The Snow Veil Mountain Tiger slowly rolled out a blue qi from its body, forming frosty air around him, every breath drawing white clouds. In response, though he did not choose to reveal his true form, Xiaohei chose to unveil his Tyrant qi. A sinister red energy bubbles forth from his body, pulsing with strength.
"Th-that's qi! That means that Xiaohei is at least qi refining stage!" One child marveled.
"That's impossible unless..." A gasp of shock.
"Chen Ling has reached qi refining realm!"
"That's even more impossible!"
"Wasn't she in body refining like us?!"
The students realized that if Chen Ling used qi, she might be capable of defeating anyone here one on one if they learned no martial arts.
The Four(currently three) Kings were also in shock. They realized they might've ended up beaten up if they went too far with their bullying. Even though it was certainly possible to win if 2 or more ganged up on her, none of them wanted to risk getting hurt.
"Kh...! Who cares! The Baihu is of the Soul Refining Realm! A level higher than your dumb cat! *ahem* I meant, what does it matter if you're a little stronger. Their levels are still a level different! Don't think you've already won!" The hat kid with the phony name went back into character in the middle of his words.
In truth, there many other factors in a fight aside from qi and cultivation. Like environment, psyche, skill, natural body strength, and tools. A level or two in difference didn't really mean much. How else could Xiaohei kill dozens?
Both tigers walked in a circle. As they were a vaguely similar species, though Xiaohei was definitely more than a few generations apart from the others, they had an instinctive formality.
A normal battle between ambush predators like a panther and tiger would start with hiding, and trying to gain the initiative. But with these two tigers, they would fight head on, as long as it was one on one of course.
Chen Ling gave no orders, as she felt that Xiaohei had an instinct to stand above a similar species with his strength alone, and that he did not wish for her to interfere. The suit kid felt the same when the Snow Veil Mountain Tiger glared at him, and he went to the side obediently.
A black and white figure gradually walked in circles, waiting for a signal to start, though no one knew what it would be.
A gust of wind blew, and a stray dried bush rolled across the field, the still fallen turtle still somewhere in the background on its back.
Then a boy sneezed, and the two figures instantly disappeared.
The first thing they saw was the Snow Veil Mountain Tiger slamming its claw into the earth, as if trying to catch a mouse. The land, still loose from when the Tortoise rampaged, gave in instantly, and large cracks formed on the ground, soon frosting over white in response to the heavy blue aura shrouding its paws.
Xiaohei was not there though, and the formidable attack was in vain. He appear beneath the white tigers belly, and dagger sharp claws clad in red aura flew toward the Snow Tiger's belly.
Fortunately for the Snow Veil Mountain Tiger, it was not unexpected, and responded by leveraging its laws on the ground to flip its body up and over the other side of his claws, avoiding Xiaohei's deadly blow and placing it in front of him.
Without hesitation, the White Tiger's claw flew toward Xiaohei, but he had already stepped back just enough for the claw to lose momentum before lunging at the white tiger's face. He would have gone for the throat, but as of now he wasn't allowed to kill.
The white Tiger's quickly blew a breath of frost qi in response, coating Xiaohei in a layer of ice, harshly slowing his movements, and giving the whit tiger a chance to grab its footing
Choosing not to miss the opportunity, the Snow Veil Mountain Tiger immediately raised his other claw to slash Xiaohei into gory pieces.
The students gasped, thinking it was over, when Xiaohei suddenly moved forward, and the White Tiger was somehow pulled in at the same time. It was Xiaohei's flexible tail, it had wrapped around the white Tiger's grounded paw, pulling it, making the white tiger lose its footing and propelling Xiaohei forward at the same time.
Blood immediately fell to the dirt. The two tigers had already regained their distance. The white tiger had four long gashes running across its cheek. Xiaohei stood haughtily as if he had expected the result.
In an instant several moves were exchanged, and the high skill level marveled the students. The student were was sitting at the edge of their nonexistent seats during tose few seconds.
"This one is not some house cat, Ling'er. He has obviously fought many battles to the death. It's a shame it's only a slave now." He sneered at the Snow Veil Mountain Tiger, who growled in response.
"Will you be okay?" She hoped he wouldn't risk himself at her request of no permanent harm.
"Ha! I'll be fine. Compared to me, that slave is merely a bumbling fool." He did not take it seriously, and he had the right to, as he had drawn first blood.
Chen Ling was still worried though. Compared to the battle with the tortoise, he was taking longer in this battle, even though she thought the white tiger and the tortoise were similar levels, was Xiaohei tired?
"Tch. Don't underestimate me. That slow turtle was nothing but a walking target before me. I'm only taking longer because its speed and strength are higher than my own. My experience makes up for it though." He could see through her worries in an instant. And through their link, she could see that what he was saying was true.
A low growl sounded from the White Tiger, it seemed upset. From everyone else's perspective, they just heard the "nya nya" Of Xiaohei, and Chen Ling nodding at him. It was clear they were having a conversation.
This upset the Snow Veil Mountain Tiger greatly. It felt that it wasn't being taken seriously.
This time, the White Tiger took the initiative, Frost qi surged through its eyes, turning them ice blue, and a similarly colored aura spread from his body. A glove of cold steel had covered his already fierce claw. A soul form weapon.
The air now began to turn frosty white as any icy fog spread like locusts around the battlefield, with the Snow Veil Mountain Tiger At It's source. It seemed it intended to live up to its name, as the tiger faded into the fog...