Chapter 121: The Evil Owl Mercenary Group

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Dark-elemental mental magic must be channeled through a medium to be released, allowing it to influence a person’s mind without alerting them to defensive spells. Such high-level magic can only be cast by mages of the six-star rank or higher, and it is usually assisted by voice, eye contact, or gestures.

When it came to this type of magic, the opponent was truly trying to show off in front of an expert. In matters of bewitching the mind, Xu Wen’s experience was vastly superior to that of a dark mage. The moment the man opened his mouth and released a faint magical aura, Xu Wen understood his intentions. Before He Chen could reveal any useful information, Xu Wen decisively launched the distress signal rocket that Lant had given to everyone.

"I hope he can get here quickly!"

Although the signal rocket had been fired and everyone had been jolted awake, Xu Wen could not set his mind at ease. The opponent was very likely one of the despicable "raiders" recorded in the survival handbook—those who specialized in pillaging and slaughtering to seize the spoils of weaker teams and solo mercenaries. With one seven-star and six six-star members, killing them would be a breeze for the raiders!

Now, Xu Wen could only hope the opponents would be wary of the consequences and not strike rashly; otherwise, the situation for the Soul-Extinguishing Mercenary Group would be dire.

Xu Wen pulled out a pill and quietly slipped it into his mouth. The dark mage’s grim voice reached his ears: "...I never thought I would live to see the day where I misjudged someone."

The two men who had been intercepted earlier exchanged savage, cruel smiles. With a flash, they split left and right, guarding the flanks of the makeshift camp—since their leader had made a move, things would be easy!

"Is it starting?"

Although the Soul-Extinguishing members were extremely tense, they quickly formed their defensive formation. The mages began chanting their offensive spells; this was a strategy they had devised before the opponents appeared, and they executed it with uniform precision.

*So fast! Could there really be an instructor hiding in the back?*

The mages and archers frowned as they looked at the dark mage. Killing these twenty-one youths would certainly be no problem, but his failed mental magic had made things difficult. Seeing this group of young men and women fully prepared and showing no signs of fleeing, the dark mage reconsidered.

"Come back!"

The dark mage called the two men on his flanks back, replacing his expression with a kind, "benevolent" smile as he stared at Xu Wen. "Let's go. Don't scare the children."

"Boss..."

"Continuing this act would be unsightly. Let's go!"

The dark mage placed heavy emphasis on the last two words. The tall swordsman, who had been hesitant, saw the change in his boss's expression and followed along, looking sullen. Still, he cast a lingering, unwilling glance toward the four young women, including Ai Lin, before they departed.

"Acting?"

Until all six figures were swallowed by the darkness, the members of the Soul-Extinguishing group looked at each other in confusion. "What did they mean? Were they just playing with us?"

Within the group, only Xu Wen dared not relax in the slightest. He kept his eyes fixed on the Silver-Moon Delicate Dragon, and only when the latter withdrew his hand and nodded at him did Xu Wen quietly let out a breath. This gamble had, at least, not ended in failure.

Acting? Yes, it was indeed acting! But the performance wasn't for them. The dark mage had truly intended to strike at first, but his later words were a performance meant for Lant, who was lurking nearby.

*I have to step it up!*

Even during the encounter with the Red-Winged Flame Dragon, Xu Wen had never felt such an urgent desire to improve his strength—to improve it faster!

***

Hearing He Chen solemnly issue a higher-level alert, Xu Wen sat back down in his original spot in the camp. After pondering for a long while, he pulled out his furnace and rapidly grabbed various medicinal powders from his storage ring, spreading them on the ground.

This unusual action immediately drew He Chen's attention. His gaze swept over the medicinal materials on the ground, and he couldn't help but look surprised. He couldn't discern what could be concocted from this formula, but most of the ingredients were of the five-star grade!

"Five-star elixir?"

Saqi also noticed and asked curiously, "Mr. Lant is almost here. Why refine medicine at a time like this?"

"He won't show up."

After answering, Xu Wen lit the furnace, placing a four-star magic core and two herbs inside. The dark red flame quickly turned into a deep blue, filling the furnace, and the surrounding air began to heat up with rolling waves of warmth.

Just as everyone was speculating about the meaning of Xu Wen's words, Lant's voice suddenly rang out from not far away: "Who says I won't come?"

As the words fell, Lant descended from the sky, smiling broadly as he looked at Xu Wen, who was busy setting up the furnace to refine medicine.

Xu Wen opened his eyes and glanced at Lant, saying with a huff, "You didn't say a word when we were being bullied to this extent. Would you have come out if I hadn't said that?"

The Soul-Extinguishing members looked toward the embarrassed Lant. "Mr. Lant, have you been following us the whole time?"

Lant, not expecting Xu Wen to be so shrewd, immediately laughed to hide his embarrassment. "I just arrived, just arrived! Xu Wen, focus on your pill refining. These materials cost at least two thousand gold coins; it would be a shame if you failed!"

"Mr. Lant, you must know the identities of those people from earlier, right?" He Chen asked on behalf of everyone.

Lant cast a complex look at Xu Wen and nodded.

