40: Perfect completion, S-rank rating! 3 billion Federal Credits and 1,000 Contribution Points!

Su Bai's gaze focused on the word "bound."

A white light flashed in his hand, and the seed left behind by the dead tree of life appeared in his palm. Clicking on its data, he could see that it also had a "binding in progress" message.

"Jörmungandr and the tree of life..."

Su Bai suddenly understood.

It made sense.

The tree of life and the World Serpent, they were supposed to be one and co-exist. Since the new tree of life had not yet been born,

how could Hydra, its companion creature, possess power?

To function... at least, it had to wait until the tree of life took root and sprouted again.

"October 7, 2049, 7:23 AM."

A mechanical voice interrupted Su Bai's thoughts.

He had been engrossed in battle earlier,

forgetting the passage of time, until now, when he awoke as if from a dream.

He realized

that four full days had passed since he entered the mission space.

And the College Entrance Examination was only one day away!

Su Bai no longer hesitated, saying, "Return to reality!"

Specks of light gathered, gradually pulling Su Bai out of the mission space... At the same time,

Creation Guild, Mission Hall!

Four full days had passed since Su Bai accepted the mission.

The young man who had started the betting pool earlier,

with a face like a rat, was etched with a lewd smile, rubbing his hands together, and smugly said to a girl in front of him:

"It's been four days. It seems that guy isn't coming out."

As he spoke,

his gaze fixed on a federation card that Jiang Ruyue had previously mortgaged, which contained a full ten million federation coins!

For him, it was definitely a windfall!

Jiang Ruyue's expression was cold, not wanting to deal with the lewd guy in front of her.

The other people present

all sighed:

"As expected, it failed. After all, it's a planar war; it can't last long. It seems the young man earlier has already..."

Some also snorted, disdainfully:

"I warned him early on. A newborn calf fears no tiger. He really thought he was a Child of Destiny. In this world, even the so-called Children of Destiny can die!"

"What a pity, a rare dark horse..."

"Hmph! A dead genius is no longer a genius! Just a fool! And to not know when to advance or retreat, forcibly choosing a mission stronger than oneself, is the fool of all fools!"

"It's just a pity for his world. If it were me, I would never have made that choice."

Others were envious and jealous,

their eyes red with covetousness for the lewd youth's earnings, looking regretful: "I regret it so much. I should have bet more money. With odds of 1:100, you could easily earn tens of millions!"

"This time, the casino made a fortune!"

Listening to the surrounding chatter,

Chen Shang sat on a leather sofa, elegantly swirling red wine, looking at Jiang Ruyue's graceful figure, his eyes filled with a fiery passion.

A Campus Belle with an elemental world!

This was high-quality goods.

Even Chen Shang, who was accustomed to many women, rarely encountered such high-grade goods. He greedily looked at Jiang Ruyue's exposed skin, wishing he could immediately take her into his room.

Then,

he thought of Su Bai again, a mocking smile appearing on his face, "This is the consequence of offending me. Not only do I want you dead, but I also want to steal your woman."

"An elemental world..."

"This is a rare commodity. If I can absorb it, it will definitely help me advance another level!"

"What's more, I can also take a Campus Belle along the way. Why not?"

Thinking this,

the fiery passion in Chen Shang's eyes was no longer concealed.

Jiang Ruyue frowned slightly, disgustedly averting Chen Shang's gaze, which only piqued Chen Shang's interest further.

His smile grew wider, already considering her his possession.

As for Su Bai?

Chen Shang rolled his eyes. Why care about a dead man?

Just then,

Boom—

A huge sound, like a bell, spread all around.

Immediately after,

lines of golden text appeared, not just on this floor, but on every floor, with corresponding information appearing!

"Congratulations to Tier 1 Creator 'Su Bai' for clearing the extremely high-risk mission 'Forest of the Giant Tree'!",

"Mission Difficulty—Upon investigation, this mission contained Gold Rank life! Far exceeding typical Second-Tier missions, it reached a Third-Tier difficulty level!",

"Overall Rating: S-rank!"

"Perfect Clearance!"

"Mission Reward: 2 billion federation coins! (Due to increased difficulty, an additional 1 billion has been added, totaling 3 billion federation coins! Already sent to the Creator's account!)"

"Due to the misjudgment of this mission's difficulty, the Creation Guild grants compensation: a free gift of one thousand contribution points! Market value: one hundred billion federation coins!"

"Reminder: Mission completion rates of A+ rank and above will be announced throughout the entire Creation Guild as an incentive."

...The enormous sound spread throughout the entire Creation Guild.

Everyone in the guild, without exception, heard the announcement!

Chen Shang, who had been smiling broadly,

and planning how to capture Jiang Ruyue, his smile froze directly, and then his eyes immediately darkened.

He forced out a smile that didn't reach his eyes, saying, "Such good luck."

His expression was extremely ugly,

and he immediately got up, preparing to leave this place of trouble.

