Chapter 477: Chapter 442: Spatial Array Pattern

After flying for about half a day, Li Qian and Duan Kong finally arrived at the Floating Ridge Outpost.

The journey hadn’t been entirely peaceful; they were occasionally harassed by reckless Extraordinary Creatures.

They were promptly dispatched by Duan Kong’s Undead Bone Dragon. Even if a more stubborn foe appeared, it couldn’t hold its ground once the Golden Radiance Moke Elephant joined the fray.

Witnessing the entire display, Li Qian praised him generously, "Teacher Duan, you’re incredible. You could walk through this Fourth-Layer Elemental Plane like you own the place."

Duan Kong waved his hand. "Like I own the place? Not quite. We still have to take detours. If we had flown in a straight line from that small pond to the Floating Ridge Outpost, it wouldn’t have taken half a day. We could have been here in about two hours."

Li Qian asked immediately, "Why’s that?"

Duan Kong cleared his throat and explained, "There are some places where you’ll run into trouble if you don’t take a detour."

He managed a smile and said, "There are a few behemoths in those areas. It’s not that I’m afraid of them, I just think it’s pointless to get tangled up with them."

Li Qian immediately took the hint. "Right, right. I understand."

After the awkward exchange, the two men and their two beasts landed inside the outpost.

Walking through the outpost, Li Qian compared it to the other sentry posts he’d seen before and commented casually, "This outpost isn’t very large."

It had been especially obvious from the sky.

The outpost was built against a mountain and was smaller than a town—at best, it was the size of a large village.

Duan Kong nodded. "The Floating Ridge Outpost is located in the Fourth-Layer Elemental Plane. Naturally, its scale can’t be compared to outposts in the Shallow Elemental Planes."

"Right, that makes sense," Li Qian said with a nod.

A sudden thought occurred to him, and he asked, "By the way, aren’t we going to pay a visit to the Guardian Envoy here?"

"Also, I’m curious, what Level is the Guardian Envoy here?"

Duan Kong explained as they walked, "The Guardian Envoys here are different from those at the outposts and sentry posts in the shallower planes."

"In the Shallow Elemental Planes, a Dominator Level Vice Envoy is usually sufficient to hold the line at a station the size of a sentry post."

"But here, in the Fourth-Layer Elemental Plane, that level of power isn’t enough. Even for a simple outpost, you need someone at the Saint Spirit Level to keep things secure."

Duan Kong looked at Li Qian and smiled. "As for paying a visit, we don’t need to. The matter of the overlapping Dimension Plane is too important. The fewer people who know about it, the better."

"Right now, our priority is to report this matter to the Grand Envoy of Cyan Mountain City, who is also the previous headmaster of our Jiangnan Beast Taming University—Lu Chuan Shuo."

"Understood," Li Qian acknowledged.

’This is a serious matter. It’s definitely not something many people should know about.’

After walking for a bit, as they neared the Dimensional Rift, Li Qian asked another question. "Teacher Duan, which city are you the Guardian Envoy for?"

Duan Kong kept his eyes fixed ahead. "Me? I’m not assigned to any particular city. I’m more of a free agent, a mobile operative. I go where I’m needed."

"Like this business with the Fourth-Layer Elemental Plane?" Li Qian quickly caught on.

"Exactly," Duan Kong confirmed without further explanation.

As they spoke, they arrived in front of a building.

On the surface, the building didn’t look any different from the others in the outpost.

However, the heavy guard posted both inside and outside indicated that this building was anything but ordinary.

"The Dimensional Rift is inside this building, isn’t it?" Li Qian asked, though he was already fairly certain of the answer.

Instead of answering directly, Duan Kong gestured toward the entrance. "Go on in and see for yourself."

Soon, they entered the building one after the other.

Once inside, Li Qian scanned his surroundings and asked with astonishment, "So many Array Patterns?"

Indeed, as far as the eye could see, the floor, walls, and even the ceiling were densely covered with all sorts of Array Patterns.

Li Qian knew a little about Arrays, and he realized that most of these were related to spatial manipulation.

Seeing the shock on Li Qian’s face, Duan Kong explained with a smile, "Dimensional Rifts in the deeper layers are different from those in the shallow ones. Even the permanent ones aren’t necessarily one hundred percent stable."

Pointing to the pitch-black Dimensional Rift in the center of the room, Duan Kong continued, "If it takes a powerful enough hit—one that exceeds a certain threshold—it’s not impossible for the Dimensional Rift to close or undergo some other change."

Li Qian nodded inwardly at his words.

’That’s what happened with the Dimensional Rift in Luoying City.’

He paused, giving Li Qian a moment to process the information, before adding, "Furthermore, all these spatial Arrays aren’t just here to stabilize this spatial rift."

"If we were to encounter an unstoppable force and had to abandon this outpost, detonating these Array Patterns would ensure the Dimensional Rift is sealed completely, preventing disaster from spilling over into the cities of the Third-Layer Elemental Plane."

At this, Duan Kong’s expression suddenly turned grim.

Li Qian’s expression matched his.

No one wanted to imagine the scenario Duan Kong described, but no one could guarantee it would never happen.

Having such a contingency plan was indeed necessary.

After explaining the purpose of the Arrays in the building, Duan Kong’s expression suddenly relaxed. "Of course," he said, lightening the mood, "the chances of that actually happening are minuscule."

"Especially since the plan is to build a city here."

"After all, before construction begins, the higher-ups from our two universities will certainly organize a purge of the surrounding Extraordinary Creatures."

As they spoke and walked toward the rift, there was a flash of light, and both Li Qian and Duan Kong vanished into the Dimensional Rift.

In the next instant, they appeared inside another building.

This building was clearly larger than the last, with a much more spacious interior.

Despite these differences, the similarities were also striking.

This building, too, was covered in all kinds of spatial Array Patterns.

’It looks like they have the exact same setup here as at the Floating Ridge Outpost.’

Li Qian wasn’t surprised by this.

’Since the higher-ups at Jiangnan Beast Taming University had gone to such lengths, of course they wouldn’t overlook this side of the portal.’

As their figures materialized in the room, Duan Kong pointed to the open doorway and smiled. "Let’s go. We’ve arrived in Shuihua City."

Li Qian didn’t hesitate. Filled with anticipation, he walked out through the building’s main entrance.

Other than those belonging to Shazhou Beast Taming University and Kansai Beast Taming University, this was the first time Li Qian had seen a Dimensional Fortress from another Beast Taming University. He couldn’t help but feel a little curious.

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