Unexpected!

Martial Dao Third Academy, classroom.

Tap, tap, tap!

The teaching pointer struck the podium forcefully as Lu Qing pushed up her black-rimmed glasses and rebuked sternly:

"I warned you all last time, and now you are letting your minds wander one by one again!"

The students gave a start, hastily snapping back to attention.

Watching Lu Qing resume her lecture, everyone's thoughts nevertheless inevitably drifted away.

It had already been two days since Li Qingshan entered the World Gate!

Logically speaking, with that previous time Xiang Wuji and the others "returned in defeat," everyone should have held no hope.

Yet this time, it was clearly different!

An abruptly appearing mission!

The initiative to set off straight for the Star Realm without a single word!

All of it revealed Li Qingshan's absolute confidence!

"Mou Yu, Zhou Yunze." A student cautiously leaned in close and asked in a low voice.

"You two have the best relationship with Li Qingshan. He accepted a mission to slay alien beasts, so he must be certain of success, right?"

Mou Yu and Zhou Yunze sat completely still, not opening their mouths.

This was not an ordinary classroom from childhood; no matter how soft the voice, it was impossible to keep it from the teacher.

Sure enough,

on the podium, Lu Qing's voice paused abruptly, her gaze sweeping over instantly.

Right at that moment,

buzz, buzz!

Lu Qing's Communicator vibrated faintly,

and immediately afterward, almost everyone's wrists vibrated one after another without distinction.

Hm?

The students' eyes all lit up, but cowed by their head instructor's majesty, they did not dare to check.

Lu Qing's gaze swept across the room, nodding with satisfaction before she lowered her head to check the message.

A few seconds later, she raised her head with a smile at the corner of her mouth.

"It seems none of you have your minds on the lesson. Class is dismissed early today. Those who need to request leave, remember to hand in your leave letters."

This sentence undoubtedly confirmed the speculation in their hearts, and cheers erupted instantly.

"Long live the head instructor!"

"Even though the alien beasts were dealt with by Li Qingshan, don't forget that this is the Star Realm! There might still be other accidents in the future, so you must not lower your guard!"

Lu Qing gave a final word of warning, then strode briskly and turned to walk out of the classroom.

Thud, thud, thud!

All the students were too impatient to even look at their messages, directly tapping open the mission board.

The pinned five-star mission had now turned green.

Mission: Slay three Tier 3 alien beasts at the Cavern Resource Point Reward: Twenty percent of the resource point's points Taker: Li Qingshan Status: Completed

"Holy shit! It really was solved by Li Qingshan!"

"Duh! Didn't you hear the head instructor confirm it just now?"

"Cut the crap, look at the forum—it's already blown up in there!"

"Right, right, right. I remember when we were guessing the time earlier, the shortest estimate was ten months, right?"

As everyone spoke, they opened the academy forum.

The pinned post was still that very same one.

On the Future of the Cavern Resource Point

Because the OP placed their hope of resolving the cavern on Li Qingshan, this post

had sparked debate and skepticism when it first appeared, and then sunk out of sight.

Later, when Xiang Wuji and the others failed, the post regained attention.

Even so, not even those most optimistic about Li Qingshan felt it could be resolved anytime soon.

Over ten days passed, the messages consisting entirely of numbers marking the days, and the thread turned into a purely spammy chat post.

It wasn't until the early morning of the day before yesterday, when the mission screenshot appeared, that the discussions grew active again.

And now, beneath the post, messages refreshed at lightning speed.

Row after row of replies were neat and uniform.

"OP is awesome!"

Everyone tapped their fingers, following along to post replies.

At that moment, someone suddenly cried out in surprise.

"Wait, why are Mou Yu and Zhou Yunze missing?"

"Holy shit, they definitely went to the World Gate!"

Everyone came to a sudden realization and bolted out of the classroom.

At the center of the academy, the fifty-meter-tall World Gate stood quietly, nebulas swirling within.

Hundreds of students wielding weapons rushed impatiently across the World Gate.

Boom!

