Chapter 015: A New Idea

Shen Duo gazed curiously at the novel surroundings. Even in the main city of the Shen family, she had never witnessed such a scene. Most of the magical beasts caged here were severely wounded, mainly low-level creatures without the ability to take on alternate forms as the Spirit Beasts could. Now, in their true shapes, they appeared formidable and massive.

Zheng Wu turned and caught sight of Shen Duo’s astonished expression, smiling gently. This direct descendant of the Shen family usually wore a composed, cold demeanor, as though she were already grown. Now, for the first time, she revealed a young woman’s natural curiosity about the world.

“Shen Duo, let me introduce someone.” Zheng Wu beckoned her over, and Shen Duo suppressed her wonder, stepping to his side. “This is our mercenary group’s beast-taming master, Ao Defan. Most of the Spirit Beasts assigned to our elite mercenaries are trained by him.”

Shen Duo looked up at the slightly plump Ao Defan, her voice calm yet respectful. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Shen Duo.”

Ao Defan squinted kindly at her. “So you’re Shen Duo? I just heard my apprentices talking about you! Well, do you wish to learn beast-taming?”

Shen Duo shook her head bitterly. She did wish to learn, but beast-taming required not only formidable strength but also a mental prowess several times greater than ordinary people. For someone like her, who could not even wield Spirit Phantom Qi, it was a hopeless dream.

Ao Defan saw the shadow cross her face and realized his joke was ill-timed. He laughed heartily and quickly changed the subject, “Since you’re here, come in and have a look!”

If only Shen Duo had the strength, he would truly admire her. Exiled by her family, resented by distant relatives, yet she survived with such resilience and confidence.

Shen Duo nodded, thanked him, and entered the tent with Zheng Wu. Ao Defan’s tent was enormous, two or three times larger than the main command tent. Inside, only a few men and women busied themselves. When the heavy canvas rustled, they looked up, and upon seeing Shen Duo’s petite figure, their eyes softened with smiles.

Some greeted her warmly. Shen Duo hadn’t expected that her single battle had made her famous among the Blazing Flame Mercenary Group, and she awkwardly returned their greetings.

Ao Defan watched the young woman beside him with a smile, clearly admiring her character.

Soon, they reached the center of the tent, where a raised stone platform held a huge iron cage. Inside, a spotted leopard the size of three grown men was roaring. Nearby, a man and a woman attacked the cage, launching blue Spirit Phantom spheres at the leopard, eliciting furious, sorrowful cries, though the beast could not escape its confinement.

The pair saw Ao Defan approaching and quickly wiped their brows, stepping forward. “Master, this three-star Fire Leopard is really tough. Bingxue and I have been fighting it for ages, and it still shows no sign of fatigue.”

Ao Defan only smiled and instructed, “Luoyun, keep at it. Did you think a Fire Leopard of your rank would be so easy to subdue?” To minimize the mental strain, beast tamers usually weakened the magical beasts to exhaustion. Only then could the beast’s consciousness be controlled, making taming possible. What Luoyun and Bingxue were doing now was just the preliminary work.

The woman in the scarlet dress, Bingxue, spotted Shen Duo standing behind Zheng Wu. Her eyes brightened, and she hurried forward, grabbing Shen Duo’s hand with delight. “Are you Shen Duo?”

Shen Duo was bewildered, unsure why this stranger was so enthusiastic. Yet, faced with such a joyful smile, she couldn’t pull her hand away and simply stood there, dazed.

The woman laughed at her surprise. “Your challenge yesterday was incredible! Especially that seamless swordplay—it was so impressive.”

So it was because of that. Shen Duo waved her hand dismissively, insisting it was nothing. Her swordsmanship had always been her strength at the police academy. If not for modern armies requiring firearms, she would have preferred a sword at her waist, making criminals powerless to resist.

Luoyun glared at Bingxue, explaining, “Don’t mind her, Shen Duo. Bingxue is a Phantom Master, but she’s obsessed with swordsmen—especially those with elegant sword skills.”

So that was it. Bingxue saw her as a swordsman. In this world, swordsmen weren’t like modern ones, who could become skilled through diligent practice. Here, swordsmen had to cultivate sword energy, which was graded much like Spirit Phantom Qi. Though sword energy could be accumulated even without absorbing Spirit Phantom, it took years of effort. To become a qualified swordsman, one must persevere for nearly twenty years. This sharply contrasted with Phantom Masters, who often achieved mastery by the age of ten. It was no wonder the swordsman profession had declined.

Shen Duo pressed her lips together. If she couldn’t use Spirit Phantom Qi, could she become a swordsman instead? For the first time, the idea took root. She had considered many ways to grow stronger, even hoping for some method to trigger her body into absorbing Spirit Phantom Qi, but the odds of such a miracle were tiny. She no longer hoped for it. However, the swordsman path seemed worth considering.

Bingxue noticed her silence, blinking her large eyes in confusion. “Shen Duo, what’s wrong?”

Shen Duo snapped back to herself and apologized, embarrassed for being so lost in thought.

The tent flap was lifted by a tall mercenary, who whispered something to Zheng Wu before leaving quickly. Zheng Wu’s expression changed. He turned and offered Ao Defan an apologetic smile, then instructed Shen Duo, “Shen Duo, there’s an urgent matter in the mercenary group. Stay with Ao Defan for now and explore. When evening comes, you can return to camp and rest.”

Shen Duo nodded reassuringly, and watched Zheng Wu stride out of the tent. Ao Defan still had much to attend to, so he asked Bingxue to accompany Shen Duo and show her around.

Bingxue liked Shen Duo’s genuine nature. As she led her about, she shared many amusing stories about Ao Defan, making even the usually self-controlled Shen Duo laugh aloud.

They walked to some temporary wooden benches at the back of the camp to rest. Bingxue offered a regretful smile. “That Fire Leopard is still lively. Luoyun can’t handle it alone—I need to help. Rest here, and I’ll come check on you soon.”

“Go ahead, don’t worry about me.” Shen Duo understood Bingxue’s concern for her safety, given the dangers lurking at the edge of Katra Forest. Even with her martial skills, she was far from matching the strength of this world.

Relieved by her words, Bingxue left.

Shen Duo leaned back on the bench, gazing up at the patch of azure sky visible through the towering trees, lost once more in her thoughts about becoming a swordsman. At that moment, a flock of birds swept across the blue sky, and an aged voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

*――*――*

A brief response to those classmates accusing me of plagiarism. Recently, incidents of copying at Qidian have caused a stir, with many forum posts about it. I’ve read the story in question, and I admit I borrowed some of its ideas, but what I’m writing is an entirely different tale.

First, I absolutely did not plagiarize a single sentence from “Ao Feng”—feel free to compare. I don’t care much about spoilers; in my story, the heroine will never become a Phantom Master. My focus is solely on alchemy, and the narrative will center on that. Secondly, I want to write about “planes”—this theme is very popular on the main site lately but rare in girls’ fiction. That’s one reason I wanted to try a fantasy world.

As for the plot resembling “Ao Feng”—conflicts within large families are common, especially in historical fiction, where such scenarios are countless, only the setting differs.

Finally, I hope those who doubt me will keep reading. I’m not a new author, nor am I shameless enough to endure insults in the review section or to stir up controversy. I have my studies and little time to worry about this. I feel quite sad. If you’re dissatisfied with my story, you’re welcome to simply move on.