Chapter 027: An Unexpected Encounter with Lei Lie

Yusha flicked its tail and circled around Shen Duo twice. "Little Duo, where are we going now?"

Shen Duo snorted irritably, but she silently accepted Yusha calling her "Little Duo." In her previous life, only her dearest parents had called her that.

She glanced up at the faint light filtering in through the hole above and asked Yusha, "Can we get out now?"

Yusha followed her gaze to the opening overhead. The tiger grinned, revealing sharp teeth. "That's easy." As he spoke, fiery red flames surged around him, and from within the blaze burst dazzling silver light. Shen Duo instinctively shielded her eyes with her hand. When the brilliance faded, standing on the water before her was a majestic white tiger, enormous and pure, with massive snowy wings. Around its neck hung an ornate collar, engraved with ancient patterns. A thunderous tiger roar echoed, shaking the entire cavern.

Shen Duo swallowed nervously. Yusha had said he was over a hundred years old; seeing him in this form, she finally believed it.

"Yusha, is this your true form?" Shen Duo asked, admiring his powerful new appearance.

Yusha shook his massive head, his voice now deeper and more mature. "No, this is just another mimic form, a level higher than before. I still can't reveal my true body."

Yusha looked so dazzling now, his white fur streaked with black stripes, glossy and radiant, shimmering with a fiery glow. His wings, pure as snow, spanned four or five meters when unfurled.

Seeing Yusha shake his wings, Shen Duo laughed. "Yusha, are we flying out?"

Yusha nodded, glancing around with his dark, alert eyes. "Little Duo, pick all the Water Spirit Flowers by the stones and water's edge and take them with us."

Shen Duo followed his direction. Tiny blue-glowing flowers dotted the water's edge, beautiful as stars. Without asking why, she carefully picked them and placed them in her storage ring. Returning to Yusha, she found him crouched low. "Little Duo, climb onto my back. We're leaving now."

Shen Duo nodded, mounting his broad back. Yusha spread his snowy wings, stirring up a wild wind in the cave.

"Hold tight, Little Duo!" With a nimble twist, Yusha avoided the narrow opening. Shen Duo, enveloped in a glow like red flames, brushed against the cave walls but felt no burning pain as before. In moments, Yusha soared through the exit.

Outside, the world was much as Shen Duo had seen before: a vast lake shrouded in mist, surrounded by lush, vibrant trees, its banks adorned with brilliant, exotic flowers.

Suddenly, a mournful wolf howl echoed from afar. Shen Duo's brows knit in concern. She slid off Yusha's back and ran toward the sound. If she wasn't mistaken, that was the Ironwing Silver Wolf who had brought her here.

As Shen Duo dismounted, Yusha reverted to his small white tiger form; even his fiery aura vanished, making him look just like an ordinary cub. Misty clouds rose beneath his paws, and he matched Shen Duo's pace effortlessly. Suddenly, he spoke gravely, "Little Duo, the Ironwing Silver Wolf is under attack by human illusionists. And these illusionists are at least Sky-level."

Shen Duo pressed her lips together, her face cold and determined. She cautioned Yusha, through their mental link, to stay alert, and the two ran toward the lake's edge. Carefully weaving through fields of wild mustard, Shen Duo parted the brush and saw, in a snowy clearing deep in the forest, several illusionists hovering in the air, joining forces to assault the Ironwing Silver Wolf. Despite being a high-level magical beast, the wolf could not withstand the combined attacks of three or four Sky-level illusionists. Blood stained its mouth and wings, and it staggered, battered and desperate.

Yusha, seeing this, pawed the ground, ready to charge. After all, the Ironwing Silver Wolf had guarded him for years; he could not stand by and watch it killed or captured by humans.

Sensing Yusha's intent, Shen Duo stopped him in time, for she recognized two familiar figures among the attackers: they were none other than Lei Lie, captain of the Blazing Flame Mercenary Group, and Lei Hang's uncle, Lei An.

Lei Lie roared, and after his transformation into the Berserk Magic Bear Armor, unleashed a Sky-level illusion technique, "Bear Explosion," directly at the wolf's head. The Ironwing Silver Wolf, exhausted, failed to dodge. The blow sent it crashing to the ground, whimpering, its legs twitching, unable to rise.

Suddenly, Yusha let out a tiger's roar. In a flash of light, he transformed into his winged flying tiger form and shot toward the Ironwing Silver Wolf. Raising a paw, he hurled a massive ball of red flame, striking Lei An and the other two Sky-level illusionists as they moved to subdue the wolf.

Pain wracked their bodies; their magical beast armor failed instantly. Their illusion beasts whimpered and collapsed, shivering and wounded by the flames.

Lei Lie's eyes widened in shock. "What? Hellfire?"

Magical beast armor was among the strongest, so tough even sharp holy artifacts could not harm the illusionist within. Lei An was a Sky-level illusionist, and his beast, the Golden Ringed Serpent, was a six-star holy illusion beast. Such a powerful pairing, yet they were defeated in a single move. Clearly, this magical beast was terrifying, and most frightening of all—it could wield Hellfire!

On Saint Radiance Continent, flames were ranked from low to high: basic, intermediate, advanced, and a few even beyond that, though they were exceedingly rare. Low-level flames included pale green Clearfire. Intermediate flames featured orange Netherfire. Advanced flames encompassed fiery red Lotus Fire and, of course, Hellfire. Hellfire was not only the best for alchemy, but also a weapon of staggering destructive power. A single spark could destroy even the armor formed by illusion beasts.

Yusha stood guard before the Ironwing Silver Wolf, his white wings beating, sending gusts of fierce wind. Shen Duo hadn't expected Yusha to charge so suddenly. Lei Lie had already assumed a battle stance, ready to unleash another Sky-level illusion skill. Lei Lie was Lei Hang's father; Yusha was her illusion beast companion—she did not want them to fight.

Pulling a longsword from her storage ring, Shen Duo sprinted toward Yusha, mentally urging him not to attack.