Inside the treatment room at the Sea City station in the Rift World.
Ye Wudao lay on a hospital bed with tubes all over him while a doctor beside him set his broken bones.
Three ribs, one leg bone, and two bones in his hand.
Fortunately, they were all minor fractures without any serious displacement. He didn't need surgery; they just had to align the bones with external force and set them in casts.
After two hours of treatment, Ye Wudao was wrapped in bandages from head to toe like a mummy. The doctors then wheeled him out of the treatment room.
Looking at Hu Lianfeng and Zhang Hankuang, the doctor said, "He can't get out of bed or practice martial techniques for two months. He can practice internal cultivation to speed up his recovery."
Hu Lianfeng and Zhang Hankuang took Ye Wudao's mobile bed from the doctor.
Hu Lianfeng glanced at Zhang Hankuang and said quietly, "Go kill demonic beasts. I'll take him back."
Zhang Hankuang nodded. "All right!"
After splitting up with Zhang Hankuang, Hu Lianfeng pushed Ye Wudao all the way out of the camp.
Ye Wudao had no idea how far they'd gone, but he could tell it was farther than the way they'd come.
"Master! Where are we going?"
Lying on the bed and looking at the pitch-black surroundings, he asked softly.
Hu Lianfeng replied, "We're heading to the Rift. The Rift leading from Blue Star is by the cliff, and the one that takes us back from the Rift World to Blue Star is beside a small pond outside the camp."
They went a little farther, and a light appeared in the darkness.
Lying on the mobile bed, Ye Wudao turned his head and glanced toward the light.
There was a small pond up ahead, with armed guards patrolling its banks.
Behind them was a massive spatial rift hanging above the pond.
Curious, he asked Hu Lianfeng, "Master, why don't they build the station here by the Rift?"
"They have to assign people to guard it separately. Doesn't that spread their forces thin?"
Hu Lianfeng smiled. "This spatial rift shrinks and expands from time to time. If the station were built next to it, it could suck in the tents and equipment."
"The Rift is uncontrollable. Sometimes it grows so large that it could swallow the entire station."
"So they have no choice but to build the station farther away."
"It's also to prevent everyone from crowding into the station when the demonic beasts attack and causing casualties."
"With so many tents at the station, they'd obstruct people trying to escape if demonic beasts attacked."
Ye Wudao nodded, then continued, "By the way, I've been wondering about something. I saw some prisoners in uniforms over in the gorge."
"So there must be people from other cells besides Cell No. 1 entering the Rift World."
"Then why didn't we see anyone from the other cells when we came out?"
"And why do we come here at night? Our movements aren't restricted, so why can't we come during the day?"
Hu Lianfeng smiled at that. "You're pretty observant."
"Actually, those prisoners in uniforms over in the gorge aren't from the First Prison. They're from other prisons."
"There are more than ten prisons in Sea City, and almost every one has a cell like our Cell No. 1."
"There are other prisoners from Haicheng First Prison in the Rift World, too, but they aren't over in the gorge."
"There are only second-order demonic beasts over there. Without a Houtian Realm cultivation base, going there would be suicide."
"And every Houtian Realm prisoner in the First Prison is assigned to Cell No. 1."
"So the prisoners from the other cells in Haicheng First Prison are all in the Body Forging Realm. They don't go to the gorge."
"As for why we didn't run into anyone else when we left the First Prison, that comes down to Cell No. 1's privileges."
"Cell No. 1 sets out at eight. The other cells all leave at nine."
He paused, then continued, "As for why we only come here at night, that's related to the Rift World."
"During the day, the demonic beasts in the Rift World come out to forage, and large numbers of them leave their gathering places."
"So everyone withdraws from the Rift World during the day."
"Did you see those enormous searchlights in the gorge? They're there to attract the demonic beasts' attention and make them think it's daytime in the gorge."
"That way, we don't have to waste time searching for demonic beasts."
After hearing Hu Lianfeng's explanation, Ye Wudao felt confused.
He asked, perplexed, "Then why go in to kill demonic beasts?"
"Wouldn't it be enough if they didn't invade Blue Star?"
Hu Lianfeng smiled. "First, we have to control the number of demonic beasts to prevent them from invading Blue Star."
"Second, demonic beasts are treasures from head to toe."
"Eating demonic beast meat can strengthen your vital energy and blood, while their hide and bones can be used to refine pills."
"There are also plenty of spirit herbs in the Rift World, and they can help humans cultivate."
"That's why the Blue Star Federation enters the Rift World to develop it."
"Otherwise, do you think the Federation's councilors have nothing better to do than spend so much effort just to keep demonic beasts from invading Blue Star?"
"Would you do something that brought you no benefits?"
After saying this, he paused and continued in a solemn voice, "But as far as I know, Blue Star has developed less than one ten-thousandth of the Rift World so far."
"The place we're in should be at the very edge of the Rift World, where the danger is relatively low."
"Rumor has it that a Grandmaster-level expert crossed the gorge to enter the depths of the Rift World. Two died and eight were injured before the survivors managed to escape."
Ye Wudao pressed his lips together and said nothing more.
The Grandmaster Realm represented the strongest power on Blue Star.
Experts at that level had suffered two deaths and eight injuries just trying to enter the depths of the Rift World.
The Rift World was probably far more terrifying than he'd imagined.
After thinking for a while, he asked, "Master, what about demonic beast meat and those pills you mentioned? Why have I never seen them?"
Hu Lianfeng smiled. "Once you've killed demonic beasts and earned points, you'll see them."
"These things are tightly controlled. You can buy them with points, or find them at the Martial Arts Academy."
"The Blue Star Federation has realized over the years that the Rift World is a treasure trove, so it's been vigorously developing the Martial Path. Almost all talented people with an aptitude for martial arts are recruited into the Martial Arts Academy."
"If you get out of prison early, you can enroll at the Martial Arts Academy. It has cultivation resources, as well as a vast number of cultivation methods and martial techniques."
"And it's much easier to get those things at the Martial Arts Academy."
"As long as you have talent, the academy is willing to pour resources into you. You won't have to risk your life in the Rift World for a few measly points and resources."
Ye Wudao nodded. He remembered that before he went to prison, Ye Zhenshan had told him Ye Mingyuan had already been admitted to the Martial Arts Academy.
"The Martial Arts Academy..."
He murmured the words softly, resolving to visit the academy after he got out of prison.
As the two chatted, they drew close to the small pond.
The guards around the spatial rift only glanced at him and Hu Lianfeng before turning their attention elsewhere.
The Blue Star Federation had built a road between the land and the pond, and Hu Lianfeng pushed him straight into the spatial rift.
A dizzying sensation, as if heaven and earth were spinning, washed over him. He knew he was going back to Blue Star.
His trip to the Rift World had gotten off to a rough start.
Even so, this world overrun with demonic beasts had stirred a deep curiosity in him.
He took one last look at the Rift World and thought to himself, Once I've recovered, I'll definitely come back!
Before you continue