Thunder rumbled, ripples surged across the World Gate,

and figure after figure stepped into the Star Realm camp. Without rushing to set off, they looked around left and right, wanting to see where Li Qingshan was.

Pity that no matter how thoroughly they searched the camp, they failed to find Li Qingshan's figure.

Just as everyone was feeling disappointed,

boom!

A sonic boom exploded,

and in midair, a dark shadow smashed through circles of air pressure, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Everyone was dumbstruck.

"That should be Li Qingshan... right?"

Over the next two days,

more than three thousand students stepped into the Star Realm once again, beginning their gathering missions.

Top-tier hunting squads like Xiang Wuji's also entered together to provide escort.

Meanwhile,

sonic booms constantly blasted within a radius of one hundred thousand li around the camp.

Li Qingshan shuttled back and forth, thoroughly clearing out every light red or dark red patch along the way.

However, Jing Shen's markings were far too cautious, and at least a small half of them turned out to be empty trips.

Out of the six danger zones, even among the four he had already cleared, there were only two Tier 3 alien beasts.

At the fifth danger zone,

gales raged and torrential rain poured, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, while tornado pillars swept wantonly across the great lake.

A full half hour later, wind and lightning abruptly scattered.

Li Qingshan landed by the lakeside, gazing at the gradually calming water surface with a furrowed brow.

With such a commotion, if there were alien beasts in the lake, it was impossible for them not to surface.

"Another empty trip?"

Li Qingshan shook his head in disappointment, fixing his gaze on his panel.

Function: Martial Dao Space Lv2 (6800/) Available time: 6,769 years 256 days Time dilation: 1:100

Two days of rushing about had earned over 1,500 points of experience.

Yet the area within one hundred thousand li of the camp had been completely swept clean.

Even if the final danger zone didn't come up empty, it would only yield three or four hundred experience points, which was still a very long way from leveling up!

Could it be that I have to venture outside the camp's perimeter? Li Qingshan couldn't help frowning.

The camp's perimeter had been demarcated precisely because of the existence of the Tier 3 King Beast.

To walk far away rashly meant perils simply impossible to predict.

Just as he was hesitating,

swish!

A piercing arrow whistle faintly traveled over, and purple smoke drifted and gathered high in the sky tens of thousands of meters away, looking exceptionally eye-catching.

A warning signal!

Li Qingshan's gaze shifted, and he shot straight up into the air, heading straight for the direction of the camp.

Within the Star Realm, communication was inconvenient.

Within a radius of one hundred thousand li around the camp, staff members were stationed at intervals, responsible for triggering signal flares.

Different colors represented different signals.

Purple represented an accident occurring within the camp's perimeter!

Boom!

Sonic booms echoed in succession as Li Qingshan pushed his speed to the limit.

Along the way, at every interval, there drifted a yet-undissipated cloud of purple smoke.

Still, spanning tens of thousands of kilometers took its toll, and it took Li Qingshan a full five hours to rush back to the camp.

Below, the staff members were orderly; though their footsteps were somewhat hurried, there was no panic.

It shouldn't be too big a problem!

Li Qingshan let out a breath of relief and dropped down from midair.

"You're finally back!"

Jing Shen trotted over to greet him, similarly exhaling in relief. A rainbow light emerged from his body, and he flew up into midair.

"Follow me quickly!"

Li Qingshan kept up effortlessly, asking in confusion:

"Director Jing, what happened?"

"A major event! 'Accidents' are the theme of the Star Realm, and now one has arrived!"

The old man furrowed his brows tightly, his right hand clutching his beard in a tight grip, and spoke in a deep voice:

"At a distance of eighty thousand li to the east, a Star Realm Rift has appeared."

"A Star Realm Rift?"

A look of shock... no, a sound of pleasant surprise rang out beside his ear.

Jing Shen turned his head in confusion,

"Kid, what are you smiling at?"

"No, you saw wrong."

Li Qingshan wore a blank expression as his pace involuntarily quickened.

"Director Jing, the situation is critical, you'd better fly a bit faster!"