Chapter 2: Chaotic Relationships (Part 2)

Guo Shier was puzzled—how could these two sit together and discuss things so calmly? But he didn’t dare question it and asked, “Hmm, if Sister Zhen inherited this information, then what exactly is ‘sacrificing to the stars’?”
Qi Wuzhen replied, “It should be the world closest to the Greater World. But until we get there, any guess is speculative. We must go there in person to find out if it’s right or wrong. Of course, if it really is the Greater World, we’ll avoid a lot of trouble.”
Ezek asked, “What are you talking about? What is the Greater World? And what is a smaller world? I don’t understand anything at all.”
Halechi couldn’t help but say, “Of course you don’t understand. It would be strange if you did.” He couldn’t resist teasing them a bit—after all, he had been bullied by this couple so much.
Ezek wasn’t angry. He just said, “I ask because I don’t understand. I wonder if you understand either. If not, then shut up.”
Stung by his words, Halechi didn’t bother arguing. He muttered, “Barbaric guy.” He really couldn’t afford to provoke such humanoid abominations.
Meili stopped Ezek, saying, “Don’t bully him!”
Halechi’s almond-shaped eyes rolled. He wasn’t grateful to Meili at all. His gaze was fixed solely on Qi Wuzhen. In his mind, looking at Qi Wuzhen was far more pleasing than looking at Meili, and it made him feel good. Looking at Meili only made him feel depressed.
A red glow flashed in Qi Wuzhen’s eyes. In an instant, Halechi was as if struck by lightning, trembling violently. He stepped back repeatedly, tears welling up but unable to flow. Even a glance could lead to bullying—this world was utterly terrifying. He lowered his head and slunk aside, kicking a rock fiercely with his toe, cursing under his breath, “Damn it… damn it… women are all bastards!”
Guo Shier had always been attentive to his surroundings, so he noticed every move Halechi made. Seeing Halechi hide aside, he couldn’t help but laugh. Watching him grit his teeth, Guo Shier wondered if this guy might turn into a pervert.
Li Ran wasn’t paying attention to these things. His mind was on the next continent. As long as that continent had the same nature as this one, his judgment would be correct.
“Everyone, get ready. I’m about to use Breakthrough.”
Li Ran unleashed Breakthrough, and everyone immediately brought out their altars, ready to rush out at any moment.
Boom!

Shattering the space, Qi Wu Zhen instantly plunged in, followed closely by Guo Shier and Zhen Wu Ji. Yao Ze Bu Song and Goha rushed in after them, Ha Le Chi followed silently, Ezek and Meili entered the space rift hand in hand, with Li Ran being the last to follow.
…
The Eighth Layer Continent.
The moment Guo Shier saw the Eighth Layer Continent, he couldn’t help but say, “Exactly. It’s the same as the previous layer, just slightly less fragmented.”
The Eighth Layer Continent had no floating mountains; it had the shape of a continent, but it was covered with countless huge cracks, some even spanning hundreds of kilometers. From above, the entire continent resembled a shattered chessboard, with numerous cracks crisscrossing it.
Despite the numerous ravines, there were still large areas of forests full of vitality. Many birds flew in flocks in the sky. Unlike the Spell Continent, these birds were somewhat similar to those Guo Shier had seen in his past life—ordinary birds without any abnormal abilities.
On the ground, there were some wild beasts and herbivores, also quite ordinary and posing no threat to Guo Shier and the others. Goha said, “It seems there are no ferocious wild beasts like the savage beasts… I can sense no danger, and these beasts here have almost no soul power—they’re very weak.”
Ezek said, “I feel annoyed here…”
Meili didn’t speak but nodded in agreement.
Li Ran said calmly, “Of course you won’t like it. There are no mutated or aberrant spell beasts here. You all rely on those to advance. Moreover, there’s no power of spells here. If you only eat these local beasts, you’ll never be able to advance, and your bodies will gradually weaken…”
Ezek shuddered. That was terrifying. He said, “Uh, let’s go back.”
Li Ran replied, “We’ll take you back after we’ve finished exploring. Don’t worry. This little time won’t affect you.”
Ezek and Meili immediately fell silent. If Li Ran took everyone away and left them behind, it would be disastrous—they couldn’t tear through space.
Li Ran said, “This time, we’re just observing. Everyone, stay together. We’ll soon descend to the last layer. I think we might be able to reach that other world… another continent.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “Brother, do you mean that entering the next layer of the continent means entering another world?”

