Chapter 049: The Continent’s Number One Prodigy (Part 1)

The young man was entirely enveloped in a pale blue aura of spiritual energy. His long, flowing black hair and bare, sculpted upper body, far from detracting from his appearance, gave him an oddly compelling allure. His long, narrow eyes fixed unwaveringly on Shen Duo, a combative light flickering in their depths.

Within Shen Duo, the fighting spirit surged through her veins; the intensity in their gazes was nearly enough to ignite sparks in the air. The young man’s lips curled into a faint smile as the spiritual energy gathered in his hand transformed into lightning, which he hurled toward Shen Duo. The blue lightning crackled with immense power and astonishing speed—so swift that in the blink of an eye, it was about to strike her. Yet, at the last second, Shen Duo deftly rolled aside, narrowly evading the assault. Where the lightning, conjured from spiritual energy, struck, the floor was left charred and blackened, a gaping hole rent in its surface.

Seeing this, Shen Duo focused her attention even harder, raising her longsword horizontally before her chest. Drawing upon the scroll in her dantian, she channeled streams of sword energy into her arm. She recalled the secret technique written by the elder on the scroll, took a deep breath, and charged straight at the young man. He had not expected her sudden advance and hesitated for a moment. Then, the pentagram at his feet flared with light as his spiritual energy transformed into razor-sharp shards of ice that shot toward her. The icy fragments flashed with a chilling gleam. Though Shen Duo maneuvered skillfully, her black robe was torn in several places, some shards grazing her skin. However, thanks to her recent training in the cold pool, her body’s resilience had grown; the cuts were little more than shallow scratches.

The young man’s eyes widened in mild surprise, and his gaze grew even more intense. He raised his right hand, and the pale blue glow around his body surged, gathering slowly into his palm until a massive blue sphere of light formed above his head.

Shen Duo grew still more cautious, but her feet never stopped moving. She ran faster and faster, the green glow of her sacred longsword growing ever brighter. When the weight in her right hand felt as if it reached ten thousand catties, she let out a fierce shout and swung her sword at the young man. In an instant, the crushing weight disappeared, and the green sword energy coalesced into a gigantic blade, descending with a force that threatened to obliterate all before it. This was the “Swift Technique,” a profound sword art from the elder’s scroll—concentrating sword energy into a single hand, pushing it to the limit, and then unleashing it in a devastating, lethal blow.

The sword beam, descending from the void, carried such oppressive force that the young man felt as if his feet were anchored to the ground, unable to move. Yet, he did not panic. He hurled the enormous sphere of spiritual energy in his hand straight at the phantom sword blade.

A thunderous explosion rang out overhead, and the guest room in the little inn was completely destroyed. Shen Duo leaped back in retreat, while Yu Sha hovered behind her, squinting at the rising clouds of dust and letting out a triumphant, eerie laugh.

But Shen Duo did not relax. Her dark eyes narrowed, and she gripped her sword even tighter. How could a Sky Illusionist be defeated by her in a single blow? It was her first time using the “Swift Technique,” and she knew she had not yet unleashed its full power.

The tremendous noise roused the townsfolk; the innkeeper, still in his nightclothes, rushed out of his room and nearly fainted at the sight before him.

Suddenly, Shen Duo whipped around. In the pitch-black night, silver moonlight poured down, illuminating a gigantic eight-headed serpent soaring through the sky. Its eight heads writhed, red eyes glowing with a menacing light. Its colossal form moved in utter silence—had it not been for the blurred shadow it cast, Shen Duo might never have noticed it. Most incredible of all, standing atop one of the serpent’s heads was a tall, long-haired man, staring straight at Shen Duo.

Yu Sha saw it too, every hair on his body standing on end. He communicated gravely with Shen Duo through their mental link: “Xiao Duo, the man standing on the eight-headed serpent is the one we just fought!”

“Ben Yi, come out now! We’re in trouble!” Yu Sha flew to Shen Duo’s side, summoning Ben Yi, who was still in the beast realm.

Awakened by the explosion, the townspeople looked up in shock, some even cheering in excitement. On the continent of Sacred Light, Illusionists were the dominant profession—this town was no exception. Rarely did its residents witness experts dueling; how could they not be thrilled? The innkeeper, however, was an exception.

Someone with keen eyes cried out in astonishment, “That… that’s the Eight-Headed Serpent! Heavens, I’m actually seeing the Eight-Headed Serpent!”

“Could it be a Sacred Illusion Beast?”

“A Sacred Illusion Beast? That’s nothing. The Eight-Headed Serpent is a one-star Divine Illusion Beast. When it advances, it can become the Nine-Headed Serpent King. If it survives the tribulation, it can even evolve into the legendary Ice Dragon!” explained a burly, bearded rogue Illusionist, his tone both grave and envious.

“Damn, it can actually evolve into a Divine Beast? That’s insane!”

Shen Duo was inwardly astonished as well. A Divine Beast—what did that mean? Throughout the entire Sacred Light Continent, no one had ever truly seen one. They were creatures of legend.

Ben Yi emerged from the beast realm to find the enormous creature in the sky. Cold sweat covered his wolfish brow as he communicated helplessly via the mind link, “Young master Yu Sha, Xiao Duo, that’s a Divine Illusion Beast. Even if it’s just a one-star, it’s still a Divine Illusion Beast. Do you really think I can beat it?”

“How will you know if you don’t try?” Yu Sha replied lightly, leaving Ben Yi on the verge of tears.

Nevertheless, Ben Yi was hardly weak. Back in Luo City, he had already advanced to a nine-star Sacred Illusion Beast, just one step short of becoming a Divine Illusion Beast himself.

With a mighty roar, Ben Yi instantly shifted from his camouflage into his true form. After a whirlwind swept by, a massive Ironwing Silver Wolf appeared before the onlookers, its long, piercing howl nearly shattering eardrums. Since advancing to nine stars, Ben Yi had never revealed his true form. Now, he looked subtly different from before—a thick mane of white fur encircled his neck, a metallic horn jutted from his head, and his wings had grown so large that, when spread, they spanned over a dozen yards, exuding an aura of unstoppable power.

“That—that’s the nine-star Sacred Illusion Beast, the Ironwing Silver Wolf!” someone in the crowd shouted.

“What kind of world is this? I’ve lived for decades and never seen even a hair from a Sacred Illusion Beast, but tonight I’ve seen two! Am I dreaming?”