Earlier, the moment he sensed the aura of those seven, Lant had felt things were going wrong and had moved much closer. Especially when the "Evil Elder" made his move, he had been prepared to intercept the first attacker. However, what he hadn't expected was that Xu Wen could remain unscathed under the "Evil Elder's" mental bewitchment and fire the signal rocket in time, avoiding a nasty fight!

"Those raiders are on the Blood Mansion's wanted list. They are a famous mid-to-high-level raiding team, the 'Evil Owls.' The six ordinary members are all seasoned veterans who live by the blade, and their heads are worth two thousand gold coins each. The leader is called the 'Evil Elder,' a seven-star dark mage whose strength is on par with my own. It is fortunate you didn't strike; otherwise, it would have been difficult for me to keep you all safe."

The wanted list—the Blood Mansion's wanted list—was a list of vengeance created after tracking down the culprits behind the disappearance of students who had been quietly robbed and murdered. Anyone on this list could not safely appear in the city; once discovered, any mercenary could kill these criminals. Therefore, these people often lurked in the Magic Beast Forest, not appearing before others unless the targets were weaker than them.

"How much is the Evil Elder's head worth?" Saqi asked curiously. Since the Evil Elder was a seven-star, the price should be higher.

"Ten thousand."

Seeing the shock on everyone's faces, Lant was not surprised. "The criminals on the wanted list are mostly priced like mid-to-low-tier magic beasts (depending on their star rank). There are many raiders in the Blood Alliance... many aren't even on the list, which is why the Blood Alliance has also established many organizations dedicated to hunting raiders... This is the second lesson I want to teach you: never easily trust strangers in the Magic Beast Forest, especially those stronger than you."

The camp fell silent.

***

Everyone felt the weight of his words and nodded silently. If not for that signal rocket earlier... the consequences would have been hard to imagine.

Seeing that his goal was achieved, Lant changed his tone. "However, you have all done quite well. To have come this far in such a short time—you've mostly understood the situation regarding five-star magic beasts. It is time to officially begin 'limit training.'"

"Limit training?" He Chen was stunned and quickly told Lant that he had already discussed it with the others and was preparing to start completing the series of difficult tasks assigned by the Blood Mansion.

Lant waved his hand with a smile. "Don't worry, limit training won't take much of your time. This is a shortcut for rapidly gaining combat experience and improving cultivation that we veteran mercenaries have summarized, specifically prepared for you newcomers. Before the missions begin, let me help you adapt to six-star magic beasts. Once you can adapt, whether you decide to start the missions or train on your own, I will no longer interfere."

Upon hearing this, Xu Wen couldn't help but feel tempted and opened his eyes. The others were puzzled; judging by Lant's tone, it seemed as if he planned to leave them after this "limit training." Was the Blood Mansion’s tutorial ending so soon?

Seeing the confusion in their eyes, Lant explained with a smile, "Don't look at me like that. These past few days, I have been using a special method to hide my aura and follow you specifically to observe how much you have comprehended on your own. The facts prove that... Dean Nordin’s judgment was correct. You are all very clever, capable of drawing inferences and applying what you've learned. At your current pace, you will have mastered the entire three-month curriculum in at most half a month."

"Being an instructor like this is quite relaxing for me too!"

With that, Lant told them that the remaining lessons would be taught during the limit training course. As long as they qualified, he could finish his job early and go back to report.

*What a lazy instructor...* He Chen and the others couldn't help but think. *It's only been a few days?*

"Mr. Lant, what does the limit training consist of?"

"That's not something that can be explained in a few words. Tomorrow morning, after we enter the White Mist Mountains and find our destination, I will explain it to you in detail."

Lant's attention returned to the furnace in front of Xu Wen. His eyes darted around for a moment before landing on Xu Wen's face. He sat down, pulled out a wine flask, and sighed softly, "I've lived over thirty years and seen all kinds of people in the Blood Alliance, but I just can't seem to figure you out, kid..."

The camp fell silent again. Everyone heard Lant talking about Xu Wen and immediately pricked up their ears to listen.

Xu Wen’s eyelids twitched, but he maintained the fire in the furnace. A few seconds later, he unhurriedly picked up a medicinal herb and tossed it in...

"You've been in the school for less than a year, yet you've achieved the level of a four-star high-rank fire mage... two three-star primary contract beasts... both Earth-Emperor and Profound-Heaven level magic were mastered entirely on your own, and even your alchemy has reached the five-star level. In a single year, achieving just one of these would make you an unparalleled genius. Yet all of them have happened to you. Sometimes I really think you aren't a little brat inside, but an old monster."

Xu Wen rolled his eyes at him, but the latter just tilted his head back, gulping down wine and talking nonsense.

*You're the old monster.*

Xu Wen muttered to himself, focusing all his attention on the furnace. He added another four-star magic core: *If I encounter raiders like the 'Evil Owls' again, the contents of this furnace might just come in handy.*

In the camp, the others didn't have much research in alchemy, so they closed their eyes to rest. Only He Chen watched with unblinking eyes, staring nervously at Xu Wen’s movements, his eyes full of horror:

*He's a madman!*

*Refining with several magic cores of different attributes in the furnace at the same time—the medicinal properties are extremely unstable! It’s going to explode!!*

(To be continued)