Below the canyon, the battle between humans and monsters was still raging.
The fighting here was even more brutal than by the river.
First-tier monsters weren't as deadly as second-tier monsters. Except for a few of the strongest first-tier monsters, the rest couldn't kill Body Tempering martial artists in an instant.
Second-tier monsters were different!
Even Houtian martial artists had to be extremely careful when facing second-tier monsters. One moment of carelessness could cost them their lives.
Those who dared to come to the canyon to hunt second-tier monsters weren't ordinary Houtian Realm martial artists. At the very least, they had reached Houtian Minor Accomplishment.
Qin Tianlong's thinking was simple. Since first-tier monsters no longer put any pressure on Ye Wudao, he would have Ye Wudao practice against second-tier ones.
This time, when Ye Wudao faced the incredibly steep slope, he wasn't as awkward as before.
He used Light Smoke Step, and his whole body slipped down the slope like a wisp of green smoke.
At the bottom of the canyon, Ye Wudao looked at the enormous horde of monsters and asked Qin Tianlong beside him, "Great Master, are these all second-tier monsters? There aren't any third-tier ones?"
Qin Tianlong nodded and said solemnly, "This side of the canyon is mostly home to second-tier monsters, though there are some first-tier ones too."
"The third-tier monsters aren't here. You have to cross the canyon and reach the edge of the desert to find them."
"Third-tier monsters correspond to human Xiantian Realm martial artists. They've already cultivated qi, and they're an entirely different breed from second-tier monsters."
"Besides, third-tier monsters aren't as dumb as first- and second-tier ones. They have a certain level of intelligence and are extremely difficult to deal with."
"If a martial artist like me, at Xiantian Minor Accomplishment, went to the desert, I could easily die there."
"But how many martial artists at Xiantian Great Accomplishment are there in Sea City?"
"Those martial artists at Xiantian Great Accomplishment control powerful lineages and don't lack resources."
"So basically, no one goes to the desert."
"Still, the desert has more than just monsters. There are plenty of spirit herbs there too."
"Those of us at Xiantian Minor Accomplishment, as well as those at Xiantian Entry Level, are in an awkward position. We can only hunt second-tier monsters here; we can't go gather spirit herbs."
Ye Wudao nodded and continued, "Great Master, I've heard my Second Master mention spirit herbs too. What exactly are they?"
Qin Tianlong replied, "Once you reach the Xiantian Realm, you can go to the desert and see for yourself."
"All I can tell you is that spirit herbs are worth far more than these monster carcasses."
"Even the most ordinary spirit herb can be exchanged for five points!"
"Five points can get you a Body Tempering Pill from the Demon Slayer Guard. On Blue Star's black market, one of those pills sells for fifty thousand each."
"Actually, you can think of the Demon Slayer Guard's points as a simple conversion to Federation currency: one point equals ten thousand Federation dollars."
"But in practice, very few people exchange points for Federation currency. Points can buy cultivation resources, while Federation currency can't necessarily buy them."
Looking at the monsters in the canyon, Ye Wudao asked again, "If one day all the first- and second-tier monsters are killed, won't we run out of cultivation resources to exchange for?"
At this, Qin Tianlong burst out laughing. "Haha! Killed them all?"
"Do you know how many monsters there are in the Rift World?"
Ye Wudao shook his head. So far, he had only seen monsters by the river and in the canyon.
But according to Qin Tianlong, humans had been entering the Rift World for over a hundred years.
Why hadn't they managed to kill all the monsters in that time?
Qin Tianlong continued, "The monsters you've seen are just a drop in the ocean compared to all the monsters in the Rift World."
"You have to understand, this is only the area linked to Sea City's spatial rift. Blue Star has dozens of rifts like this, each connected to a different part of the Rift World."
"These monsters were actually lured here by Grandmaster Realm experts. The goal is to give Blue Star's martial artists a place to train, while also providing martial artists without backing a way to exchange for cultivation resources."
"Otherwise, do you think the monsters by the canyon and river could withstand more than a hundred years of human hunting?"
"Every time the monsters in the canyon and by the river are wiped out, people come specifically to collect their carcasses."
"Then Grandmaster Realm experts lure in another group of monsters, and the cycle begins again."
"Monsters are everywhere in the Rift World, and each species has its own territory."
"The canyon and river you've seen aren't actually monster gathering grounds. Our human Grandmaster Realm experts deliberately lure the monsters here because the terrain makes it easier to trap them."
Hearing this, Ye Wudao looked at Qin Tianlong in confusion and asked, "Great Master, aren't we humans desperately short on cultivation resources?"
"Wouldn't Grandmaster Realm experts have an easy time killing these first- and second-tier monsters?"
"If Grandmaster Realm experts hunted them, wouldn't we get more resources?"
"Then we wouldn't have to risk our lives coming here to hunt monsters."
Qin Tianlong shook his head and said gently, "You're only looking at the immediate problem of resources. You haven't considered the possibility of a large-scale monster invasion of Blue Star in the future."
"If one day monsters stronger than Grandmasters invade Blue Star, what will we use to stop them?"
"Or what if third-tier monsters invade Blue Star all at once? How will we stop them?"
"What kind of fighting strength do you think martial artists raised on piles of resources will have?"
"Greenhouse flowers may look pretty, but they can't withstand the battering of a storm."
"The Blue Star Federation established the Demon Slayer Guard and its points system so we could fight our way to strength."
"The Blue Star Federation has over ten billion people. We don't lack talent; what we lack are powerful warriors who can kill monsters!"
"Besides, those Grandmaster Realm experts are thinking about things on a deeper level!"
"Once martial arts on Blue Star have developed enough, they may organize people to explore the depths of the Rift World."
"Exploring those depths requires great fighting strength. Without it, going there would just mean throwing your life away."
"But that probably won't happen until someone breaks through beyond the Grandmaster Realm. Without a powerhouse beyond the Grandmaster Realm to escort them, they won't even make it across that desert."
After listening to Qin Tianlong's explanation, Ye Wudao nodded blankly.
He hadn't expected the Rift World to be so complicated.
Especially after Qin Tianlong, a Xiantian Realm expert, had explained it to him, he felt all the more that the Rift World was no simple place.
He was just about to move forward when Qin Tianlong suddenly grabbed him.
Ye Wudao looked at Qin Tianlong curiously. Qin Tianlong had turned around and was staring intently at a group of people above the slope.
"Go tell your Second Master. The Zhang Family is here. Tell him to leave at once!"
"And be careful yourself!"
Qin Tianlong whispered in Ye Wudao's ear.
Ye Wudao glanced at the group above the slope, nodded quickly, and used Roaming Dragon Step to head toward the horde of monsters.
He searched for a long while before finally finding Hu Lianfeng. At that moment, Hu Lianfeng was fighting an Armored Wild Boar.
When Hu Lianfeng saw Ye Wudao, he was also a little stunned. After shaking off the Armored Wild Boar, he asked Ye Wudao, "Wudao, where's your Great Master? Why did you come here alone?"
"Second Master, there's no time to explain. Great Master said the Zhang Family is here and told you to leave at once."
Hearing this, Hu Lianfeng immediately looked toward the slope.
"It's Zhang Jianye!"
"I don't see Zhang Yuanlin."
"Looks like Zhang Jianye brought the Zhang Family here for Rift World training."
He stared at the old man at the front of the group, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Then he looked at Ye Wudao and said softly, "Wudao, I'll leave first!"
Ye Wudao nodded. "All right, Second Master."
Hu Lianfeng glanced toward the slope once more, then slipped into the crowd of fighting humans and monsters and headed in the opposite direction from it.
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