Chapter 127: The Disparity

"Fire Crystal Tigers?" Bai Wan'er asked Feng, looking at him with a questioning gaze.

Bai Wan'er was familiar with Fire Crystal Tigers. In almost every newly formed space or world where the rules were incomplete, strange monsters would emerge. They lacked flesh and blood, existing only as manifestations of spatial lines.

"These monsters usually live in groups within specific regions and possess only the most basic survival instincts. Some don't even know how to feed. I scouted the area earlier; they must have been startled and driven into a frenzy," Feng added, sharing the information he had gathered during the riot.

"What are Fire Crystal Tigers? Are they mutant beasts?" Wang Jiao interjected inappropriately in front of the two sophomores, successfully drawing Bai Wan'er's attention to her.

Seeing the expression on Bai Wan'er's face, Wang Jiao faltered, feeling a sense of fear. The older girl, who was more beautiful than her, felt like a snow lotus from the Heavenly Mountains—cold, aloof, and arrogant from the very first glance.

Wang Jiao instinctively wanted to step back; the gazes of Bai Wan'er and Feng intimidated her. But then, Bai Wan'er stood up.

"Since you asked, I might as well explain this so-called new space, or rather, this incomplete new world," Bai Wan'er said, rising to her feet. Since they were dealing with Fire Crystal Tigers, there was no need to be overly cautious.

"This new space is merely a rapidly evolving world. The Fire Crystal Tigers are like the humans on Earth—creatures born from this realm. They aren't flesh-and-blood beings, but spatial replicas of external creatures. However, these monsters derived from space are of great benefit to us."

Bai Wan'er glanced toward the direction of the riot.

"They were born when this world was first formed, before the laws of nature were complete. Their bodies contain the essence of various attributes, which can enhance the elemental power within us."

When Bai Wan'er said this, Dao’s eyes brightened significantly. Ye Bai was also pleasantly surprised; he hadn't expected to encounter such a great opportunity right after entering the new space. Normally, the crystals obtained from killing mutant beasts or supernatural creatures outside could not be used directly.

"What are we waiting for? It would be a pity to miss such a good opportunity." Li Feng, the eldest son of Li City, had already started moving toward the riot.

"Stop." Bai Wan'er barked sharply, her indifferent face turning even colder.

She appeared instantly before the young master of Li City. Li Feng’s mouth twitched, and he dared not move further; Bai Wan'er’s hand-blade was already at his throat, and the cold scent wafting from her felt more like murderous intent.

"Did you forget what I just said?" Bai Wan'er said, enunciating every word with chilling intent.

"If your stupidity puts the whole team in jeopardy, I will nip the unknown danger in the bud right now." As she spoke, the earth-attribute power coating her hand began to flow and condense, pressing closer to Li Feng's neck.

"Li Feng, come back! Do you really want to die?" Wang Jiao called out, giving both Li Feng and Bai Wan'er a way to back down.

"Hmph." Li Feng snorted and retreated.

Bai Wan'er dissipated the elemental energy in her hand and turned around. "I will say this one last time: if you want to die, don't drag others down with you. Fire Crystal Tigers are naturally at the Foundation Level. They are a piece of cake for me, but are you sure you can handle them easily?"

"I know you are all the best among the freshmen, but the dangers of this world are beyond your imagination."

After saying this, Bai Wan'er walked toward Feng and asked softly, "Did you see how many there are?"

"Fewer than ten. Most are injured and can be hunted, but I cannot intervene," Feng said after a moment of thought.

...

"Hmm."

Bai Wan'er remained silent for a while. Through the upper echelons of the Green Wood Association, she knew that there were originally supposed to be only five people selected to explore this new space—two sophomores and three freshmen. However, with the sophomore graduation exams approaching, almost no one was willing to spare the energy to manage this, so the responsibility fell to her. As for the other spot, since there was no one else suitable, it had to be given to a freshman. Feng’s appearance, however, had come as a great surprise to her.

"You all heard what Feng said. It's a free-for-all; whoever kills one gets the crystal."

At her words, everyone’s eyes lit up. Dao disappeared from his spot, sprinting toward the riot, with the others following closely behind.

"Boom!" Ye Bai followed Dao closely when suddenly, a streak of ink-black blade light appeared in the sky, cleaving a Fire Crystal Tiger in two.

Not to be outdone, Ye Bai unsheathed his Jinghong Blade, channeling his fire-attribute power. A red lotus of fire swept out, striking another tiger.

