Chapter 6

The Nanhuang Continent is very large.

If viewed from high altitude, one can see the shape of its plate, an irregular oval, surrounded by the sea on all sides.

Although it is separated from the Eastern Wanggu Continent by the endless sea, more like an island continent, its vast range is something many people cannot walk through in a lifetime.

It is just that most of its places are difficult for the human race to step into, blocked by the Truth Mountain Range that runs diagonally through the entire Nanhuang Continent.

To the southwest of the Truth Mountain Range is an extremely vast forbidden zone.

That place occupies nearly seventy percent of the Nanhuang Continent's area; only the northeast region of the Truth Mountain Range is the living area of the human race.

Even so, the number of humans is not small.

In this northeast region, numerous cities of all sizes exist like dense stars, some sturdy, some simple.

But the locations where these cities were built all avoided the small forbidden zones in the northeast region.

Given a choice, no one wants to live around a forbidden zone, living in a crisis where danger can descend at any moment; only desperate people, in unavoidable circumstances, gather together under the pressure of life, red-eyed, licking their blades to struggle for survival.

Thus, scavenger camps were formed, and almost every forbidden zone has such camps appearing around it; looking at the entire human region, the number of scavenger camps is very mixed.

At this moment, standing on the mountaintop, what enters Xu Qing's eyes is one such camp.

Looking from afar, the camp is not very large, housing only a few hundred people.

Perhaps because it is early morning, cooking smoke curls up; although not as prosperous as in the city, it is also very lively.

Faintly, there are scolding sounds, cursing sounds, hawking sounds, and unscrupulous laughter, intertwined together, spreading very far.

It is just that the houses with value in Lei Dui's words, from the inside out, have structures that become increasingly simple; the outermost ones are basically just tents.

As for not far behind the camp, it is a pitch-black jungle.

There, mist swirls, as if hiding terrifying existences.

Even if the sunlight in the sky is rich, it cannot shine in completely, as if there are gods and demons inside, coldly deterring all directions.

It also seems like a black alienation point on a human body, shocking to the eye while being clearly distinct from other ranges.

"What do you feel after seeing it?" On the mountaintop, Lei Dui spoke.

"About the same as the slums." Xu Qing thought for a moment and answered truthfully.

Lei Dui smiled and said nothing, walking forward.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze, followed behind Lei Dui, and the two walked down the mountain, getting closer and closer to the camp.

On the way, they also encountered people returning from outside in twos and threes, whose clothing was also similar, mostly deep gray leather coats.

Xu Qing noticed that when these people saw Lei Dui, their expressions all revealed awe, and their eyes mostly held curiosity as they swept toward him.

This made Xu Qing have more guesses about Lei Dui's identity.

Just like that, when the sun was high, Xu Qing followed Lei Dui, walked into this plain under the mountain, and walked into this scavenger camp.

The camp had no city walls, and the ground was also very messy, dust flying, with withered leaves and garbage visible everywhere, giving a somewhat foul and smoky feeling.

And as they walked over, the sounds heard on the mountain earlier also entered Xu Qing's ears more clearly.

Entering his eyes, besides the simple buildings, were the numerous scavengers.

Some were as tall, burly, and savage as Scar Ox, some were as thin as firewood with poisonous eyes, and some were old and seemed unable to open their eyes, yet it seemed no one dared to provoke them.

There were also some youths like him, huddled in corners, looking at the sky blankly.

A portion of them were disabled.

There were quite a few people here who made Xu Qing's eyes narrow slightly when he saw them; the aura on those people made him feel the fluctuation of spiritual energy.

People of all shapes and sizes, some buying and selling, some fighting each other, some lying on big rocks sunbathing.

There were also some walking out of tents hanging with bright feathers while pulling up their pants, their faces revealing lewd intent.

Xu Qing followed Lei Dui into the camp; in the eyes of outsiders, it was like walking into hell.

But apart from his inner vigilance, he had no other reaction, even faintly having some familiar feelings.

"It is indeed very similar to the slums." Xu Qing muttered in his heart, his gaze sweeping over those tents hanging with feathers, seeing what looked like white figures inside.

Even from one tent, a young woman with disheveled clothing walked out, carrying a lazy intent, smiling and waving at Xu Qing.

"Don't look around." Lei Dui glanced at Xu Qing.

"I know what kind of place that is." Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and answered.

The wrinkles on Lei Dui's face piled up into a dumbfounded smile, and he said nothing, leading Xu Qing to shuttle through the camp until they reached their destination.

That was a huge wooden building located in the center of the camp, circular, looking like a beast-fighting arena.

Along the way, Xu Qing had been observing, and he had already constructed most of the camp's map in his mind.

This was his habit; many times, familiarity with the environment could change the form of a crisis.

At this moment, he looked up at the beast-fighting arena-like building in front of him, noticing that besides the huge venue inside, there were many simple long benches on the inner perimeter.

Besides that, there were roars of fierce beasts coming from inside the building.

Around it, there were more row houses like wooden sheds, and a few scavengers dressed significantly cleaner were talking and laughing outside the row houses.

With Lei Dui's arrival, soon a thin, middle-aged man swayed out from inside the beast-fighting arena.

This person wore a long gown different from the scavengers, with three-pronged whiskers on his face, and also had spiritual energy fluctuations on his body; as he walked over, his face pulled in a perfunctory manner, sweeping a glance at Xu Qing before looking at Lei Dui.

"Newcomer?"

