two of them were at the same cultivation level back then, he still wouldn't be able to defeat this sect leader.

But the past is the past, and the present is the present.

"Two years have passed since the city's collapse. A year and a half ago, he reached the Great Perfection of the Extraordinary Realm. Six months later, he attempted to break through to the Ascension Realm. Although he failed, he still gained a lot. And in the past year, I have continued to improve, perfecting my spells, skills, and combat awareness in every aspect."

Xu Chen respected the senior, Master Zhu, but he didn't think he was inferior.

The greatest respect is to defeat your opponent.

"Perhaps, after the course ends, I can privately seek advice from the senior instructors; they'll be more receptive then?"

Xu Chen believed that the masters of the various martial arts schools were just like him, all martial arts fanatics.

Inside Space 003 of the Martial Arts Arena, one figure after another appeared in the audience seats.

Without much preamble, the museum owners began their lectures directly.

His lecture started from the Third Refinement Realm, progressing all the way to the Transcendent Breakthrough, and then covering how to refine one's skills, cultivate incantations, and build one's own combat system after reaching the Transcendent Realm.

"The Refining Stage is the stage of consolidating the foundation, while the Transcendent Stage is the stage of perfecting one's own system."

"But the foundation goes far beyond just cursed objects."

There were quite a few extraordinary individuals present, numbering in the dozens.

Even they listened with great interest to the content about the Refining Stage, nodding and praising it from time to time.

"I see."

"I understand, I understand."

Me too.

Zhu Chenying's gaze swept over everyone as he said, "Times have changed. The shopkeeper has created the Safe Zone, which offers numerous opportunities to hone one's foundation. However, the core of cultivation still lies with the individual. You must not forget how hard-won today is. Without the Safe Zone, most Dream Fallers wouldn't even have the chance to solidify their foundation."

Many people agree with this.

Among the members present, a few fell into the dream after the safe zone era, but even they had heard about the hardships of the past from the veteran dreamers.

They didn't even need to hear about it; just by looking at what the outside of the safe zone looked like, everyone understood.

Imagine if there were no safe zones; in the nightmare world, you would be walking on thin ice, unable to get a good night's sleep, and constantly on the verge of death, possibly also suffering from the side effects of cursed objects… Just thinking about it sent a chill down their spines, and they were incredibly grateful for their current lives. Zhu Chenying's lecture lasted for a full three hours.

During this time, he also used the privileges granted to him by the shop manager to conjure several extraordinary and bizarre beings within the training grounds for demonstration purposes. The sect leader also showed off his skills; he clearly only used the most ordinary instantaneous sword strike and only output a very small amount of magical power, yet he still easily annihilated the extraordinary and bizarre beings.

"The masters' swift sword strikes have probably surpassed even the realm of the divine!"

"Isn't 'Mastery' the highest level of proficiency?"

"That's true, but there's no theory that says you can't break through the limit. Besides, this Instant Sword Strike was a spell created by the Masters of the Hall, so it's normal that his skill level is higher."

The audience discussed among themselves, with some suggesting that the museum owner should demonstrate his true abilities.

This proposal was approved by many people present.

"In that case... alright."

As soon as the pavilion masters finished speaking, thick black fog instantly appeared in the distance, one cloud after another.

These black mists writhed and, after a few seconds, transformed into enormous, grotesque figures with hideous and terrifying faces.

A flesh-and-blood giant, several meters tall;

A giant spider with sixty-four pairs of compound eyes;

A humanoid butcher wielding a knife several meters long;

Appearance is secondary; what's important is that these eerie creatures are surrounded by extremely dense wisps of black mist, and waves of terrifying curse pressure roll out.

Even though there was a barrier in front of the audience, many of the dreamers turned pale on the spot, and some even sat down on the ground with their legs trembling and weak, unable to stand up.

This stems from the life's position and the oppressive power of terrifying curses.

One of the extraordinary listeners said with a solemn expression, "If we weren't outside the boundary, the impact would be far greater than this, given how close we are." Another extraordinary listener said, "Yes, indeed. After all, these are extraordinary beings at the Great Perfection level! Any one of these extraordinary beings could directly destroy a nightmare gathering place. If two or three more of these extraordinary beings were to appear, even a top-tier power like Nightmare Town wouldn't be able to withstand them." And right now, there were a total of nine extraordinary beings at the Great Perfection level.