But someone wouldn't let him go.

Su Bai, at some unknown point, had appeared behind him. His slow footsteps, each one, seemed to step on Chen Shang's heartbeat,

making him inexplicably feel a sense of fear.

Closer,

even closer,

a shadow covered his entire body. Su Bai's calm eyes looked down at Chen Shang below him.

A moment later,

he smiled slightly, and with surging psychic power, a crisp sound immediately rang out!

A clear red palm print appeared on Chen Shang's face.

He was completely stunned.

After he reacted, he immediately pointed at Su Bai and cursed, "How dare you hit me! Do you know who I am..."

Slap—

Without any superfluous words,

another slap, and the red mark on his face became even more prominent.

Chen Shang: ???

Once was enough, but there was a second time? Was this guy really not afraid of his retaliation?

Chen Shang was completely bewildered by the beating. For a moment, he even forgot to fight back,

clutching his face, at a loss.

But Su Bai wouldn't let this guy off.

He had returned long ago,

and had been standing behind Chen Shang, listening expressionlessly to his words.

He considered himself

not someone who repays evil with good, nor did he want to be a fool who gets bullied without fighting back.

Therefore,

Chen Shang suffered.

Next,

for a full ten minutes, no one in the entire hall dared to stop him. Su Bai's psychic power was enough to suppress anyone!

Even a Second-Tier Creator would find it difficult to resist!

And a Third-Tier Creator,

would not easily show up. So, almost everyone witnessed this unprecedented 'bullying',

and the target of the bullying

was none other than the previously arrogant Chen Shang, a Second-generation God, the descendant of a Fourth-Tier Creator, hailed as the chief seed of this year's cohort!

As time passed... Su Bai tried several different methods, experiencing each one, until Chen Shang was bruised and swollen, covered in injuries.

Only then did he stop, still feeling unsatisfied.

He had to admit,

a Second-generation God was indeed a Second-generation God; their skin was fair and tender, and the feeling of hitting them was simply too good!

Su Bai had been in the mission space for so long,

the accumulated frustration was directly dispelled after beating Chen Shang, leaving him utterly refreshed!

He even

had a thought,

"Why not... just beat him up whenever I'm free? It's quite stress-relieving..."

Chen Shang naturally wouldn't know Su Bai's thoughts. He was dizzy from the beating, curled up like a shrimp, and only cautiously opened his eyes when Su Bai stopped.

"Holy crap!"

He was immediately hit with another punch, and his eyes instantly turned into panda eyes, looking incredibly comical.

"Pfft..."

The people around couldn't help but laugh at this scene.

Chen Shang immediately became furious, gritting his teeth and glaring at Su Bai, threatening word by word: "Su Bai, how dare you insult me? Do you know what this means?"

"It means you got beaten by me."

Su Bai yawned, answering nonchalantly.

Chen Shang fell silent.

He really wanted to utter a fierce threat, but looking at Su Bai's constantly moving wrists, the memory of being brutally beaten just now seemed to reawaken.

He was scared.

He silently swallowed the curses in his throat, glared fiercely at Su Bai,

then,

fled in a disheveled state, rushing out the door.

When he reached the doorway,

he finally mustered the courage to leave a fierce threat: "Su Bai, just you wait! Tomorrow's College Entrance Examination will be your death day!"

Before he finished speaking,

Chen Shang was horrified to see Su Bai raise his hand again, immediately shut up, and fled without looking back.

Only then,

did the others finally react from the scene of Su Bai brutally beating Chen Shang.

Looking at Su Bai's eyes,

it was as if they were looking at an ultimate hothead.

He even dared to provoke a Second-generation God. Was he really not afraid of retaliation?

Su Bai didn't care about this at all.

If he didn't like Chen Shang, he'd beat him. He would never let external factors influence his judgment.

Even if there was retaliation in the future,

he would face it.

If he were afraid of retaliation and cowered, how could he be worthy of the simulator, his golden finger?

Don't cause trouble, but don't fear trouble either!

This was Su Bai's code of conduct.

Suddenly,

he turned his head to look in another direction, where a lewd young man stood. It was the one who had set up the betting pool earlier.

Su Bai remembered,

that guy just now... seemed to have also been staring at Jiang Ruyue with lewd eyes?

Thinking this,

Su Bai smiled faintly.

And the lewd young man, meeting Su Bai's friendly gaze, nervously swallowed his saliva.

The next second,

he fled for his life!

However... Slap—

Psychic power effortlessly pressed him down, shattering the ground. Su Bai walked over slowly with a smile, saying with a grin, "Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Let's chat?"

Subsequently,

the entire floor was filled with the heart-wrenching wails of the lewd young man, as if he was suffering unimaginable pain.

His cries were so mournful that anyone who heard them instinctively felt uneasy.

They silently listed Su Bai as one of the people they absolutely must not provoke.