OUTSIDE OF TIME

The Nanhuang Continent was very vast.

If one gazed down from above, one could see that the Nanhuang Continent looked like an irregular oval-shaped chess board that was surrounded by seas.

It was separated by a boundless sea from the Wanggu Continent and appeared more like an island. However, its area was very vast, and many people wouldn't be able to finish traversing it even if they used their entire life.

It was just that the vast majority of the places there were difficult for the human race to enter. They were separated by the Truth Mountain Range that ran obliquely through the entire Nanhuang Continent.

Moreover, there was an extremely vast forbidden zone in the southwest region of the Truth Mountain Range.

That place occupied almost 70% of the Nanhuang Continent. Hence, only the northeast region of the Truth Mountain Range had suitable places for the human race to stay in.

But even so, the population of humans here wasn't small.

In the northeast region, the minor and major cities were as densely-packed as stars in the sky. There were sturdy ones and simple ones.

However, these cities were all built while avoiding the small-scaled forbidden zones that could be seen everywhere in the northeast region.

If there was a choice, no one would be willing to live in the surroundings of a forbidden zone. Staying there meant that one would constantly be in danger. Only outlaws would gather near there as a last resort; their eyes were red with jealousy as they licked the edge of their blades while struggling to survive.

Hence, scavenger camps were formed. In the surroundings of almost every forbidden zone, there would be such a campsite. From the perspective of the entire human race's territory, the location of the scavenger camps was very 'mixed'.

At this moment, such a campsite was perfectly reflected in Xu Qing's eyes as he stood on a mountain peak.

By staring from afar, the campsite wasn't considered very large. There were merely several hundreds of people living there.

Maybe it was due to the time being in the early morning, the smoke that arose from cooking was thick. Although this place wasn't as prosperous as a city, it was still very lively.

There were sounds of shouting, insults, peddlers' trade, and even unbridled laughter mixing together. These sounds were then transmitted to a very far distance.

For the valuable housing Captain Lei had been talking about, Xu Qing could see that ranging from the inner part of the campsite to the outer part, the structure of the houses grew increasingly simpler. The houses at the external perimeter were basically tents.

And at a distance not far away behind the campsite, there was a pitch-black jungle.

That place was shrouded by mist as though it was hiding some terrifying existence.

Even if the sky was filled with bright sunlight, the rays of the sun had no way to shine through there. It was as though there were gods and devils within, and they exuded cold intimidation in all directions.

It looked like the black-colored mutation spots on the human body. It was a shocking sight and at the same time, it was isolated from the other parts as well.

"How do you feel after seeing it?" On the mountain peak, Captain Lei asked.

"It's about the same as the slums." Xu Qing thought about it before answering honestly.

Captain Lei smiled and didn't reply. He then continued to walk forward.

Xu Qing retracted his gaze and followed behind Captain Lei. The two of them descended the mountain, and their distance to the campsite got nearer and nearer.

On their way there, they encountered people in small teams of twos and threes who had exited or entered the campsite. Their clothes were all similar, and they mainly wore leather coats of a deep-gray color.

Xu Qing noticed that after these people saw Captain Lei, they all revealed looks of reverence on their faces. The majority of their gazes also contained curiosity as they glanced at Xu Qing.

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

Just like this, when the sun was high in the sky, Xu Qing followed Captain Lei and entered the plains underneath the mountain. They then got to the scavenger campsite.

The campsite had no walls and the layout was very chaotic. Clouds of dust, withered leaves, and garbage could be seen everywhere, and there was a feeling of smog and miasma.

As Xu Qing went deeper, the sounds he heard from the mountain also grew clearer as they entered Xu Qing's ears.

What then entered his vision were numerous simple-looking buildings and a multitude of scavengers.

Some were like Broken Ox, muscular and incomparably sturdy, but there were also skinny scavengers who had sinister and venomous gazes. A portion of them were old people who were so advanced in age that they could barely open their eyes, yet no one dared to antagonize them.

Other than them, Xu Qing could see youths like him cowering in a corner and listlessly staring at the sky.

A portion of them were cripples.

All in all, there were plenty of people here. After Xu Qing saw them, his eyes narrowed slightly. He could sense spirit energy fluctuations from their auras.

