A moment later.
The three Xilan Duchy students who had chased Bai Xing all the way here stopped slowly thirty meters away from Reilo and the others.
"Right, what's your name?"
Only then did Bai Xing recover. She looked at Reilo and said, "Although those three are also first-year students, they're extremely powerful. They're probably all ranked in the top one hundred of the Elite Rank! Especially that purple-haired girl—she can already summon elemental creatures!"
After saying this, Bai Xing stole another glance at Luo Ji and Lulu. Thinking of her brief encounter with the three Xilan Duchy students, she could not help worrying.
"Elemental creatures?"
Information about elemental creatures passed through Reilo's mind. As for the other party having forgotten his name, he did not care.
Compared with being remembered by this girl who had broken off her engagement with Xiao Kang, Reilo was more concerned about whether these three Xilan Natural Sciences Academy students would really clash with his group over a specimen.
After all, on the surface, there were four people on his side, but in reality, his combat strength was certainly far inferior to Bai Xing's, who ranked third in their class—not to mention the three Xilan Natural Sciences Academy students whom Bai Xing feared.
Fortunately, they were all only first-year students.
Before scholars developed a large number of offensive academic techniques, their combat power was certainly less direct than that of Fighters. His side had two mercenaries whose strength was still passable, so their overall combat power should be superior to the other side, right?
Perhaps he could use this opportunity to truly understand the level of combat ability possessed by first-year students?
That way, the mission commission he had earned over the past two days would not be wasted.
Thinking this, Reilo finally calmed down and replied, "My name is Reilo."
Elsewhere.
The three Xilan Duchy Academy students pursuing Bai Xing slowly stopped. They looked at Reilo, Luo Ji, Lulu, and Qiu Hei with ugly expressions.
"Purple Flame, what do we do?"
The two girls and one boy seemed to be led by the female student named Purple Flame—the very student Bai Xing had specifically mentioned, who could summon elemental creatures.
Purple-haired and short-haired, she had an originally delicate face, yet her brows carried a hint of arrogance and wildness. Her bearing was completely different from the elegant air of the noble scholars of the Grand Duchy. Purple Flame swept her gaze over Reilo's four-person group, then looked several times more at Qiu Hei before making up her mind.
"The Sacrificial Spirit Turtle is an extremely rare mutated creature. We're currently in the first quarter's rookie period for the Elite Rank, so our contribution points will increase substantially because of it. If I can obtain this specimen, I'll be able to challenge the top thirty of the first rookie Elite Rank!"
Purple Flame murmured as she looked at Reilo and the others. A trace of proud confidence curled at the corners of her lips, and her gaze lingered for a moment on the turtle-shelled creature behind Reilo.
"Our Xilan Duchy's Initiation students face entrance examinations and a brutal learning environment during their initiation period—neither is something the Grand Duchy's Initiation students can possibly understand! While they're still playing tricks in the laboratory, we've already been training in the arena. You all saw that female student's combat strength just now! Heh heh, our main opponents this time are those two mercenaries. Help me hold them off for a while!"
Beside Purple Flame, the tall, thin male student wore a black top hat. He nodded repeatedly as he listened, his expression showing deep agreement.
Eager to show off, the male student said, "Leave that female mercenary and the Black Demon Wolf cub to me. I don't think that wolf cub has evolved a magic core yet. It'll be just enough to whet our appetites later, hehe!"
It was not difficult to see that the male student admired Purple Flame.
As for the mushroom-headed female student on Purple Flame's other side, she wore a serious, solemn expression and never smiled as she pushed up the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose.
"I'll handle your defense. You focus on taking down that Grand Duchy female student."
Then the mushroom-headed girl looked at Purple Flame and said, "This is Grand Duchy territory. We need to end the battle quickly. Are you confident?"
Purple Flame had not yet spoken when the male student beside her spoke first, his face full of mockery.
"I heard our mentor say long ago that as the difficulty of collecting natural specimens increased, the Grand Natural Sciences Academy, which focuses on studying the Evolution's Profound Meaning, had inevitably begun to decline. On top of that, with their hothouse cultivation system, they're fundamentally incapable of competing with us!"
Changing his tone, the male student said admiringly, "Besides, Purple Flame once defeated three gladiators on her own. Don't tell me you don't trust Purple Flame?"
Without responding, Purple Flame produced a leather-bound notebook and stepped forward, staring at Reilo and the others in the distance as she took up a confrontational stance.
"We're from the Xilan Royal Academy of Natural Sciences. That female student stole the natural specimen we discovered. I advise you to leave on your own and avoid unnecessary trouble!"
