(Seeking Support)
Roar—!
The gigantic beast continued its furious bellowing.
Despite taking a solid hit from Liu Guocheng, it wasn't dead. Instead, it struggled back to its feet, roared again, and charged straight toward Liu Guocheng.
Liu Guocheng glanced at Bai Jue, raised an eyebrow, and chuckled.
"Want to try your hand?"
"Sure."
Bai Jue smiled faintly and nodded. He took a step forward—and in the next instant, his figure shot out like a cannonball.
His speed was terrifying.
In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of the beast.
The monster roared angrily, lifting its massive claw and slamming it down, clearly intending to crush Bai Jue in a single strike.
But in that very moment—
A cold glint flashed through Bai Jue's eyes.
The Soul-Harvesting Scythe appeared in his palm, yin flames surging violently as he swung it in a horizontal arc.
The blade cut through the air.
Black flames erupted skyward.
In an instant, the monstrous beast was completely engulfed.
ROOOAR—!
A shrill, pain-filled howl echoed across the wasteland.
"Tsk… just looking at that feels dangerous," Liu Guocheng exclaimed in amazement, not daring to get any closer. Even from where he stood, he could feel the terrifying threat radiating from those flames.
When the fire finally dissipated—
What remained was a thoroughly roasted corpse.
The massive beast lay charred black, completely cooked through, with even the faint aroma of grilled meat drifting through the air.
"Nice," Bai Jue said with a grin.
"Perfect timing for a big meal."
He turned to Liu Guocheng and asked casually,
"No poison, right?"
"Nope," Liu Guocheng replied confidently.
"Beasts like this are usually just mutated wild animals from the wastelands. Bigger bodies, stronger strength—that's all."
Then he rubbed his hands together and laughed.
"Heh, I love this kind of barbecue. Eating it boosts your physique too."
Without hesitation, Liu Guocheng tore off one of the beast's massive legs and started devouring it with gusto.
Seeing this, Bai Jue couldn't help but laugh.
"Honestly, I'm kind of jealous of your ability."
"Haha! I'm jealous of yours too," Liu Guocheng replied loudly.
And that wasn't empty flattery.
There were very few festival awakeners who didn't envy Zhongyuan.
The beast's corpse was enormous, but festival awakeners had equally terrifying appetites. The two of them ate without restraint, finishing nearly half of it.
Both ended up stuffed.
They sat on the ground, resting.
Suddenly—
Buzz.
A strange fluctuation rippled through the air.
Not far away, a crack abruptly appeared in midair.
The fissure expanded at a visible speed, and the surrounding wasteland was violently pulled toward it, ground and sand grinding into dust as they were sucked in.
"Back off—don't get close!"
Liu Guocheng shouted immediately.
"When a spatial rift first forms, its suction is terrifying. Get caught in it and you'll be shredded instantly!"
Bai Jue nodded and retreated as well, his gaze fixed on the rift.
Then his expression changed.
From within the rift, countless corpses were being flung outward.
"What's going on?" Bai Jue asked in a low voice.
"So many bodies… what happened in the world connected to this rift?"
Even Liu Guocheng looked shocked.
There were far too many corpses—at least twenty.
And as they were expelled from the rift, most were torn apart midair, reduced to shattered remains.
"Do you know which civilization this is?" Bai Jue asked.
"White Elves."
Liu Guocheng frowned deeply.
"A light-manipulating race. They've always maintained neutrality and avoid conflicts. Recently, they even showed interest in forming friendly relations with human civilization."
"So why are there so many corpses?"
As they spoke, the rift's turbulence began to stabilize.
"What do we do?" Bai Jue asked.
"This is my first mission, and this situation's… unusual."
He didn't rush to decide—he wanted Liu Guocheng's judgment.
"We have no choice but to go in and investigate," Liu Guocheng said after thinking it over.
"But before that, we need to notify the team."
"That works," Bai Jue agreed without hesitation.
The rift might be dangerous—but with his current strength, self-preservation wasn't an issue. If things went south, retreating wouldn't be hard.
More importantly—
Situations like this often meant massive point rewards.
If he wanted to obtain an Awakening Crystal as soon as possible, he couldn't shy away from risk.
Soon enough, the spatial rift fully stabilized.
It formed a diamond-shaped entrance, shimmering with multicolored light. The inside was impossible to see clearly—no sound escaped either.
Liu Guocheng raised his communication watch and quickly reported the situation to headquarters. Then he turned to Bai Jue.
"Ready?"
"Let's go."
Bai Jue nodded, a trace of anticipation curling at the corner of his lips.
"Honestly, this is my first time encountering something like this. Dangerous, sure—but usually, danger also means opportunity."
"Heh, exactly."
Liu Guocheng grinned, wasting no more time as he stepped straight into the rift.
Bai Jue followed immediately after.
A violent wave of dizziness crashed over him.
The next instant—
Blinding light.
When Bai Jue opened his eyes again, he had already passed through the rift.
And the sight before him made his pupils contract sharply.
Even Liu Guocheng stood frozen in shock.
"…Holy shit," Liu Guocheng swallowed hard.
"What happened here? Did a full-scale civilization war just end?"
The scene before them was utterly devastating.
As far as the eye could see—
Ruins.
Corpses littered the ground in every direction.
The land was scorched black, as though it had been swept by an unknown inferno. The sky itself was cracked, fractures spreading like shattered glass—as if the very fabric of space had been forcibly torn apart by overwhelming power.
No wonder a spatial rift had formed here.
The air was thick with the stench of blood.
The entire world reeked of death.
It was obvious—
A horrific war had taken place here.
And the White Elves had been the ones defeated.
After a long silence, Liu Guocheng finally exhaled deeply.
"Good thing this is only a branch world of the White Elves, not their main world. Otherwise, this would seriously affect their relations with humanity."
"But still—this is big."
"If we investigate and find out which civilization was responsible, and report it first… the rewards will be enormous."
Bai Jue's eyes gleamed.
"Funny you say that," he replied calmly.
"I was thinking the exact same thing."
As Liu Guocheng said—
If they uncovered the culprit and delivered the information to the upper echelons, it could significantly strengthen ties between the two civilizations.
And the payoff?
It would be anything but small.
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