Li Ran nodded and said, “That’s right. Although we won’t stay in this small world for long, being able to observe one more small world is of great benefit to us. Small worlds aren’t something one can enter casually.” His mission upon entering a small world was to observe and collect materials unique to that world, and he couldn’t afford to miss such an opportunity.
No one objected. Li Ran was the team leader, and as long as his words made sense, no one would disagree. Li Ran said, “Let’s first look for any signs of intelligent life.” He wasn’t sure if there were people here, but the possibility of intelligent life existing in small worlds was high. If they found any, they could obtain a wealth of information.
The huge cracks on the ground resembled countless abysses, dark and unknown in depth. Guo Shier said, “The seventh layer is a fractured continent. Although this layer isn’t completely broken, it’s almost on the verge of splitting. Brother Li Ran, is this stacked continent… the junction of two small worlds?”
Li Ran replied, “If the ninth layer is a complete continent, then… you’re right. It’s very likely… we’ve found a passage to another small world.”
Guo Shier said, “If it doesn’t take too much time, I really want to see what’s in this world.”
Li Ran said, “I’m also curious about what’s here. It would be best if there’s intelligent life.”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Maybe there’s none here, but there might be on the next layer. I have a feeling that this layer of continent has undergone a massive upheaval. Even if there were intelligent life, they probably wouldn’t survive.” He pointed at the huge cracks below.
Qi Wu Zhen said, “These aren’t traces of battles but rather formed by natural forces. Hmm, perhaps it was the collision of two small worlds that created this stacked continent.”
Guo Shier thought carefully before nodding. “That makes sense.”
Li Ran said, “That’s likely. Two small worlds… a slight collision resulted in a stacked continent of this scale. I estimate it wasn’t formed long ago, as only nine layers of continent have been squeezed out. If it were a violent collision, it might not have created a stacked continent but rather destroyed part of it.”
This explained why there were no runes on the continents starting from the seventh layer, and it also accounted for the many floating mountains resulting from the fragmentation of the seventh-layer continent—the forces of the two small worlds caused the fractured continent to float in the air. Through exploration and reasoning, Li Ran and his team had already deduced the mystery behind it.

What Li Ran wanted to search for were buildings, as most intelligent beings would have their own dwellings and structures. Of course, there were exceptions, such as intelligent beings like Ezekiel, who could survive well in the wild without buildings. Yet if they went to the continent inhabited by humans, they would surely learn from them.

The group flew close to the treetops. Due to the dense forest, any traces of intelligent life activities would be hidden within it, so flying close to the treetops was the only way to uncover secrets.

Guo Shier found that the wild beasts here were weak, nowhere near as strong as those on the Spellcraft Continent. Even when he stumbled upon a slightly stronger beast, it was only comparable to ordinary beasts on the Spellcraft Continent. He said, “Even if there are intelligent beings here, their strength won’t be very great.”

Qi Wu Zhen asked, “Why?”

Guo Shier replied, “Sister Zhen, the environment isn’t harsh enough, and the enemies aren’t strong enough, so their own strength won’t be high.”

Qi Wu Zhen said, “Maybe. But you haven’t considered another factor…”

Guo Shier asked curiously, “Another factor? What is it?”

Qi Wu Zhen said calmly, “Fights between intelligent beings can also enhance their strength.”

Guo Shier was stunned for a moment before praising, “Good, good. That’s exactly it. If there’s a race that enjoys killing, their strength will increase.”

Li Ran added, “That’s right. A harsh environment can boost the combat strength of intelligent beings. Battles between members of the same race or different races can also enhance strength, sometimes even faster.”

There were few fights between members of the same race on the Spellcraft Continent because of the abundance of resources and continents. Most professionals focused on exploration and adventure, striving to improve their strength in harsh environments. If the Spellcraft World had only a few continents and secret realms, professionals would likely have been fighting to the death long ago.

The group crossed a rift. Here, the trees were less dense, allowing them to see wild beasts running through the forest. As they flew over the second great canyon, Guo Shier suddenly fell. He headed toward the cliff edge, and Li Ran and the others followed.

They clearly saw a ruined wall made of stones, with only one corner remaining. Guo Shier stood beside it and said, “This wasn’t formed naturally…”

Ezekiel and Meili were after all alien Spellbeasts, so neither understood Guo Shier’s meaning. But the others knew that since it wasn’t natural, it must have been created by intelligent beings. In other words, this continent had intelligent beings—perhaps humans or some other creatures.

Li Ran observed for a moment and said, “It’s just a corner of a very simple house. Let’s look around… for any other remnants.”
Halechi said, “If it weren’t by the cliff face, we wouldn’t have been able to see any traces at all. It’s covered in vines. Guo Shier was really sharp—he spotted this place right away.”
Guo Shier tapped the ruined wall and said, “Although there are vines, their pattern is very regular. That’s why I noticed it.”
The group scattered to search and soon found many ruined houses, but only the foundations remained; the upper parts had completely collapsed.
Li Ran said firmly, “There’s no doubt about it. This small world has intelligent life. We just don’t know if it’s humans or humanoid intelligent beings.”
Guo Shier said, “It’s highly likely to be humans, because judging from the size of the house foundations left behind, the people who lived here must have been about our size.”
Goha called out from not far away, “Come quickly! What’s this?”
Hearing this, everyone immediately gathered around.