Although she was a mage, she was only sixteen or seventeen years old, and she was from an enemy nation. Purple Flame's haughty, disdainful expression instinctively made Luo Ji and Lulu uncomfortable. They were already accustomed to the gentlemanly humility of mages from the Grand Duchy.
Bai Xing said furiously, "I discovered it first! You Xilan Duchy bandits!"
Even so, Reilo still found it hard to believe that they would fight his group of four over a specimen.
After all, although this was a border between the two nations, it was indisputably Grand Duchy territory!
Thus, Reilo threatened them. "I don't care what the reason is. The three of you are currently on Grand Duchy territory. As far as I know, quite a few students from the Grand Natural Sciences Academy are here collecting specimens!"
Showing weakness would only make them appear guilty and cowardly.
Reilo recalled the time he had confronted the Black Demon Wolf Mercenary Group alongside Orn in Demon Eagle Forest several months ago, and he unconsciously appeared even more confident.
However, things were completely different from what Reilo had expected.
Beneath her short purple hair, a trace of disdain appeared between Purple Flame's brows. With a faint snort, the corners of her lips lifted slightly as she took the initiative to step forward.
"Heh heh, don't the people from your Grand Natural Sciences Academy always advocate survival of the fittest? As it happens, we of the Xilan Natural Sciences Academy also firmly believe that nature does not sympathize with the weak."
Purple Flame gently stroked the leather notebook in her right hand as though caressing her lover. As energy flowed into the notebook, the cold arrogance in her beautiful eyes intensified. In an instant, vast amounts of flame energy gathered around the purple-haired girl, just like Orn had once done, gathering nature's flames through the Mathematical Foundation!
Only, the natural power gathered this time far surpassed what Orn had wielded when confronting the Black Demon Wolf Mercenary Group.
"Then let's eliminate the weak through battle and decide who gets that specimen! Flame Soul Beast!"
Roar!
A several-meter-high wave of fiery heat suddenly formed a vague beast soul. Even the surrounding air steamed and warped slightly under the scorching heat.
"Damn!"
Even Reilo, whose conduct had been tempered by the Church, could not help cursing.
They were really going to fight his group of four over a specimen, on enemy territory?
That was not all. With a flash from Purple Flame's hand, she put the Space Box away, and a small magic wand appeared in her grasp.
Accompanied by another surge of energy, the ground beside the mushroom-headed girl behind Purple Flame began to rumble. A stone pillar suddenly rose from the earth.
The pillar was engraved with densely packed energy runes.
"Burning Totem!"
After releasing two academic techniques in succession, Purple Flame showed a hint of fatigue, but the arrogance and excitement deep in her eyes grew even stronger!
This was her first time fighting students from an enemy nation!
Having grown up in a country with a brutal slavery system, she had found that although the Xilan Natural Sciences Academy also had an Elite Rank, it had no academic-paper contribution points. Instead, it held arena trials, testing academic techniques through actual combat. Step by step, students earned the academy's recognition and eventually joined the wars waged according to the will of the Xilan royal family.
There was no doubt that the Grand Duchy, which had been at war with the Xilan Duchy for centuries, was their greatest enemy!
"You greenhouse-raised fools don't understand the strength of the Xilan Natural Sciences Academy at all. You'll always be nothing but insects beneath our feet!"
A mad, frenzied expression suddenly appeared on the girl's face.
Even the intense fluctuations of the Energy Magnetic Field caused Purple Flame's loose scholar's robe to tremble and flutter without any wind!
It was not only Purple Flame. The two students behind her also revealed a feverish passion for battle deep in their eyes. They licked their lips excitedly, just like Reilo had when he discovered a new specimen.
In the eyes of Reilo's group, the beautiful and capable girl from moments ago had transformed in the blink of an eye into a battle maniac. She spouted arrogant nonsense, seemingly crazily worshiping the Xilan Duchy's iron-blooded battle culture as she led the two students behind her in a charge toward Reilo and the others!
Gulp.
At this tense moment, Reilo stared blankly at the magic wand in Purple Flame's hand and swallowed enviously. He calculated how many gold coins it would take to buy such a wand. I want one too.
Speaking of which, Reilo was not without magic tools for combat. They might even be of better quality than the magic wand in Purple Flame's hand.
Unfortunately, the Magic Folding Fan Wushuang had given Reilo was a magic tool capable of releasing a first-level wind-element academic technique. The energy it required was far beyond what Reilo could withstand right now. It was water too distant to put out a fire at hand.