Looking around with his Three Dimensional Body, he was horrified to find like hundreds such centipedes coming more towards him.

"Damn, I can't handle that many of them at the same time." He was already having a hard time battling ten of them. He would be waiting for his death if he went ahead to battle a hundred of them more.

Gritting his teeth, Max activated his invisibility skill. His figure shimmered faintly before vanishing completely, his form erased from sight as invisibility enveloped him. The centipedes thrashed wildly, stabbing into the ground and tearing apart dried trees in their frenzy, searching for the prey that had suddenly disappeared.

Max stood utterly still, invisible within the chaos, his breathing shallow and controlled.

Only then did the wasteland fall into an uneasy rhythm of sound—the endless screeches of centipedes hunting blindly for a target they could no longer see, and the faint hum of his suppressed aura as Max hid among them, waiting for his chance to escape their relentless swarm.

'So many centipedes, and each one carries the strength of a Divine Rank…' Max thought, his expression hardening as he watched their colossal bodies writhe across the violet wasteland. Their countless armored legs dug into the earth, their screeches rattled the sky, and their relentless movements shook the very ground beneath him. His face remained solemn as he measured the scale of what stood before him.

The difficulty of the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain revealed itself to him with ruthless clarity. This was not a place where ordinary prodigies could survive. The centipedes' defenses alone were beyond anything most geniuses could hope to pierce, and their strength matched that of fully grown Divine Rank experts. To be surrounded by so many of them at once was akin to standing in the middle of a battlefield filled with living calamities.

A flicker of worry passed through his mind as he thought of the geniuses from his world. If any of them had been thrown into this trial instead of him, they would have stood no chance. The swarm would have crushed them in moments, their bodies torn apart before they could even muster a proper defense.

At best, they would have been left broken and gravely wounded, unable to take even a single step further into the secret domain.

'This place is as dangerous as the opportunities one could get here.' Max thought calmly.

The Heavenly Lord Secret Domain was indeed what the legends had proclaimed. It was a place brimming with unimaginable opportunities, but the dangers it concealed were of the same magnitude. Every treasure was guarded by death, every chance to rise balanced against the risk of annihilation.

'One mistake here,' Max thought coldly, his eyes narrowing as the centipedes searched the ground around him, 'and they will surely die.'

The truth of it settled heavily in his chest. The Heavenly Lord Secret Domain was no sanctuary for growth. It was a crucible, designed to strip away the unworthy and devour the careless without hesitation.

'Huh? A group is approaching from that direction.' Max instantly suppressed every trace of his aura, his breathing falling silent as he stood perfectly still among the withered trees and broken stones. His body blended into the wasteland like a shadow, his presence erased as though he had never been there at all.

Moments later, figures came into view. At their lead walked a young woman with striking bright blue hair that gleamed faintly even under the dim violet light of the wasteland. Beside her strode a young man dressed in vivid red robes, his movements sharp but deferential, the air around him clearly indicating that he was not the one in command. Behind the pair followed five more figures, each one keeping close and careful, their eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

Max's gaze fixed on the young woman. She moved with calm precision, her expression thoughtful as she held a compass-like object in one hand.

Every few steps, she stopped and raised the instrument, its needle spinning before settling in a single direction. Each time it pointed, she glanced around cautiously, then chose her path without hesitation. The group followed her lead with absolute obedience, never questioning her judgment.

'That compass… could it be guiding her to the trial of this region?' Max wondered silently, his eyes narrowing as interest flickered in his mind. He kept his distance, careful to make no sound, as he quietly trailed them from the cover of the wasteland.

The young man in red robes walked half a step behind the blue-haired woman. His demeanor was serious, his attention fixed entirely on her. Every word she spoke was received with complete respect, and he obeyed each command without a hint of resistance. His loyalty was obvious, his role clearly that of her closest subordinate.

The three geniuses following at the rear moved in tight formation, their posture sharp but their presence subdued. They too served as subordinates, yet their status was far lower than that of the young man in red.

They carried themselves with discipline, but the way they lowered their heads slightly in her presence made it clear that the blue-haired young woman was not merely their leader but someone of far higher standing.

Max continued to watch in silence, his curiosity sharpening as he assessed them. 'Let's see where they lead me.' He decided to follow them and see if they led him to anywhere good.

"Young Miss, are we heading in the right direction? We have been walking for hours now and there is still no sign of anything at all," Evan asked, his voice tinged with concern. He was the young man in red cloth, his eyes narrowing as he glanced warily at the wasteland stretching endlessly around them.

"Do not worry too much," the young woman with bright blue hair replied in a calm tone. Her name was Nina, and her expression carried neither doubt nor hesitation. "I am certain we are heading in the correct direction. You should know that this is my Fate Compass, and a Fate Compass always leads its bearer to the place where they are meant to be." She lifted the instrument slightly as she spoke, its needle glowing faintly as it shifted and then steadied in a single direction.

Evan exhaled slowly, his worried expression softening as her words sank in. His face returned to calm, the lines of tension easing from his brow. Though he appeared older than Nina, his respect for her guidance was absolute, and he chose not to question her again.

'Fate Compass?' Max thought, his eyes narrowing from the shadows where he observed them. 'What is that thing supposed to be?' The curiosity gnawed at him, the name alone suggesting it was no ordinary artifact. If it truly guided her to where she was destined to be, then following her could very well reveal the secret trial of this wasteland.

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