There were people of all shapes and sizes. Some were trading, some were sparring, and some were lying on large rocks and basking in the sun.

Some had just hoisted their pants up as they walked out of the tents with brightly-colored feathers on top. Their expressions were one of lust being satisfied.

Xu Qing followed Captain Lei into the camp. From the perspective of an outsider, it was like walking into hell.

However, other than the vigilance in his heart, he didn't wear any strange expression. In fact, he even felt a faint familiarity.

"Indeed, it resembles the slums a lot." Xu Qing mused in his heart. His gaze swept past those tents with feathers hanging on them, and he saw the scantily-clad figures within.

In fact, in one of the tents, a young woman even walked out half-naked. She had a lazy expression on her face as she smiled and waved her hands at Xu Qing.

"Don't look randomly." Captain Lei swept his gaze at Xu Qing.

"I know what sort of place that is," answered Xu Qing as he retracted his gaze.

The wrinkles on Captain Lei's face squeezed together into a half-smile. He didn't say anything and continued to lead Xu Qing to the campsite until he arrived at his destination.

That place was a gigantic building constructed from wood at the center of the camp. It was ring-shaped and appeared to be a colosseum for fighting beasts.

On the way here, Xu Qing had been observing. In his mind, half of the map of this campsite had already formed.

This was his habit. Many times, familiarity with the surroundings could become an advantage to aid one in resolving a crisis.

At this moment, he lifted his head and looked at the colosseum-like building. He noticed that other than the gigantic field in the center, there were many crudely-built tall chairs arranged around the field.

Other than this, waves of roars from ferocious beasts could be heard from within the building.

There were also rows of wooden sheds in the surroundings of the building. A few scavengers with clean clothes were faintly smiling and chatting outside the sheds.

As Captain Lei arrived, a skinny middle-aged man soon walked out of the Beastfight Arena to greet him.

This man's clothes were clearly different from scavengers. He had a three-stroke beard, and spirit energy fluctuations could similarly be felt from his body. After he arrived, his face showed a perfunctory smile as he glanced at Xu Qing before looking back at Captain Lei.

"Newbie?"

"He already knows the rules," Captain Lei slowly spoke.

"What is his name?" asked the guy with the three-stroke beard* casually.

"He's just a brat, how would he have a name? Just call him Kid," answered Captain Lei calmly.

"Follow me then. Kid, your luck isn't bad. There are already a few people before you. You should be able to fight in one of the matches tomorrow."

The guy with the three-stroke beard laughed as he turned and walked toward the wooden sheds.

Now, Xu Qing looked at Captain Lei.

"Go. I will come and fetch you tomorrow." Captain Lei looked at Xu Qing with some anticipation in his eyes.

Xu Qing then cast a deep glance at Captain Lei before nodding. He didn't continue to speak and began to follow the guy with the three-stroke beard.

When they arrived before the wooden shed, the guy with the three-stroke beard gave a few instructions to the scavengers at the side before turning around to depart.

And as for Xu Qing, he was arranged to stay in one of the wooden sheds and was told that he couldn't leave here without getting permission.

The moment he stepped into this wooden shed, four pairs of eyes from different locations inside the house gathered on him.

These eyes belonged to four youths whose ages were similar to him. There were three guys and one girl.

Two of the youths seemed to be a few years older than him. At this moment, their eyes swept over Xu Qing and surveyed him, but they didn't care too much.

As for the girl, she was slightly younger than Xu Qing. She cowered in a corner and a large scar could be seen on her face.

She nervously stared at everything in her surroundings warily, including the three male youths, as well as Xu Qing who had just arrived.

As for the oldest youth here, he was originally a scavenger, but he changed to another campsite.

So, after seeing Xu Qing, his lips curled as he felt some disdain. He then shifted his gaze. His eyes were filled with invasive intent as he stared at the girl while licking his lips.

However, he who clearly hadn't obtained the residency right in this campsite didn't dare to be too impudent with his actions.

Xu Qing ignored them. He found a location near the door and sat down cross-legged with his eyes closed as he quietly meditated.

Time slowly passed. Maybe it was because Xu Qing's arrival was too quiet, gradually the three male youths in the shed neglected him and began to chat among themselves.

