Investigation?

The camp was located 80,000 miles to the east.

At the peak of a hill, the void shimmered, rippling outwards in layers.

At the center of the disturbance, a fifty-meter-long beam of seven-colored light stretched open a spindle-shaped rift in space.

Below the rift, Xiang Wuji and the eight other hunting squads stood ready, weapons in hand, their expressions tense.

At the foot of the hill, many lower-grade students lingered, wanting to help.

"Senior Xiang Wuji won't let us get close. Isn't that a bit of an overreaction?"

"Star Realm Rifts are graded the same as World Gates. A fifty-meter Star Realm Rift can only allow second-order beasts through at most. There's no need to be so nervous, right?"

"I think you've forgotten the pain as soon as the wound heals! Don't forget the third-order beasts that Li Qingshan just cleaned up. The camp has confirmed that they came from a Star Realm Rift!"

"That's right, accidents happen all the time. Who knows if this rift will suddenly expand?"

"It wouldn't be that unlucky, would it? We've only had two days of peace!"

"Hehe, don't worry. Don't forget that Li Qingshan is still in the Star Realm."

"Look at the sky! Supervisor Jing and Li Qingshan are here!"

In mid-air, two figures sped over and landed below the rift.

"Supervisor Jing, Junior." Xiang Wuji greeted them first, pointing to the rift as he introduced it:

"This rift was discovered by a junior on his way back to turn in a mission. It's been ten hours since it was discovered, and we estimate that the rift has been open for about twelve hours."

"Twelve hours?" Jing Shen frowned slightly, and pondered:

"That means it will take at least another 12 hours for it to disappear!"

Although Star Realm Rifts are unstable, once they appear, they last for at least a day, and can last for as long as three to five days.

Li Qingshan looked up at the center of the spindle-shaped rift.

Unlike World Gates, the center of the rift wasn't a nebula, but seemed to be covered by a thin film, allowing him to barely see the things on the other side.

Beyond the rift, there were layers of trees, seemingly a mountain forest. He didn't see any signs of living creatures for the time being.

Li Qingshan's brow gradually furrowed.

"Senior, have any alien beasts crossed the rift while you've been guarding it?"

"Not yet." Xiang Wuji shook his head.

"A second-order rift isn't a big problem." Jing Shen hunched over, pacing back and forth.

"Star Realm Rifts have expanded before, but that's a very rare occurrence. What I'm worried about now is another problem."

"It appeared too conveniently!"

"Conveniently?" Li Qingshan and Xiang Wuji exchanged glances, speaking almost simultaneously.

"Is the Supervisor talking about the rift that appeared in the Earth Cave before?"

"That's right!" Jing Shen nodded, clutching his beard tightly.

"Both are on the east side, and the two rifts appeared one after another, with no more than a month between them!

Although there's a deviation of 30,000 kilometers, that distance isn't far at all for the Star Realm."

Jing Shen paused, looking up at the two of them, as if considering something, waiting for them to come to a conclusion.

"This..." Li Qingshan and Xiang Wuji were both a little confused.

They guessed correctly, but accidents are everywhere in the Star Realm. What kind of conclusion could they possibly draw!

"Li Qingshan is only a freshman, and I didn't expect him to understand, but you..."

Jing Shen glared at Xiang Wuji and shook his head:

"In the Star Realm, 'knowledge' is sometimes more important than cultivation. You can't neglect any of the academy's courses!"

"Let me ask you, where did the Earth Caves come from?"

"Uh..." Xiang Wuji was stumped again. Li Qingshan's eyes flickered, and he replied:

"Supervisor, could the Earth Caves be another Star Realm?"

The Earth Caves' environment and area were both beyond common sense. Coupled with the soil layer above, which was similar to the Star Realm's sky, it did seem like another Star Realm.

"Not bad!" Jing Shen nodded in satisfaction, then glared at Xiang Wuji again before explaining:

"Behind the Star Realm Rifts are unformed Star Realms."

"Usually, they only have three endings!"

"The first is failure to form, annihilation into nothingness."

"The second is successful independence as a true Star Realm."

"The third is to merge into other Star Realms!"

"In the third case, because the area of the unformed Star Realm is limited, it will only change the terrain within a certain range."

"If the point of integration is underground, it's very likely to become an Earth Cave."

"With such close proximity and only a month between these two rifts..." Jing Shen paused slightly, then said, "I suspect they share the same 'channel' behind them, the same unformed Star Realm!"

The image of the Cat-Ear girl flashed through his mind.

Li Qingshan finally understood what Jing Shen was worried about, and said with a serious expression, "Is the supervisor suspecting that the Cat-Ear Tribe is also in that unformed Star Realm?"

"To be precise, a Star Realm Rift has opened in the Cat-Ear Tribe's territory!"

Jing Shen struggled to straighten his back, looked up at the rift, and frowned, "Star Realm Rifts are, by nature, channels for invasion. If this channel merges with our Star Realm, then perhaps a World Gate will be generated in the Cat-Ear Tribe's territory!"

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of all the students present became stern, realizing the seriousness of the matter.

If it came true, everything they saw before them would turn into a battlefield!

"Don't worry too much, maybe I'm just being overly concerned!"

Jing Shen slowly shook his head, squeezed out a smile, and stared at the rift in the sky.

"Maybe it has nothing to do with the rift deep in the Earth Cave."

Li Qingshan also stared at the rift, his eyes flickering, and slowly said, "Supervisor, whether it does or not, we'll have to explore it to find out."

"That's right, instead of waiting for death, it's better to take the initiative!" Xiang Wuji and several other captains also spoke at the same time.

"Let's go in and investigate together. If it's just a coincidence, there's naturally no need to worry. If we really discover the Cat-Ear Tribe, the academy can also prepare in advance!"

"No need!" Li Qingshan suddenly said, drawing everyone's surprised attention.

"Uh... what I mean is, there's no need for so many people to go in. One person is enough."

Seeing Xiang Wuji about to refute, Li Qingshan quickly said, "Senior, the rift is only Tier 2, but don't forget the Tier 3 exotic beast from last time!"

"If it's really the same Star Realm, what you'll be facing isn't just exotic beasts, but even the Cat-Ear Tribe!"

"With more people, the target is too big and easily exposed. It's better for me to explore carefully alone."

Xiang Wuji frowned, and was about to speak when Jing Shen waved his hand and said, "Li Qingshan is right, and you also need to be stationed outside the rift."

"Then it's settled."

Boom!

Before the words fell, a figure soared into the sky and plunged into the center of the rift.

"This..."

Everyone below was dumbfounded.

What happened to exploring carefully?

Behind the rift, Li Qingshan descended from the sky and landed in the mountains and forests.

Looking back at the rift above his head, his figure moved quickly and disappeared into the forest.

The rift had been open for twelve hours, but no exotic beasts had passed through, indicating that this area was relatively "barren."

Even if there really was a Cat-Ear Tribe, they wouldn't be nearby.

The Celestial Net Mystic Steps was used to its fullest extent.

Li Qingshan's figure was like a ghost, erratic and unpredictable, his eyes swept over the Martial Dao Space column.

[Function: Martial Dao Space Lv2 (6800/)]

"Still 3200 experience points short..."

Exploring carefully, of course, was true.

But this mission was not just about exploration, but also hunting!

Regardless of whether there was a Cat-Ear Tribe or not, this time, he would kill enough to get 3200 experience points and upgrade his Martial Dao Space!