Chapter 136: Otherkind

Inside and outside the pavilion, it was as silent as the night; the sounds of the wind and the bells vanished simultaneously.

Li Luo looked at Instructor Xi Chan with a solemn expression. At this moment, the latter’s usual composed demeanor was clearly fluctuating, triggering a disturbance in the surrounding heaven and earth energy that directly sealed off all sound.

Clearly, the four words "Marquis Battlefield" had dealt a massive shock, even to a powerhouse of the Marquis Realm like her.

Beside him, Xin Fu and Bai Meng also looked at Li Luo with sidelong glances; the question this guy asked seemed to be somewhat out of bounds, directly stunning the instructor.

They had also vaguely heard the name "Marquis Battlefield," but they had no understanding of it, as such things were simply too distant for them.

A suffocating silence persisted in the pavilion for a long time.

Finally, Instructor Xi Chan’s voice broke the silence: "Is it because of your parents?"

Li Luo nodded heavily.

Instructor Xi Chan paused for a moment, then finally said slowly: "Actually, the question you asked is already the core of the information I was about to tell you."

"Regarding the truth of this world."

Li Luo and the others felt a slight tremor in their hearts: "The truth of the world?"

"First, I need to educate you about this world... You know of the Great Xia, and you know there are other countries outside the Great Xia, but what about further out?" Instructor Xi Chan said calmly.

Li Luo and the others were somewhat bewildered, because in their eyes, the Great Xia was already vast—so vast it was hard to measure—so it was truly difficult for them to come into contact with information beyond the Great Xia.

"The place where the Great Xia is located is called the Eastern Divine Continent. The powers within it are as numerous as the stars. The Great Xia is considered one of the top powers, but it cannot be considered invincible, because on this land, there are three other countries whose strength is no weaker than the Great Xia: the Golden Lion Imperial Court, the Red Sand Empire, and the Divine Sun Dynasty."

"And beyond the Eastern Divine Continent, there are nine other Divine Continents, collectively known as the Ten Divine Continents; this is the root and foundation of the human race."

Hearing Instructor Xi Chan’s calm voice, Li Luo and the others felt shocked, a grand and vast picture of the world slowly unfolding in their minds.

So, the Great Xia they viewed as vast was, to this world, so small.

"In those three great countries of the Eastern Divine Continent, there also exist Sage Colleges, whose strength is no weaker than the Sage Profound Star College."

Instructor Xi Chan looked at the three of them and said: "Do you know the significance of these colleges' existence? Why do they stand, and why were they founded?"

The three shook their heads blankly.

"Because of the existence of the College Alliance." When mentioning these four words, even Xi Chan’s eyes revealed a sense of awe and admiration.

"The College Alliance?"

Instructor Xi Chan nodded and said: "The College Alliance can be said to be one of the most powerful forces in this world, and its members are the various top colleges spread across the Ten Divine Continents. The Sage Profound Star College is just one of them."

Li Luo and the others gasped. Did such a terrifying force actually exist in this world? The Sage Profound Star College was already unfathomable in their eyes, standing in the Great Xia like a behemoth, yet now Instructor Xi Chan was saying that such a powerful Sage Profound Star College was merely one member of the so-called College Alliance?

Just how terrifying must this College Alliance be?

It was truly unimaginable.

Li Luo, however, was wondering: what was the purpose of a force of this magnitude? To rule the Ten Divine Continents?

"You might ask why the College Alliance exists."

As if knowing what they were thinking, Instructor Xi Chan was silent for a few seconds before slowly saying: "The College Alliance exists because of the 'Otherkind'."

Instructor Xi Chan emphasized the two words "Otherkind" heavily, her eyes even revealing a sense of disgust and fear.

Li Luo and the others also felt an inexplicable chill in their hearts; although they didn't know what that was, they instinctively felt a sense of dread.

"What is that?" Finally, Li Luo asked.

"It is rumored that countless years ago, human civilization reached a peak era. In that era, countless great beings emerged. The human race was so strong it was inconceivable, and it was precisely because of this prosperity that it seemed to trigger a change in the rules of heaven and earth, leading to a shocking transformation: our world developed a reflection."

"That world reflection is known as the Dark World."

