Surveying his surroundings, Bai Hei quickly realized he had been transported to an entirely different world. The sky was a deep, dark blue, and the sun appeared colorless, enhancing the eerie azure hue above. He noticed that there was no one in sight—he had landed in the middle of a vast grassland.
After taking a deep breath to calm his tensed nerves, Bai Hei took out the book to read more about the alien races. Upon reading the book, Bai Hei discovered that the name of the race was called the helixar race.
They possessed something called a helix core, which could genetically alter their genes constantly as long as they assimilated the corresponding genes. How strong! He also discovered that they were extremely strong within their power level if they had fused with stronger genes.
Recalling the description of the helixar, Bai Hei sighed before deciding to quickly scale through the grassland; he had to get information about the helixar's bases of operation before taking action.
Increasing his pace, he traversed the plains for nearly an hour until he finally reached what appeared to be a human settlement. Judging by its size, he assumed it was a village.
According to the information he had, the Helixar looked no different from ordinary humans unless they underwent genetic modification. This gave Bai Hei hope that he could easily blend in with the villagers, as their dressing was quite similar.
Gripping the teleportation scroll tightly in his hand, Bai Hei felt assured taking such risks. With a few quick leaps, he reached the village perimeter, where two middle-aged men stood guard. Bai Hei immediately recognized them as genetically modified Helixars.
A faint blue arc trailed their skin as helixars genetically modified they Bai Heis on their body would increase in density. From the sparsity of their marks, Bai Hei estimated their strength: Rank 2 Helixars. Not too difficult to handle, he thought, and stepped forward without hesitation.
Feigning injury, Bai Hei allowed his expression to pale as he approached. Thankfully, the Helixar and Aurora worlds shared similar languages, making communication manageable for him. Upon seeing the stranger, the guards tensed and raised their guard.
"Please," Bai Hei said, bowing respectfully and wearing a pleading expression, "I come from a distant land and am looking for a place to rest."
The guards eyed him cautiously. After a brief inspection, one turned to the other and said, "He's only just at Rank 0, quite harmless to say the least." he also put on a mocking smile as he spoke.
In the helixar world their strengths were divided into ranks, with 0 signifying one that hadn't yet awakened their helix core and undergone genetic modification.
According to the book, in the helixar world, strength was everything; if one didn't possess strength, they would undoubtedly remain at the bottom of the food chain. Here the strong devoured the weak; after all, that was one of the ways they evolved.
Seeing that Bai Hei posed no threat, the guards lowered their guard and allowed him into the village. Everything went surprisingly smoothly, and Bai Hei sighed in relief. Inside his sleeve, his hand remained clenched tightly around the teleportation scroll—unaware that it had already lost its function.
Bai Hei moved through the village quickly, observing his surroundings. Surprisingly, there weren't many Helixars around. He found this odd, especially considering the presence of two Rank 2 guards at the entrance, which was supposed to be the second-highest strength in the secret realm.
Did I accidentally appear near their headquarters? he wondered. But upon seeing the modest infrastructure of the village, he began to doubt that theory. It never occurred to him that someone might have tampered with the teleportation portal. After all, how much strength would it take to do that? And if such power existed, why not simply crush the academy outright?
After several hours of wandering, Bai Hei eventually found lodging with an old man. The man appeared frail, and much of his home was in disrepair. Still, the lightning-like markings on the old man's hand warned Bai Hei not to underestimate him.
"Old grandpa, thank you for letting me stay here for a while." when Bai Hei had arrived here, he pleaded with the man like he had with others in the village, and the man had quickly agreed to let him stay.
"Young man, you are so young yet your vitality is quite vibrant; you have potential as a genetically enhanced helixar. Besides, i've always wanted a grandson." the old man smiled, causing his wrinkled face to crunch up.
Bai Hei sighed internally. How unfortunate that we're from different races. Looking at the man, who appeared almost human, Bai Hei couldn't help but wonder if the Helixar and humans shared a common lineage. But he had no way to confirm that.
Recalling the destruction the helixar brought when they invaded the aurora continent, Bai Hei dispelled the slight traces of sympathy that started appearing in his heart.
The old man's house was quite simple, having only a living room and a small inner chamber.
"I will stay here," Bai Hei said to the old man upon entering the house.
The old man pondered for a bit before ultimately agreeing, "if you encounter any issues, let me know. I'm heading to work now."
A carpenter? Bai Hei recalled the man's work; this was also where he encountered the old man. S After the old man left, Bai Hei began to inspect the home. The living room was sparsely furnished, with only a few basic items. On a table, he noticed a worn-out book.
Without much hesitation, he approached the book; upon opening it, he quickly realized that it was the old man's dairy, although slightly surprised, Bai Hei didn't think too much about it; not willing to pry into the old man's privacy, Bai Hei quickly closed the book and placed it back where he found it.
After pondering his next move, Bai Hei decided that after he had confirmed how strong the village head and the others were, he would decide whether to take action or run away to the next village. He didn't know whether any hidden experts in the village could sense him absorbing mana, so he chose not to cultivate that day.
With little else to do, he sat and began refining his plans.
…
What Bai Hei didn't know was that on another side of the secret realm. The class monitor had encountered another classmate; however, his expression was extremely grim. the classmate in front of him was already on the verge of death.
Gasping for breath, the wounded student managed to whisper, "Ru... run, class monitor! They're killing everyone. They can track us... no matter where we hide. We're all going to die…"
"What, what's going on?" the class monitor asked hastily; however, the other party had already lost all signs of life. A wave of dread swept over him. Without hesitation, the class monitor clenched the teleportation scroll in his hand and crushed it.
Normally, this would activate a space rift and teleport the user to safety. But this time… nothing happened. Not even a flicker of spatial distortion.
"Something has happened." the class monitor's expression turned pale as he glanced around. Recalling the other party's words, he immediately realized that this was a hopeless situation.
No! I must survive!!! The image of an old woman to whom he had promised immortality flashed past his mind.
With that, he clenched his fist and started coming up with countermeasures to survive the coming crisis.