Two of the youths clearly had hints of flattering in their tone when they chatted with the oldest youth.

The content of their conversation was mostly about the martial training they had to go through this time around.

Through their conversations, Xu Qing knew that this campsite would regularly organize a session of martial training when they had accumulated enough people who wanted to obtain residency rights here.

The rules of the martial training were very simple.

Because the camp leader of this campsite reared many mutated ferocious beasts, the martial training that would allow one to obtain a residency right would simply be a beast fight. The combatants would draw lots and fight against the ferocious beasts they drew.

Either they lived, or they died to the monsters, becoming prey.

Those who were alive could bring back their battle spoils and gain residency rights.

Those who died would become food for raising the ferocious beasts.

And every martial training would be organized in this place named the Beastfight Arena.

At the same time, most of the scavengers here would purchase tickets to watch this bloody show, and while obtaining satisfaction from it, the camp leader would also start bets to make a profit.

In this cruel world, human lives were worthless.

If one wasn't qualified to enter the city and also couldn't enter the camp. They would have no choice but to live in the wilderness. Their risk of dying would then become even greater.

Naturally, going to the slums was a choice. But evidently, those who had chosen to join a scavenger campsite had their own reasons and stories.

Xu Qing sat at the side while he listened.

When their conversation steered to the god opening its eyes many days ago, one of the youth suddenly asked.

"When I came here, I heard people saying that you are the lucky sole survivor from that calamity?"

As these words rang out, Xu Qing slowly opened his eyes.

When he glanced over, he noticed that the youth wasn't talking about him but the little girl at the corner instead.

The girl's body trembled and she silently nodded.

Xu Qing's gaze landed on the little girl.

Everyone only heard about the story, but he had experienced everything. So, he deeply understood that those who could survive in the calamity and arrive here wouldn't be so simple or fragile even though their appearances indicated that they were so.

The little girl seemed to have noticed Xu Qing's gaze. She then lifted her head and looked at Xu Qing.

However, Xu Qing closed his eyes again and continued to meditate. He had to grasp all available time to cultivate. This was the only thing he could depend on to live a better life.

Just like this, a night passed.

The next morning, as the clamor and hooting of the outside world rang out, the door to the wooden shed was opened by someone.

Sunlight streamed in. The scavenger who opened the door stood in the doorway, and his figure caused his shadow to be cast into the house, enveloping the figure of the little girl in the corner. This man then coldly spoke.

"Pack up and leave with me. The good show you guys are putting up will be shown soon."

"I've waited long enough."

The scavenger youth was the first to rise. He smiled and walked over, greeting the person at the door.

The two other youths also hurriedly followed him. Xu Qing was the fourth person to go out, and the little girl was the last one.

The scavenger at the door was acquainted with that scavenger youth. After they chatted for a while, he ignored the others and led the youth to the Beastfight Arena.

The nearer they got, the louder the clamor. Hooting and cheering rose forth in waves, growing in intensity.

This lasted until the group of them stepped into the Beastfight Arena. The moment they did so, the commotion thoroughly erupted.

They could see that on the surrounding tall chairs inside the Beastfight Arena, there were currently over 100 people spectating. Males and females grouped together rowdily as they prepared themselves to watch a good show.

Their voices were very loud. Upon seeing this scene, the little girl's body evidently shivered and the two youths also had pale expressions.

The only exception was the scavenger youth whose eyes gleamed with excitement as he stared at the audience.

Next was Xu Qing. His expression didn't change much, and he started observing the environment of the fighting area inside the Beastfight Arena.

"The space isn't very large, so it's unsuitable for kiting. Since there is no cover, it is also unsuitable for hiding."

"The surrounding wooden fences are very tall, so it's unsuitable to draw the danger to the audience. But there are signs of a few gates, there should be tunnels there."

"So..either I borrow the cheers and shouts of the audience to frighten the beast, while I find an opportunity to act, but that might end up backfiring as it could cause the ferocious beast to rage, or I end things as swiftly as possible as that would be the most advantageous."

[1] image of how a three-stroke beard looks like: https://www.163.com/ent/article/BAH277P500031H2L.html