Chapter 8: No Looking Back (Part 2)

Qi Wu Zhen nodded and said, “This is just one of the methods. It’s certainly the most powerful one, but there’s no need for such extreme measures for now.”
Halechi smiled bitterly. “Could you all stop being so terrifying…” Everyone was terrified; no one wanted to be trapped here. The greatest threat to professionals wasn’t a powerful enemy but being trapped in one place with no way out. In the World of Spells, many professionals disappeared for this very reason.
Just like Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan, who waited in the World of Spells for Guo Shier to emerge, waiting for decades until they realized Guo Shier would never return—that was the worst outcome professionals feared. Even if Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan wanted to enter the deepest layer of the Superimposed Continent, they would have to reach a level beyond the ninth-tier altar, which was almost impossible.
Guo Shier asked, “So, if no effective way out is found in the end, we’ll use the method of breaking through the secret realm to leave?”
Li Ran replied, “Shier, it won’t be that bad. Although the space in this world is bizarre, there should still be weak points. I just hope it won’t take too long. As you know… the power here is eroding us. I hope to find a way out before we’re completely consumed.”
Halechi smiled bitterly and said, “I know, I know. You’re referring to me—the first professional here to be corrupted.”
Qi Wu Zhen said calmly, “You’re quite smart.” Halechi was so stunned he couldn’t say a word.
Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen activated the boundary-breaking technique again. Only by doing so could they hope to find a weak point. The group flew away through the boundary-breaking technique.
For two full days, Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen tried no less than four times but still couldn’t find a suitable location, leaving everyone disheartened. Of course, they understood Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen’s plan—to avoid using the last resort if possible, since who knew what dangers might arise later. From the results of this boundary-breaking attempt, they realized leaving the small world wasn’t easy.
Zhen Wu Ji said, “Let’s take a break. This won’t be solved in a day or two.”
Over these two days, they had been flying above a forest, crossing several mountain ranges, with no encounters with fierce beasts or people—quite peaceful. They also didn’t want to provoke the local natives. Fortunately, so far, they hadn’t seen a single person, only a few abandoned buildings completely covered by the forest. They didn’t have time to examine them closely and just glanced at them briefly.

Li Ran nodded and said, “Okay, let’s take a short break.”
Qi Wu Zhen saw Li Ran put away the boundary-breaking ability before pointing to a place not far away. “Let’s rest there. It should be an abandoned ruin.”
It was a huge platform made of stone. The buildings below had been covered by large trees, leaving only the stone platform visible in the air, its general shape discernible. Because the platform was quite high, and with only a few trees and vines growing in the cracks of the stone, its original appearance could still be seen.
Everyone descended one after another. Guo Shier smiled and said, “Along the way, we’ve been busy following Big Brother and Sister Zhen. I saw several ruins but didn’t have time to examine them. Hehe, I wonder who left these ruins.”
Ge Ha said, “I don’t care who left them at all. I just hope we can leave here soon.”
Yao Zebusong nodded repeatedly. He said, “Yes, I hope even more… that we can return to the Spell World this time…”
Guo Shier was more sober-minded than the other two. From Li Ran’s earlier tone, he had realized the chances of returning were very slim. Li Ran said, “Everyone, eat some dry food and take a short rest. Then we’ll continue. We don’t have much time to stay here.”
Everyone took out their dry food and dried meat. Guo Shier still couldn’t resist boiling up a pot of meat soup—he didn’t want to eat dry food.
Guo Shier ate very quickly. After finishing, he said with a smile, “I’ll go check out the ruins.” In his mind, since they were here, he should take a closer look. It was a habit from his past life. He loved traveling in his previous life, so he retained this habit in this one as well. Whenever he arrived in a strange place, he would explore everywhere, not caring about what he could find, purely to satisfy his curiosity.
He leaped off the platform. All around were towering trees, and countless buildings could be seen, though most of them had been destroyed by the trees. The remaining ruins looked especially desolate, with dense branches and leaves blocking any paths. Fortunately, Guo Shier could fly, so he circled through the dense forest.
After circling once, he found nothing. Knowing it had been abandoned for so long, aside from stones, there was basically nothing left. He wasn’t disappointed either. He had seen many ruins before, and rarely found anything valuable.

He emitted a ripple of spiritual energy. It was a pity this wasn’t a Spellcraft World; in such a world, since most things had spellcraft properties, one could detect various differences. Here, however, it was far from that—only the appearance of things could be seen, not their properties. The handsome old man sneered in his busy schedule, “Hey, there are no treasures here, haha.”

