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Bubbles formed in the churning, scalding waters of the lake, bursting and releasing clouds of steam that drifted upwards.

Hovering mid-air, Luca could feel his skin tingling as if being scorched by the heat. Beads of sweat immediately formed on his forehead.

"So this is the Celestial Pool Secret Realm?" he murmured, observing the volcanic lake below. He was deeply impressed, though not entirely surprised.

Kruse had once told him about the tale of the academy\'s founding principal. Long ago, when the volcano beneath Southwind City erupted, it caused widespread devastation throughout the entire Southern Territory. The first principal, Arwen Berenos, intervened and sealed the volcano, inadvertently creating the Celestial Pool Secret Realm.

He then founded Red Maple Academy atop this secret realm. From an aerial view, one would notice that the entire Southwind City was built around Red Maple Academy. This was one of the reasons why Red Maple Academy held such a revered status, not only in Southwind City but throughout the entire Southern Territory.

Collecting his thoughts, Luca began to descend slowly, lowering himself toward the lake\'s surface. He could sense that the closer he got to the water, the denser the fire elemental particles in the air became. His body and magic were being tempered by these fire elements, and the nearer he got to the lake, the faster the tempering process became.

Before long, Luca reached the surface of the lake.

Without hesitation, he plunged directly into the water.

The moment he entered, an overwhelming sensation of heat washed over him.

The concentration of fire elements within the lake was incomparable to that of the outside world. These elements were intensely volatile, fiercely purifying the impurities in his body, making Luca feel as if countless blades were slicing through him.

He merely furrowed his brows slightly. This level of pain was still bearable, and he had no intention of leaving the water.

If anyone else saw the way Luca entered the Celestial Pool Secret Realm, they would probably give him a thumbs-up and commend his bravery.

Most people who came to cultivate here would remain outside the lake, and only high-ranking professionals dared to step into the water. But for someone like Luca, jumping straight into the heart of the lake without a second thought—he was definitely the first!

Yet, he had no other choice.

After all, he had descended directly from above, unlike others who would be teleported to the lakeside…

Luca quickly adjusted to the temperature of the lake.

This cultivation method was undoubtedly painful, but the effects were incredibly significant.

One by one, system notifications appeared in front of him.

[You have used the Celestial Pool Secret Realm, Strength Attribute +1]

[You have used the Celestial Pool Secret Realm, Constitution Attribute +1]

[You have used the Celestial Pool Secret Realm, Spirit Attribute +1]

...

In just a few minutes, all of his attributes had increased by 10 points.

The rapid rate of growth left Luca astonished.

He had encountered many top-tier secret realms, and even among them, the Celestial Pool Secret Realm stood out as remarkably effective.

No wonder the academy\'s founding principal chose to establish Red Maple Academy here—such a top-tier secret realm capable of enhancing attributes was extremely rare…

After acclimating to the raging fire elemental energy, Luca began to feel much more comfortable, with a sense of lightness spreading throughout his body. Not wanting to linger in one place, he started to make his way deeper into the lake.

The concentration of fire elements in the lake continued to increase. As he drew closer to the lake\'s center, his skin turned a visible shade of crimson, and white steam rose from his head.

He felt like he was being cooked alive, and he even caught a whiff of roasted meat.

As he ventured closer to the core of the Celestial Pool, the attribute boosts in his notifications gradually shifted from +1 to +2. Within just a short span of time, his attributes had increased by nearly an entire level.

This kind of visible power increase was incredibly satisfying!

Luca was experiencing a mixture of pain and exhilaration.

Moreover, he sensed something stirring within his body.

"Could it be possible to go beyond maxed-out aptitude?" A gleam flashed in Luca\'s eyes.

He wasn\'t sure. In his previous life, he\'d never encountered anyone with full-tier aptitude, let alone someone who surpassed that level.

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This made Luca immensely curious. If his aptitude and special attributes could indeed break through the 10-point limit, what kind of transformations and improvements would he experience?

However, he knew this wouldn\'t be something he could achieve overnight.

Judging by the current pace, breaking through the ten-tier aptitude threshold might require an immense amount of time.

As Luca was contemplating this—

The silver bracelet on his wrist suddenly flashed with a silvery light.

A moment later, Jormungandr, dressed in a black gothic gown, materialized above the Celestial Pool.

"Ahh, so comfortable~" She stretched luxuriously in the pool, her face filled with utter contentment.

Luca frowned. "What are you doing here?"

This was Red Maple Academy—if Jormungandr\'s presence were discovered, it could spell trouble.

It wouldn\'t matter much if she died, but if she dragged him down with her, that would be far from acceptable.

"Don\'t be mad, Master. The two old fogeys outside can\'t detect my presence. Only you can see me." Jormungandr smiled sweetly, her eyes turning seductive as she continued, "I\'m just here because I saw you lacked a maid, so I thought I\'d come serve you personally~~"

As she spoke, Jormungandr moved toward Luca, slithering like a snake through the water.

Luca merely watched her approach with an expressionless face, remaining silent.

