Chapter 268: Dispute

As the voices of these instructors faded, Jiang Qing, Li Luo, and the others suddenly fell silent; they looked at the piled-up strategic resources, their expressions becoming extremely complex for a moment.

A delivery that had just been completed an hour ago...

Which meant, the next time the transmission tower opened, they would have to wait another seven days?

What would happen in these seven days?

If that Great Disaster-class Otherworldly Demon really did attack, how could they defend against it?

At this moment, a sense of stifled frustration gathered in everyone's hearts, and they nearly cursed out loud; this one-hour gap was simply too lethal!

"It would have been better if we had traveled faster," Qiu Bai said with some annoyance.

Tian Tian retorted irritably, "What is the point of saying such useless things? We didn't stop for a single moment while traveling; who could have known it would happen exactly within this hour?"

"Truly, fate plays tricks on people," Xin Fu sighed.

Jiang Qing recovered quickly; she furrowed her delicate brows and said, "Regardless, we must first send the intelligence back to the academy. I hope that after they receive the news, they can think of some solution."

The other instructors nodded repeatedly.

Then, one instructor took out a leaf as green as jade and handed it to Jiang Qing, who took it and held it between her palms with her slender hands.

She closed her eyes and focused, light radiating from her palms as she infused Light resonant power into the leaf, simultaneously inputting some information into it.

After finishing this, she walked to the ancient tree root in the center of the stone tower and pressed the leaf against the rootstock.

Then, everyone saw the leaf gradually merge into the rootstock and subsequently disappear.

This had sent the message back, though it would likely take some time for the academy to receive it.

"I hope that Otherworldly Demon continues to consume other Otherworldly Demons for the next seven days, rather than heading toward this outpost," Qiu Bai said.

"Do not place your hopes on the enemy."

Li Luo shook his head and then said, "Instructors, can you issue a warning to recall all the teams currently out on missions?"

The instructors hesitated for a moment and said, "First of all, the outpost's warning has a limited range; only teams that aren't too far away will receive it."

"And another point is..."

"This intelligence regarding the Great Disaster is only known to you; other students may not fully believe it. If we recall these teams currently on missions without the intelligence being fully confirmed, and then we cannot provide them with a sufficiently convincing reason, I fear..."

He did not finish, but Li Luo and Jiang Qing both understood his meaning. After all, the other teams had not encountered that Great Disaster-class Otherworldly Demon. If they were all recalled and the Great Disaster-class Otherworldly Demon did not appear, the other teams would inevitably harbor resentment, feeling that Li Luo and Jiang Qing were playing with them and intentionally delaying their time to earn points.

This was a very normal psychology; after all, each team had made many preparations before heading out, and being suddenly recalled would inevitably disrupt their plans.

Jiang Qing was silent for a few seconds, then said decisively, "No matter what they think, we must do what needs to be done. Release the warning; I will bear the consequences of whatever happens."

Jiang Qing did not actually care whether others believed it or not, but for the sake of the worst-case scenario, the more people who remained outside, the more they would be eroded by the Great Disaster once it attacked, becoming puppets under its control. If that happened, the loss of their own strength and the gain of the enemy's would be even more disadvantageous to them.

Seeing this, the instructors said no more. They began operating the equipment inside the tower, and after a while, the stone tower suddenly emitted a faint vibration, and energy light waves radiated from the tower's peak, spreading to a very distant place.

And as those energy light waves spread, Li Luo and the others felt the "Green Wood Plaques" they were wearing begin to heat up faintly.

Any student within the range of the energy light waves would receive this warning.

Generally speaking, at this time, they would rush back to the outpost to investigate what had happened.

In any case, at a time like this, the more teams recalled, the more strength they would have to deal with the Great Disaster's attack.

Jiang Qing, Li Luo, and their group walked out of the stone tower and found that the teams still in the outpost were all crowding toward them with confusion, clearly having received the warning.

Yi Lisha, Si Qiuying, Qian Ye, and others were also among them. However, compared to the confusion of others, they knew what had happened, but their expressions were somewhat surprised; they likely had not expected Jiang Qing and Li Luo to have the instructors in the stone tower issue a recall warning.

In this way, things had become a big deal.

Teams arrived one after another, finding the instructors at the stone tower to ask what had happened, but the instructors did not respond, only saying they would announce it together once everyone was present, while simultaneously requiring them not to leave the outpost for the time being.

Thus, these teams could only wait slowly, filled with confusion.

