I long to return home!

The various scattered sounds in the forest were like a lullaby, or perhaps Xue Wu was too tired and fell asleep without any warning.

Suddenly, the roars of wild beasts echoed through the forest. Xue Wu, who was resting, snapped his eyes open and cautiously leaned against a tree trunk, looking around. The rustling of the surrounding bushes made him even more frightened, and he muttered to himself into the air:

"Holy crap! Don't mess with me! This is only my first day here, am I going to get eaten by wild beasts?"

"I haven't lived enough."

Just then, a 5-meter-long liger leaped out of the bushes to his right.

As its name suggests, the liger has the head of a lion and the body of a tiger. It is extremely ferocious, with claws like sharp knives that can tear apart anything in front of it. Its two rows of sharp teeth are so sharp that if they bite a person, the bones would probably shatter instantly.

It revealed a fierce look in its eyes, staring intently at Xue Wu in front of it, as if the person in front of it was already its dinner. It twisted its huge body and walked towards Xue Wu step by step, occasionally letting out a low growl, as if warning the person in front of it to give up resistance and not move.

Xue Wu had never seen such a scene before. In the past, he might be barked at by stray dogs that appeared out of nowhere while walking on the roadside, but he was always disdainful of them. If he encountered a particularly fierce one, he might kick it. But now it was different. Even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to kick the beast in front of him.

He slowly stood up from the ground, his hands pressed against the tree trunk, and said fearfully:

"Brother, just by looking at you, you're a real talent, more imposing than a lion, more majestic than a tiger. I'm just a skeleton, there's hardly any meat on me... I haven't showered for days, I smell terrible, eating me will give me an upset stomach..." He said, stretching out his thin, bony right hand and pinching the little meat left on his body.

But the lion-tiger beast remained unmoved and continued to slowly approach Xue Wu, drool dripping from the corner of its mouth.

"Help!"

Xue Wu cried out in surprise, then jumped onto the big tree behind him and desperately climbed upwards.

Enraged by the scream, the liger roared at Xue Wu and lunged forward with its claws outstretched. However, when faced with a life-or-death situation, a person's potential is limitless, and before the liger could even pounce, it had already climbed to the top of the tree.

Xue Wu clung tightly to the thick tree branch, shouting for help to those around him. But who would come to this desolate wilderness? Anyone who did would have been a meal for wild animals in the forest long ago, and would probably be long gone.

Seeing this, the liger kept growling at Xue Wu on the tree trunk, trying to get him to come down. When he didn't budge, the liger started ramming the tree trunk with its strong body. Soon, some cracks appeared on the thick trunk. Seeing that it was effective, the liger rammed the tree trunk even harder.

With a crack, the tree trunk snapped completely and fell to the ground with a thud. Xue Wu, who was tightly holding onto the branch, was thrown out with the falling tree and crashed heavily to the ground. His already frail body was too weak to stand after the impact. He lay on the ground, looking at the lion-tiger beast walking towards him with resentment, but there was nothing he could do. His eyes closed slightly, waiting for death to come.

"You beast! Stop harming people!"

Suddenly, a powerful voice came from above. In his dying moments, Xue Wu saw a young man dressed in white flying in the air with an iron sword under his feet. Then, a look of joy flashed in his eyes and he fainted.

The young man in white leaped down from the sky and landed on the ground. A stream of air surged around him, stirring up the fallen leaves around him. His eyes were sharp as he stared at the lion-tiger beast in front of him.

He immediately held the iron sword in front of his chest, made a hand seal, and instantly, droplets of water appeared on the iron sword. In a few breaths, the water droplets quickly enveloped the sword and formed a water sword.

Seeing that someone had disturbed its meal, the liger turned around and roared fiercely at the young man in white. Then it stretched out its sharp claws and rushed towards him. When it got close, it leaped up and tried to pounce on the latter.

A disdainful smile played on the lips of the white-clad youth. He swayed, dodging the attack, and then brandished his water sword, slashing upwards from the lion-tiger's belly. In an instant, before the lion-tiger could even sense anything amiss, its body plummeted uncontrollably, landing on the ground unable to move an inch. Slowly, a bloody gash appeared on its abdomen; its massive body was severed at the waist, blood flowing and staining the grass red. It closed its eyes in resentment and died.

The young man in white smiled again, closing his eyes to savor the thrill of hunting magical beasts.

"Holy crap, that's awesome!" Xue Wu, who had been unconscious to the side, stood up at some point and clapped his hands in amazement at the white-clad man who had killed the ferocious beast.

The man in white was stunned by the sudden praise and stared at Xue Wu, completely bewildered by the words coming from the other man's mouth.

"Didn't you just faint?!"

"Yeah, I was only unconscious for a moment before waking up. You're amazing, big brother! You killed that... that thing, I don't know what kind of animal it was, with just a few swift sword strokes."

"Big brother, are you an immortal? You can even fly on a sword. And also..."

Faced with Xue Wu's numerous questions, Xu Tao coughed lightly and said, "I am Xu Tao, a disciple of the Luoyun Sect."

As soon as he finished speaking, a green light slowly emerged from the body of the dead lion-tiger beast, illuminating the surroundings. When the green light disappeared, a green crystal the size of a walnut appeared before the two of them. Xue Wu's previous understanding was overturned by this scene. He walked up to the green crystal with a surprised expression. Before he could see it clearly, Xu Tao reached out and grabbed the crystal, putting it into the storage bag at his waist.

"Brother Xu, what is this?" Xue Wu stared intently at the crystal that Xu Tao had put into his storage bag.

"Beast cores are crystals formed from the spiritual energy within a magical beast after it dies. This one is the beast core of a first-tier magical beast, the Lion-Tiger Beast..." Xu Tao explained vividly. Xue Wu listened very attentively. He was sure he had never listened to a teacher's lectures this attentively before. After all, people are curious, and when they encounter something that interests them, they will be very serious about it.

While still giving his speech, Xu Tao suddenly realized something, his face stiffened, and he looked at Xue Wu with surprise and doubt, saying, "No, why are you here? And why should I tell a mortal like you so much about Warcraft?"

"My mind is really muddled," Xu Tao said, shaking his head.

Magical beasts are naturally formed creatures in this world, varying in form and divided into nine tiers, each tier stronger than the last. Each magical beast possesses different abilities; some are useless, while others are capable of destroying the world. Once a magical beast reaches the fourth tier, it develops intelligence; at the fifth tier, it can speak human language, gaining a foothold among magical beasts. Reaching the seventh tier undoubtedly makes it a regional overlord, its combat power devastating, but it rarely appears in the world. Eighth and ninth tier magical beasts are merely rumors, unheard of; it is said that any cultivator who has seen them has died...

Beast cores are crystals formed after a magical beast dies. They contain all the essence of the beast's body. The higher the grade of the magical beast, the larger and more compact the beast core, and the brighter the light it emits.

Beast cores can be traded, and each one is quite valuable. The higher the grade of the beast core, the more valuable it is. Fourth-grade beast cores are almost impossible to find, while fifth-grade and above beast cores are incalculable in value.

Besides being used as a trading commodity, beast cores can also help cultivators improve their cultivation. Higher quality beast cores can help cultivators advance their cultivation level.