If this creature could truly be that kind-hearted, he\'d dare to drink up the entire lake of the Celestial Pool.

Seeing this, Jormungandr dropped her feigned playful demeanor.

Spreading her hands in a mock gesture of boredom, she said, "How dull. I sensed something interesting down below, so I came out to check it out."

"What kind of interesting thing? Where is it?" Luca\'s eyes lit up as he asked.

Jormungandr shook her head. "I\'m not sure what it is, but the aura it\'s emitting is extremely powerful. It\'s down at the bottom of the lake."

"Could it be a secret treasure?" Luca wondered, a thought flashing through his mind.

It wasn\'t unusual for secret realms to contain secret treasures. These were special artifacts that were often the reason for a secret realm\'s formation in the first place. The specific nature of these treasures varied greatly.

But one thing was certain: without exception, all secret treasures were immensely powerful.

If he could obtain it...

However, the thought was fleeting and Luca dismissed it almost immediately.

If there truly was a secret treasure within the Celestial Pool Secret Realm, both Orf and the founding principal would certainly be aware of it.

And given that this treasure still hadn\'t been retrieved after all this time, there must be some special reason why.

Moreover, even if Luca had the capability to obtain it, the treasure would rightfully belong to Red Maple Academy. There was no way he could keep it for himself.

Nevertheless, after some brief consideration, Luca decided it was worth taking a look.

By now, he had already reached the center of the lake, where his attribute increase had stabilized at a rate of +3 points per minute. Over an hour had passed, and his attributes had increased by approximately 130 points in total.

Yet, even this growth rate was still too slow. If he wanted to accelerate his progress, he would need to dive deeper into the lake. And if he could get closer to that potential secret treasure, his aptitude might even improve faster.

Having made up his mind, Luca took a deep breath and began to dive.

His body had already adapted to the lake\'s temperature, so he didn\'t feel any discomfort as he descended.

But after diving down more than ten meters, Luca immediately noticed that the concentration of fire elements in the water had multiplied several times over. His attribute gain rate soared from +3 to +5!

As expected! The deeper he went, the stronger the fire elements became!

Feeling reassured, Luca continued his descent.

After diving another ten meters or so, the lake water had turned a vivid crimson, as if it were stained with blood. Torrents of violent fire elements surged into his body, forcing Luca to momentarily stop and acclimate to the intensified environment.

Moreover, he sensed that the feeling within his body—that sensation of something on the verge of breaking free—was growing stronger.

This realization filled Luca with joy and excitement.

Perhaps he really could break through his aptitude\'s limits and reach an entirely new height!

After his body adjusted to the temperature, Luca surfaced to take a breath before diving down again.

This time, he descended rapidly, plunging dozens of meters in one breath.

The concentration of fire elements around him grew visibly denser, and at the same time, the water pressure began to crush his body. Luca glanced at the notifications and found that his attribute gains had increased to 10 points. In other words, every additional moment he spent down here was equivalent to gaining an entire level!

However, the strain on his body was enormous. The constant burning sensation spread through every fiber of his being, making every additional meter downward feel like an insurmountable challenge.

After descending another seven or eight meters, Luca felt his stamina approaching its limit. Reluctantly, he had to swim back up for air.

Splash!

Luca floated on the lake\'s surface, his entire body as red as a steamed lobster, wisps of steam rising from his skin. He gasped for breath, but a look of exhilaration spread across his face.

In that brief moment before resurfacing, he had caught a glimpse of the outline of the secret treasure at the bottom of the lake. It looked like a miniature sun, suspended in the depths. He couldn\'t quite make out what it was, but the aura it radiated was unmistakable.

Luca could feel it—if he could get close to that spot, he was certain he could break through his limits and elevate his aptitude even further!

The thought filled him with boundless excitement. So, beyond maxed-out aptitude, there truly was a new realm to explore!

Suppressing the urge to immediately dive back down, he took out a magical potion from his storage ring and consumed it to replenish his strength.

While recovering his stamina, Luca calculated his remaining time.

With the amount of time he had already spent diving up and down, nearly two hours had passed.

As he delved deeper each time, the effort and time required increased significantly.

After doing some quick mental math, Luca estimated that he would only have one more chance to dive deeper. If he couldn\'t reach the bottom on this attempt, he would have to come back another day.

Once his stamina was fully restored, Luca\'s eyes gleamed with determination.

This time, he would reach the bottom—at the very least, he had to see what that mysterious object was!

Taking a deep breath, Luca dove back into the depths of the Celestial Pool. This time, he didn\'t rush. Instead, he conserved as much energy as possible, focusing on pacing himself to extend his descent.

The strategy paid off. When he reached the previous depth, he could sense that he still had more than half his stamina left—enough to support him in reaching the bottom and safely returning to the surface.

As he drew closer to the crimson glow, the fire elements around him became so concentrated that they almost solidified into magma.

Finally, Luca arrived at the source of the crimson radiance.

What he saw made his heart skip a beat, and his eyes widened in shock.

What in the world is this…?