"The rules are already known." Lei Dui spoke slowly.

"What is his name?" The three-pronged whisker asked casually.

"A little brat, where would he have a name? Just call him 'Kid'." Lei Dui said indifferently.

"Then come with me. Kid, you are lucky; there are already a few before you, and by tomorrow, it should be about time to start."

The three-pronged whisker yawned and turned to walk toward the row houses.

Xu Qing looked at Lei Dui.

"Go on, I'll come to pick you up tomorrow." Lei Dui looked at Xu Qing, his eyes carrying some expectation.

Xu Qing took a deep look at Lei Dui, nodded, said nothing, and stepped to follow behind the three-pronged whisker.

Until they reached the row houses, the three-pronged whisker exchanged a few words with a scavenger on the side and turned to leave.

And Xu Qing was also arranged into the row house and was told that without permission, he was not allowed to go out.

The moment he stepped into the row house, Xu Qing saw four pairs of eyes in different positions in the room, converging on him.

Those were three youths of similar age to him and one young man, three men and one woman.

The two youths seemed a few years older than him; at this moment, they swept a glance at Xu Qing, sized him up, and didn't pay any attention.

As for that girl, her age was a bit younger than Xu Qing's, huddled in a corner, with a huge scar on her face.

She looked at everything around her nervously and vigilantly, including the original three, and also the newly arrived Xu Qing.

As for the oldest young man here, he seemed to be a scavenger originally, now just changing camps.

So when he saw Xu Qing, his mouth curled, somewhat unimpressed, turning his gaze away, staring at the girl in the corner with aggression, licking his lips.

But clearly, not having officially obtained the camp's residency right, he didn't dare to be presumptuous now.

Xu Qing paid no attention to them, found a place near the door, sat cross-legged with eyes closed, and meditated silently.

Time passed slowly; perhaps because Xu Qing's arrival was too quiet, gradually the three people in the row house, except for the little girl, ignored him and began to talk to each other.

Among them, the words of the two youths clearly showed fawning toward the young man.

The content of their conversation was also mostly related to this trial.

Through their conversation, Xu Qing learned that this camp, every once in a while, when enough people wanting to obtain residency qualifications had accumulated, would hold a trial.

The rules of the trial were very simple.

Because the Camp Master of this camp raised many mutated fierce beasts, the trial to obtain residency qualifications was to draw lots in public and fight the fierce beast drawn.

Either live or die, each being the other's prey.

The living could take away the spoils and obtain residency qualifications.

The dead would have everything about themselves become food for the fierce beasts.

And every trial would be held in this beast-fighting arena.

At that time, most of the scavengers in the camp would buy tickets to come and watch this bloody scene, gaining pleasure from it, while the Camp Master would also open gambling tables to profit from it.

In this cruel world, human life is not worth much.

But if one doesn't have the qualifications to enter the city and cannot enter the camp, living alone in the wild, the risk of death is even greater.

Of course, the slums are also an option, but clearly, those who can decide to enter the scavenger camp have stories in their hearts that make them have to come here.

Xu Qing listened while meditating.

Until in their discussion, when they talked about the god opening its eyes many days ago, a youth suddenly spoke.

"I heard when I came that you are a survivor of that catastrophe?"

As soon as these words came out, Xu Qing slowly opened his eyes.

When he looked, he noticed that the object of the youth's words was not himself, but that little girl in the corner.

The little girl's body trembled, and she nodded silently.

Xu Qing's gaze landed on this little girl.

Others only heard about it, but he had experienced all of this, so he deeply knew that being able to survive the catastrophe and come here might not be as fragile and simple as it looked to the eye.

Seeming to notice Xu Qing's gaze, the little girl looked up at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing closed his eyes again, continuing to meditate; he had to seize every moment to cultivate; this was the foundation for him to live a little better.

Just like that, the night passed.

The next morning, accompanied by the chaos and clamor outside, the door of the row house was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

Sunlight spilled in, covering the scavenger standing at the door, his shadow falling into the row house, and when it shrouded the little girl's figure in the corner, a cold voice came.

"Pack up and come with me; your good show is about to begin."

"Finally waited for it."

The young man in the row house who seemed to be a scavenger stood up first, smiling as he walked over, and greeted the person at the door.

The two youths also hurriedly followed, Xu Qing was the fourth to walk out, and as for the little girl, she was the last.

The scavenger at the door seemed to know the young man, cursed a few times with a smile, ignored the others, and led the young man toward the beast-fighting arena.

As they approached, the noisy sounds, clamorous noises, and shouting sounds became increasingly intense.

Until they stepped into the beast-fighting arena, the sounds around them erupted all at once.

One could see on the long benches around this beast-fighting arena, there were already more than a hundred people present, men and women, like a group of demons surrounding, all watching a good show together.

Their voices were very loud, the little girl's body clearly trembled, and the two youths were also pale.

Only the young man looked at the audience with some excitement.

And then there was Xu Qing; his expression didn't change much, and he began to observe the environment of the fighting area inside the beast-fighting arena.

"The range is not very large, not suitable for pulling, no cover, not suitable for hiding."

"The wooden boards around are very high, not suitable for leading danger to the audience, but there are a few door marks, seeming to have other passages."

"So... either drag it out and use the shouting of those scavengers to scare the fierce beast, looking for an opportunity to strike, but there is also a possibility of causing the fierce beast to rage, so being able to finish the battle quickly is the most favorable."