The fire lotus flickered in the air, seeping into the tiger's body. The red tiger glowed intensely before it could even react, and the light from the Jinghong Blade followed, slicing it in two.

Unlike mutant beasts, these tigers didn't bleed. Like monsters made of spatial lines, their bodies contracted upon death, leaving behind a thumb-sized red crystal core.

As Ye Bai picked up the core, the ground suddenly shook. A giant earth-yellow hand emerged from the soil, crushing the largest tiger into fragments. Bai Wan'er emerged slowly from behind.

The consecutive kills alerted the remaining tigers, whose red horns began to pulse with light, destroying everything around them.

Li Feng and Wang Jiao, arriving late, were driven back by the red energy and could only team up to deal with a heavily injured tiger on the periphery. As for Feng, he had vanished ever since the hunting began.

Dao, whose blade was never seen, killed tigers out of thin air and was already entangled with another. As more were killed, the remaining ones became increasingly feral, firing red lasers that blocked the group's advance.

"Boss, I found them! I found the missing tigers!"

Suddenly, from another direction, the voice of another scouting party rang out—it was unclear if they were from the Tianmu Academy or the Earth-Core Tribe.

Before the sound had even faded, several giant swords formed from wood-attribute energy erupted from the forest gaps.

The green swords possessed an unstoppable force, arriving in an instant. The tigers fired red light from their horns to defend, but the green swords shattered the light, pulverized the horns, and slew the tigers on the spot.

"Boom, boom, boom." With three loud bangs, the three tigers were killed in an instant, turning into red cores that merged into one of the green swords.

A man then walked slowly out from behind the trees. The giant swords floating in the sky began to shrink, eventually landing in the hand of the man leading them.

He held the sword, closed his eyes to sense it, and then opened them. "Almost there. Just a little more to reach the peak of the Foundation Level."

He scanned the four remaining tigers, completely ignoring Bai Wan'er, Ye Bai, and the others, as if they were nothing but air.

"Come, finish this quickly. I only want the cores," the man with the green sword commanded his followers.

"Hmph, quite a big mouth you have. Do you think we don't exist? We found these tigers first. You poached our prey; aren't you going to provide an explanation?" Bai Wan'er stepped forward, her presence imposing.

"Oh?" The man with the sword looked around, finally letting his gaze settle on Bai Wan'er. "So, fellow students from the Purple Star Academy. My apologies."

The man, who was the leader of the Tianmu Academy group, bowed to Bai Wan'er, but there was no sincerity in it—only mockery. "Your academy might not know, but these tigers are the stragglers left over after we killed the rest. So, strictly speaking, you are the poachers."

The man’s aura pressed down on Bai Wan'er, the power of a high-stage Foundation Level cultivator erupting from his body.

"Regardless, we found these tigers first. At most, we should compete fairly." Bai Wan'er did not back down, releasing an aura that was no weaker than his.

The man smiled sinisterly, his eyes shifting from Bai Wan'er to the bushes behind her.

"Fine. But neither of us is allowed to intervene. Let them handle it."

He pointed at Ye Bai, Dao, and the others. Li Feng and Wang Jiao had already abandoned their fight with the tiger when the man killed the others.

"You lot, go. If you don't bring back the goods, don't bother coming back," the man said with a light smile, though his tone made his followers shiver.

In an instant, the four from each side charged toward the four remaining tigers.

A streak of ink-black blade light appeared in the sky, aimed directly at the head of a Tianmu Academy student. The opponent manifested earth-yellow armor and countered with a massive fist.

"Boom!" Upon collision, the elemental energy dissipated, blinding everyone momentarily. When the dust settled, the Tianmu student handed the core to his leader, though he bore a wound on his back.

Ye Bai faced a water-attribute user. Having already embedded his fire power into the tiger, Ye Bai fought aggressively. The water-attribute user, as expected, was at the Foundation Level; with one strike, he sent Ye Bai flying and went to claim the core. But as he touched the tiger, he realized something was wrong. He looked at Ye Bai, only to see the freshman smiling, having already absorbed the core into his own body.

As for Li Feng and Wang Jiao, the Tianmu students snatched the cores right out from under them, crushing them with ease to secure the final two cores.

The man with the sword bowed slightly to Bai Wan'er. "Senior, until we meet again."

With that, he led his group away, disappearing from the five of them.