Chapter 231: The So-Called Dark Cave

"Otherkind..."

Li Luo's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, his gaze horrified as he looked at Jiang Jiang Qinge—this answer was clearly one he had never anticipated before.

From the fact that the "Wang Hou Battlefield" constantly forced the human race to send Wang Hou-level powerhouses into battle within it, Li Luo could already know how terrifying those Otherkind were. Yet although he harbored deep wariness toward the Otherkind, he always held a kind of illusion—that such Otherkind beings still seemed very far from him...

He had always thought that to come into contact with the Otherkind, one would need to approach the strength of a titled Marquis before being qualified, right?

But now Jiang Jiang Qinge was telling him that within the Dark Cave existing beneath the Holy Profound Star Academy, there were actually Otherkind!

So it turned out he and the Otherkind were actually this close?

"This world doesn't only have Otherkind in the Wang Hou Battlefield. They are constantly entering our world through spatial rifts. The Great Xia is considered relatively fortunate—the spatial rifts connecting to the Dark World here aren't many, so ordinary people in the Great Xia are quite unfamiliar with all this."

"But it's said that in some other regions, there are extremely unfortunately many spatial rifts, causing the Otherkind to appear frequently, even forming terrifying 'Other Calamities.' Many once-flourishing forces and nations have been reduced to nothing, causing countless deaths and injuries."

Jiang Jiang Qinge said in a calm voice: "And beneath the Holy Profound Star Academy, there exists a spatial node connected to the Dark World. This node is called the Dark Cave."

"Actually, the Holy Profound Star Academy was established here partly with the intention of suppressing this spatial node. Our Academy's Dean has resided deep within the Dark Cave year-round, sealing off the spatial node to prevent it from spreading, and at the same time... battling some powerful Otherkind to prevent them from coming into our world through the Dark Cave."

Li Luo suddenly understood. Only now did he realize why, during his long stay at the Holy Profound Star Academy, he had never once seen that mysterious Dean. So it turned out the Dean was shouldering such a heavy responsibility.

"However, although the Dean can suppress the spatial node, he cannot destroy it through his own power alone. Moreover, the power of the Dark World constantly seeps out along the spatial node, causing tremendous pollution, which in turn gives birth to Otherkind. If this pollution and these Otherkind are not cleared in time, when they grow stronger and stronger, they will surge out from the Dark Cave, causing even greater destruction and devastation."

"Against this pollution, the Dean alone is stretched too thin—after all, those powerful existences among the Otherkind have him pinned down so he cannot act freely."

"So the Holy Profound Star Academy, at regular intervals, will open the Dark Cave and then launch 'Purification Missions'... At that time, even many mentors within the Academy will enter the depths of the Dark Cave to deal with that pollution and the powerful Otherkind."

"But this still isn't enough... Because the pollution within the Dark Cave intensifies from time to time, and sometimes Otherkind are even born in places on the outer fringes. These Otherkind are more numerous but much weaker in strength. The Academy assigns this portion of the Purification Missions to students of the Three-Star and Four-Star Houses, treating it as a kind of tempering."

"These missions come with extremely generous Academy points, of course..."

Jiang Jiang Qinge's voice paused for a moment, then she said: "But they are also more dangerous. In every Purification Mission, students lose their lives, and even entire squad wipes are not uncommon."

Li Luo's expression grew increasingly Solemn. Only at this moment did he feel that within the Holy Profound Star Academy, there wasn't only that seemingly leisurely cultivation—beneath the gentle surface of the Academy, there were equally treacherous undercurrents and killing intent lurking on all sides.

But Li Luo also understood that eliminating the Otherkind was everyone's responsibility. Otherwise, if those Otherkind really surged out from the Dark Cave, this prosperous Great Xia would likely be destroyed, and no one could remain unscathed.

"In the very beginning, entering the Dark Cave to carry out 'Purification Missions' was generally assigned to Four-Star House students, but later on, Three-Star House students gradually joined in, and in recent years... Two-Star House students have also begun to participate, although only some of the top squads."

Jiang Jiang Qinge looked at Li Luo: "Do you know what this implies?"

The night wind blew over, making Li Luo shiver, his complexion also turning somewhat ugly: "It means the pollution inside the Dark Cave is gradually intensifying, so the Academy has no choice but to send more people?"