Just looking at them sent chills down the spines of the extraordinary experts present, and sweat beaded on their foreheads.

Zhan Fengke Xu Chen's eyes widened even more: "Seniors, you want to challenge nine Great Perfection level monsters? He... he can deal with so many monsters at the same time? Impossible, right?"

"Perhaps, the seniors want to try and break through their limits?"

The battle erupted in an instant.

Many members present were aware that the various masters possessed the extraordinary strength to slay nine extraordinary Great Perfection beings.

But that's all they know.

They didn't know just how powerful the various masters were, or what price they would have to pay to kill these strange creatures.

They focused intently, their eyes wide, staring unblinkingly at the training ground, hoping to catch a glimpse of the top experts.

I also took the opportunity to learn something.

But they learned nothing.

Because they can't see it.

They only saw that the owners of the various pavilions remained in place, while another figure appeared in front of a strange statue.

Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

In a mere fraction of a second, more than a dozen figures appeared on the field.

"This seems to be... an afterimage! An afterimage that appears at extremely high speed! And this afterimage is solidified and doesn't dissipate!"

"It was a powerful and extraordinary individual with exceptional knowledge," he said, his voice trembling slightly.

Putting himself in their shoes, he realized that he would be no match for the masters of the various schools, who possessed such strength.

He was at least a mid-stage Transcendent!

Top-tier superhumans can indeed crush ordinary superhumans, but under normal circumstances, they shouldn't be strong enough to instantly kill them, right?

In just a few minutes, the nine incredibly powerful and unparalleled extraordinary beings at the Great Perfection stage were killed one by one.

Looking at the owners of the various museums, the only thing that was slightly dirty was the hem of their clothes.

Aside from the fact that they were slightly out of breath due to the significant depletion of their magical power and physical strength, none of the masters had a single scratch on their bodies.

I cleared the game without taking any damage!

Xu Chen's eyes widened, and he murmured to himself, "Can I...can I do it? I can't!"

Don't say it's unharmed.

He was absolutely no match for nine Great Perfection Realm beings fighting alone. At most, he could manage to take down five or six Transcendent Great Perfection Realm beings before being completely annihilated.

"The gap in strength between me and these seniors is actually this vast? My combat power is clearly almost at the limit of the transcendent realm!"

That wasn't the case.

He still has a long way to go.

If it weren't for the many things he had experienced over the years, Xu Chen would have felt that his Dao heart was about to shatter.

It's not broken yet, but it's still very uncomfortable.

Am I the one who's like a frog in a well, with a limited perspective?

But why are the masters of these pavilions so strong? They're almost unreasonable! It seems like they're not even capable of being superhuman.

At this moment, an extraordinary being nearby said, "Wait a minute, if all the hall masters are this strong, then who are the top four on the Earth Ranking? Are we really on the same level as them?"

A well-informed person chimed in, "I actually know that. About half a month ago, or maybe a month ago? Our Safe Zone's General Lifeng and Mr. Xue, these two powerful figures fought against a strange being in the Ascendant Realm and were undefeated."

"It's a genuine Ascension Realm, a Lord of the Strange! Not some half-step Ascension Realm."

With an extraordinary body, how can one withstand the transformation?

Afterwards, Xu Chen learned that the various masters had made great progress during this period.

During this period, what channels can the museum owners use to make progress?

The only option left is the safe zone!

"Wait, I heard there are channels within the safe zone for comprehending superior-level spells. Is that true?"

"Moreover, judging from the strength shown by the seniors, he probably has more than just one outstanding spell."

For some unknown reason, Xu Chen decided to stay in the safe zone for the time being.

Although he still didn't think that an outsider like himself was qualified to learn outstanding spells—these spells might just be a bargaining chip that the shopkeeper used to win over the other masters.

But what if? What if there's even the slightest chance?

Xu Chen admitted that he was tempted.

Safe zone, store manager's office.

"Boss, these are the letters of intent we just collected."