And this wait lasted for the better part of a day.

The number of teams outside the stone tower increased at a visible rate, with more teams constantly rushing in from afar, while many whispers spread.

More and more teams began to rush back to the outpost after receiving the summons.

At the same time, some teams began to shout impatiently, asking for the reason behind the issuance of this summons warning.

Seeing that the time was about right, Jiang Qing exchanged a glance with Li Luo, and the two stood out simultaneously.

With Jiang Qing's appearance, the noise in the area immediately subsided, and gazes filled with awe and intensity looked toward this undisputed leader among the Third-Year students and the girl most admired by everyone.

Jiang Qing stood on the steps, her figure slender and graceful, her dark hair tied into a ponytail. Her face was still as perfect and exquisite as ever, with a high, delicate nose and distant, undulating mountains, her red lips slightly pursed, radiating a pride unique to her.

Especially that pair of clear, pure golden eyes, which made people uncontrollably intoxicated.

This caused many people to not dare look at those beautiful golden eyes for too long, lest they lose their composure too much.

Li Luo's appearance was actually quite top-tier, but standing beside Jiang Qing, he was still involuntarily overshadowed by her radiance. If it weren't for the occasional appreciative glances from some young girls, Li Luo would have been completely ignored.

Facing the gaze of so many, Jiang Qing did not show any stage fright; her stunning face remained calm, and her voice had no great ripples: "In the outer perimeter area, we encountered a wandering Otherworldly Demon whose strength may have reached the Great Disaster level, so we issued a summons warning."

"Because we suspect that the Otherworldly Demon will eventually lock onto the location of this outpost, it will be extremely dangerous to continue performing missions outside at this time."

Jiang Qing spoke quite briefly, but this did not affect the impact of this intelligence in the slightest; everyone was horrified, and sounds of gasping could be heard one after another.

"Great Disaster-class Otherworldly Demon?!"

"How could such an Otherworldly Demon appear in our region?!"

"..."

Many questioning voices arose; many people were skeptical, as generally speaking, a Great Disaster-class Otherworldly Demon could not possibly appear in their region.

If it weren't for Jiang Qing's high reputation in the academy, many people would likely have scoffed at this intelligence, thinking it was just to scare people.

But even so, there were still those who did not want to believe it.

"Therefore, from now on, I hope everyone will not go out to perform missions, but stay in the outpost and wait for reinforcements from the academy," Jiang Qing said.

Many students looked at each other; if they stayed in the outpost, they would be unable to earn points, which was no small loss for them.

"Jiang Qing, is the Great Disaster-class Otherworldly Demon you mentioned one you collided with head-on?" Finally, a student with a high ranking among the Third-Year students asked in a deep voice.

Jiang Qing shook her head and said, "We did not collide head-on, but we encountered the evil-thought illusion it left behind. Judging from the power of that evil-thought illusion, we estimated its level."

"But there are also some Disaster-class Otherworldly Demons that are particularly adept at evil-thought illusions, which is why they might have caused you such a misconception."

"And if it were just an ordinary Disaster-class Otherworldly Demon, it would not be enough for us to be so cautious," the Third-Year student continued.

Some students nodded in agreement, as no one wanted to waste time on such meaningless waiting.

"Senior Sister Jiang, is it not that you brought Li Luo and the others and were unable to deal with the Third-Level Purification Tower, so you came up with this excuse because you want the rest of us to be unable to earn more points?" Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Li Luo looked over and saw a familiar face; it was none other than Song Qiuyu.

"What are you, a Second-Year student, spouting nonsense for? How can your strength and character compare to Senior Sister Jiang's?" However, soon, some Third-Year students glared over, defending Jiang Qing.

"Can I not question it? To make us stay here for so long for no reason, isn't that delaying our time? We haven't even seen that Great Disaster-class Otherworldly Demon; how do we know if it's true or false?" Song Qiuyu retorted with her willow-leaf brows raised.

Some people nodded, and for a time, two voices erupted in the area, noisy and chaotic.

Jiang Qing's expression was indifferent as she said, "First of all, I did not actually forbid you from going out. If you really want to go, then go ahead; I will not stop you."

"In addition, regarding that Otherworldly Demon, based on its movement trajectory, I don't think we were the only ones to encounter the evil-thought illusion it left behind."

Jiang Qing's golden eyes stared at the crowd, her calm voice making people's hearts suddenly turn cold.

"Among you..."

"Perhaps some have also encountered it."

"Or even..."

"Have already been contaminated."