Li Luo was incredibly shocked. He couldn't imagine this scene—because the human race was too strong, strong enough to change the rules of heaven and earth, subsequently causing the world to develop a reflection?

Was that another world?

How strong would that be? Were humans in that era all Marquis-level?

"Actually, the appearance of a world reflection wasn't too big of a problem, but no one expected that the reflection could gather the evil thoughts of the human race. Eventually, from these evil thoughts, the Otherkind were born, subsequently absorbing human power and rapidly growing."

"The Otherkind are unknowable and untouchable; they are an extremely sinister existence, difficult to eradicate, and they possess an evil power that erodes the human heart. These Otherkind are like a plague and a virus; once they appear in the world, they cause massive destruction, inciting countless slaughter and chaos."

"The Otherkind were born from human evil thoughts, yet they caused the collapse of human glory."

"After countless years of fighting and purging, great human beings finally exerted all their strength to sever the connection between the two worlds, isolating the pollution of the reflection world. But this was not a complete severance; those so-called Marquis Battlefields are actually the places where our world connects to the reflection world."

"The slaughter has never stopped."

"And the existence of the College Alliance is to curb and eliminate the Otherkind. Its purpose for existing is solely for the Otherkind."

"It can be said that the College Alliance was built for the long-term survival of the human race."

Li Luo’s heart shook violently; so this was the meaning behind the College Alliance’s existence.

His throat felt dry as he said: "Do the many Marquis-level powerhouses enter the Marquis Battlefield just to resist those Otherkind and prevent them from entering our world?"

Xi Chan was silent for a moment, then nodded: "The cruelty of the Marquis Battlefield is far beyond your imagination, and just as the name suggests, only powerhouses of the Marquis level can enter it and possess some ability to survive."

"And of every Marquis-level powerhouse who enters the Marquis Battlefield, fewer than one in ten manages to walk out alive."

A chill shot from the soles of Li Luo’s feet to the top of his head. His face turned deathly pale. He couldn't imagine that the place his parents had gone to was dangerous to such an extent.

"Why must they go there?" Li Luo asked, trembling.

"Because if Marquis-level powerhouses do not enter the Marquis Battlefield, then the Otherkind will enter our world. The destruction and slaughter caused then would be far beyond your imagination."

"Then why, why did it have to be my parents?" Li Luo muttered.

The Marquis Battlefield was so cruel that even Marquis-level powerhouses couldn't fully protect themselves, so why did Li Taixuan and Tantai Lan leave him and Jiang Qing together to go to such a place? Other Marquis-level powerhouses feared it like a tiger, yet they had to rush in?

"You are right; not every Marquis-level powerhouse has the courage to enter the Marquis Battlefield, because the mortality rate there is too high."

"Various human forces once tried not to enter the Marquis Battlefield, but they eventually discovered that if they did not send Marquis-level powerhouses in, the Otherkind would erupt and even frantically invade the Ten Divine Continents. The destruction and ruin caused by that would be far beyond imagination."

"Later, it was even discovered that once the number of surviving human Marquis-level powerhouses in the various Marquis Battlefields drops to a certain level, the Otherkind will also erupt. At this time, a new batch of Marquis-level powerhouses must be sent in—of course, mainly Marquis-level powerhouses..." Xi Chan said softly.

Li Luo and the others felt cold all over. This sounded as if the Otherkind were forcing the human race to continuously send Marquis-level powerhouses into the Marquis Battlefield as cannon fodder, constantly consuming them?

"Because the Marquis Battlefield is too dangerous, all parties eventually adopted a lottery method to choose the next Marquis-level powerhouses to enter."

"This lot is known as the Life-and-Death Lot; the lot is divided into black and white, the white lot means life, the black lot means death."

"And the black lot means entering the Marquis Battlefield."

Xi Chan stared at Li Luo and said: "Last time, your parents both drew the black lot, so they went to the Marquis Battlefield."

"They didn't want to leave you; they had no choice but to leave."

"Under the Life-and-Death Lot, no one can defy it; those who defy it..."

Xi Chan’s expression became stern.

"Will have no place to stand within the Ten Divine Continents."

(The plot is quite important, so I'm writing slowly. Just one chapter today.)