Luo Susu walked over carrying a stack of documents.

Shi An took it and scanned it.

This matter is somewhat related to the previous rental of the martial arts arena by Zhu Chenying.

The incident stemmed from a faction inquiring about the possibility of leasing a plot of land within the safe zone to build their own office base.

They felt it was somewhat inconvenient to convert the room into a studio within the Thousandfold Pavilion.

Shi An stroked his chin. "Of course, it's not just inconvenience. There might be another reason: these forces want to make a name for themselves." Building their own small building on the island, hanging up a sign, and having members come and go all the time is like having a live GG.

Many organizations are recruiting new members.

After all, members of the safe zone can also hold other identities at the same time.

However, the current recruitment practices of various factions are more like hiring employees.

For example, wizarding households often have a demand for herbs and precious medicines, so they cooperate with some Dreamers teams, or even regularly outsource a few teams. Needless to say, the Countermeasures Bureau needs to recruit more investigators and operatives.

There are also emerging forces, established by veteran members of the safe zone. These forces are often groups built around high-level member teams.

For example, veteran member Lao Wang commands several high-level member teams, a scale comparable to the old Wizarding House. These forces and groups…

Some of them resemble guilds.

Some of them resemble companies.

Some are similar to the old Dreamers' gatherings. However, while Dreamers used to band together mainly for survival, now members band together to share intelligence or to call upon allies in time when encountering formidable enemies.

Shi An didn't care about these forces or small groups.

The safe zone has always been inclusive.

Not to mention, the Dreamers of the three cities of Baijiang have now been integrated into the safe zone's system.

In particular, in Baijiang City, the vast majority of the Dreamers in the city are already members of the safe zone, and progress is also being made rapidly in Chongshan City and Lindong City.

"The head of the martial arts school also intends to establish a base. Hmm, he wants to build a branch of the Ultimate Martial Arts School within the safe zone."

Shi An stroked his chin.

He was quite supportive of the martial arts school owners' ideas. After the schools were established, the school owners would give classes from time to time, while other instructors would teach newcomers. Wasn't this a way to enhance the attractiveness of the safe zone?

"Alright, then approve it and allow all forces to apply to establish a base on the island."

"Of course, there are also requirements for the specifications and applications, and there must be restrictions. In addition, since these forces have the idea of ​​building bases and attracting and recruiting new people, they naturally have to take on more responsibility."

"As for the conditions for applying to build a base,..."

After thinking about it, Shi An decided to create a new membership level above the premium membership.

He already had the idea of ​​adding new levels, and now he took this opportunity to improve the membership system.

It's not just about adding a new level.

The news of the updated membership system instantly swept across the entire island.

"It's here! Breaking news!"

Funeral Affairs Channel: "The membership system in the safe zone will undergo a major update. The overall framework remains the same, but several more detailed levels have been added." "Regular members require 50 contribution points."

"Bronze card members require 500 contribution points and have access to most wonders within our safe zone, such as the martial arts performers in the training grounds. They also receive a 9.7% discount when consigning items or purchasing goods from the official store."

"Silver Card members, formerly known as premium members, require 3000 contribution points. They have the right to form teams, access to all wonders in the safe zone, priority in exchanging for high-level items, and a 9.3% discount on item purchases."

"Gold Card members are above Senior Members, and I've heard that at this stage, they are only awarded to those who have made significant contributions to the safe zone. Gold Card members have the right to apply for a residence. Of course, it's much more than that."

At this point, Bai Shitong paused and said, "It is said that there are some mysteries within the safe zone that have not yet been made public, and only gold card members are qualified to view them."

The update to the membership system doesn't really affect most people.

Oh, there are some advantages.

For example, if you have more than 500 total contribution points, you can apply for a bronze card membership and enjoy discount benefits.

This benefit was unprecedented, so the members were very happy.

As for gold card membership? And residency application?

They don't need a base of operations, and the Gold Card is too far away.

But for veteran members, leaders of factions, and powerful figures at the top level, this is undoubtedly a major update.

Like Bai Shitong, he also wanted to apply for a gold card membership.

He had a dream of establishing an intelligence organization.