Jiang Jiang Qinge nodded and said: "Although I don't know what the situation is like deep inside the Dark Cave either, the Dean has been showing himself less and less frequently in recent years, which shows that even this King-level powerhouse no longer has the spare capacity."

"Does that mean that this year, it's possible that even us One-Star House students will have to start entering the Dark Cave to carry out 'Purification'?" Li Luo asked Solemnly.

"That possibility can't be ruled out, but it should be limited to some Purple-Glow Squads, and the way of participation will also be changed somewhat. But wait until later and you'll know—actually, you Purple-Glow Squads have assigned Purification Mission quotas. Other squads might have reasons to make excuses, but you have none. When the Academy's mission is forcibly issued, you must do it, or you'll be directly expelled from the Academy," Jiang Jiang Qinge said with a nod.

Li Luo was briefly stunned, but he wasn't surprised. The Purple-Glow Squads received the best mentor instruction and better cultivation resources than other squads, so naturally they needed to shoulder greater responsibility. Otherwise, did they really think the Holy Profound Star Academy was Cishantang? Unconditionally giving out resources to cultivate you?

"It seems that from certain angles, entering the Holy Profound Star Academy isn't actually a good thing after all," Li Luo sighed.

The existence of the Dark Cave was probably known only to some of the Great Xia's major forces—this kind of information hadn't been made public. And if one didn't enter the Holy Profound Star Academy, perhaps most people would spend the rest of their lives in peace. Sometimes, ignorance is also a blessing.

And entering the Holy Profound Star Academy did provide better cultivation conditions, but the existence of the Dark Cave made this cultivation feel somewhat pressured.

"Some things can't be avoided no matter how you try," Jiang Jiang Qinge said casually.

Li Luo nodded. He didn't really have any thought of avoiding it. On the contrary, after learning about the so-called Dark Cave from Jiang Jiang Qinge's lips, deep in his heart, a bit of fiery heat and an inexplicable anticipation had actually been kindled.

He wanted to see just how terrifying the Otherkind that had dragged his parents onto the Wang Hou Battlefield truly were.

"Participating in one Purification Mission, as long as you return successfully, every member of the squad can obtain upwards of ten thousand points, varying. Of course, if the performance is outstanding, it will be increased depending on the situation," Jiang Jiang Qinge said.

"Over ten thousand points for one mission..." Li Luo clicked his tongue. This reward could not be called anything but generous. After all, in that Ranking Battle, no matter how hard he had worked to get first place, what he ultimately received was only around five thousand.

"If the Academy plans to let the One-Star House Purple-Glow Squads start participating in Purification Missions this time, I think they should still adopt the method of the higher leading the lower."

"The so-called higher-leading-lower means letting a higher-Star House squad lead a lower-Star House squad to carry out the Purification Mission. This way, it can prevent squads like yours from having no experience and needlessly causing casualties."

Jiang Jiang Qinge pondered slightly and said: "If it's this method, I suggest that for this Purification Mission, your 'Justice Squad' follow our 'Black Swan Squad'."

Li Luo's spirit immediately lifted. Who in the Three-Star House didn't know that Jiang Jiang Qinge's squad was among the very best? If they could follow them on a Purification Mission, the danger coefficient would surely be reduced by a lot. And Jiang Jiang Qinge doing this was clearly opening a back door for him.

Another happily-anticipated thigh-hugging.

"It won't bring you guys any trouble, will it?" Although he wanted it badly, Li Luo still asked cautiously.

Jiang Jiang Qinge paused for a moment, then smiled and shook her head, her dark hair fluttering lightly in the night wind: "Don't worry. Your Justice Squad is, after all, the first place in this One-Star House Ranking Battle."

Only then did Li Luo heave a sigh of relief.

Jiang Jiang Qinge withdrew her gaze. She hadn't mentioned that this higher-leading-lower method also included Two-Star House squads, and generally speaking, these Three-Star House squads preferred Two-Star House squads. After all, no matter how strong One-Star House squads like Li Luo's were, there was still some gap compared to the Two-Star House.

However, in order to help Li Luo accumulate enough points, these preferences couldn't be helped.

Moreover, her two teammates also needed to be persuaded, but after getting along for so long, they should know her temperament by now. If they didn't agree, then they could only...

Be beaten into agreement.