Guo Shier said, “I’m not looking for treasures. I’m just probing the scale and style of the buildings here. Hehe, just out of curiosity.” In fact, he had already found quite a few gold and silver bars, but he no longer had much interest in them, as he already possessed plenty.

When Guo Shier returned to the platform, everyone was ready to set off.

Li Ran said, “We probed again just now, and it seems we’ve got some clues…” Before he could finish speaking, he felt a ripple approaching. All the people present were advanced professionals, well-accustomed to such ripples—they were signs of battle, and this ripple was extremely strong. The trees around the platform rustled violently, as if hit by a strong wind. They knew well that this was definitely not just wind.

Zhen Wuji said, “Someone is fighting… Should we go take a look?”

Li Ran replied, “Let’s avoid unnecessary complications. We should leave this place and try to avoid conflicts with the locals. We don’t have much time left.” It wasn’t that he was afraid, but he truly couldn’t afford to waste time—they had already stayed in this small world for too long.

Another ripple came, accompanied by faint thunder sounds. This time, even Li Ran and Qi Wuzhen’s expressions changed slightly. Both said at the same time, “So powerful!”

Guo Shier asked, “How far away?”

Qi Wuzhen replied, “Very far… extremely far. It can still affect this place.”

Guo Shier estimated and said, “That must be the top-tier combat force in this world.”

Li Ran said, “Every world has top-tier combat forces, unless… never mind. Let’s leave as soon as possible.” He took off into the air. What he really wanted to say was that Earth didn’t have top-tier combat forces, but he knew only Guo Shier would understand; the others wouldn’t get it at all, so he didn’t continue.

The group flew quickly toward the south, with strong ripples still coming from behind them.

Before long, Li Ran exclaimed in surprise, “Look over there!” It was a scattered group of buildings, all made of simple logs. Before they could turn, a group of people flew out from those wooden houses and rushed toward them.

Halechi shouted, “They’re all experts!”

Li Ran sighed and said, “Trouble’s coming… Damn it!” He couldn’t help but swear. He didn’t want any entanglements; he just wanted to find a weak point in the space so he could leave as soon as possible.
Guo Shier was observant. He said, “There are twelve of them in total, more than us.” He knew this might be the so-called ninth-level barbarian experts in this world, that is, king-level experts. He couldn’t help but think—either none were seen before, or twelve appeared all at once. Not to mention those who caused the disturbance earlier; there were at least two more experts there.
Zhen Wuji said, “There’s no need to be too nervous. They might not even fight us. We’re not weak either.”
Ezek and Meili, on the other hand, were eager for action. They found such a life boring—they liked fighting and killing. But following Li Ran and the others, it was almost impossible to have battles. Even when there were fights, the opponents were too weak, and they gained nothing from them. Back in their hometown, fighting and killing were done for food, and they always got something from each battle.
If they couldn’t get food, then a fair fight was what they desired, as it allowed them to learn combat skills and grow stronger. But even that was hard to achieve. Now that so many powerful opponents had appeared, they became excited.
Halechi inwardly groaned. He was the weakest and, damn it, couldn’t even use the altar. His strength had declined again. Of course, he didn’t want a conflict—it wouldn’t be fun.
Yao Zebusong said, “They… are hostile!” Without him saying it, everyone could sense their murderous aura.
Qi Wu Zhen said nonchalantly, “If we can talk, let’s talk. If not… just kill them all.” Ever since she learned Guo Shier’s Soul Scripture, her personality had changed slightly—she wasn’t as brutal anymore. But if anyone dared provoke her, it would be a nightmare.
Li Ran said, “Since they’ve come, we don’t need to worry. At worst, we can destroy a small secret realm and force our way out.” What he meant was that if things turned unfavorable, they could use the altar, defeat the opponents, and then tear through space to leave, avoiding being corrupted by the local forces after using the altar.
By the time they spoke, that group had already flown closer.
It was a group of old men and women, their faces aged and fierce, giving off a strange vibe. Each of them carried a weapon—most held great swords, while a few carried axes. A few old women carried long bows and kept some distance apart.
Among that group, the two leaders—one held a huge shield, the other a massive axe. The old man next to him grasped a thick stick.

The two of them left the crowd and moved quickly closer, hovering about dozens of meters away. The old man holding a giant axe and shield showed a look of surprise in his eyes as he said, “Foreigners? Are there really foreigners in the Wilds?”
The old man with a thick stick in his hand said, “No, they’re outsiders!”
At these words, all the old men and women grew nervous, especially the three old women carrying bows and arrows behind them. They immediately took off their bows, nocked arrows, and aimed them at Li Ran’s team.