Chapter 50: The Continent’s Supreme Prodigy, Part 2

Benwing leapt and landed in front of Shen Duo. Shen Duo and Yu Sha exchanged a glance and jumped onto his back. Benwing spread his enormous wings and soared into the sky, forming a standoff with the man standing atop the eight-headed giant serpent.

Under the silver-white moonlight, one side was the ferocious eight-headed serpent, the other the majestic Ironwing Silver Wolf. Such a powerful confrontation sent the blood of the onlookers in the small town surging with excitement.

A clash between the strong always offers some insights; some with keen perception might even break through to a new level just by watching a powerful duel.

A flicker of surprise flashed in the eyes of the man atop the serpent—could the young woman before him also be an Illusionist?

The night wind swept through Shen Duo’s long ponytail, her black robe fluttering in the darkness. She fixed her gaze on the man opposite her, but her perpetually tense face suddenly broke into a smile. Not only did she not show fear, but meeting a worthy opponent made her even more confident.

Through mental communication, she ordered Benwing to begin the battle. Shen Duo rapidly summoned her sword energy, and the long sword in her hand shimmered with brilliant green light in the black night. Benwing whirled around, diving straight at the eight-headed serpent, the wind roaring past her ears. The glow of her sword grew ever brighter.

The young man’s lips curled into a deeper smile, and a serious light finally appeared in his narrow eyes. As Benwing charged, the eight-headed serpent took turns striking with its massive heads. Yet, despite Benwing’s huge size, he moved with agility, evading each attack with ease.

As they drew closer to the young man, Benwing folded his wings, let out a mighty wolf’s roar, and tens of thousands of coldly gleaming steel needles shot toward the young man. The density was such that escape was impossible, and the tips of those needles glowed with a strange green light—it was obvious they were laced with deadly poison!

Someone in the crowd below screamed, “That’s the Ironwing Silver Light, the ultimate move of the Sacred Illusion Beast Ironwing Silver Wolf!”

An ordinary person would have been turned into a beehive by such an attack.

However, at that moment, a pentagram flashed atop the eight-headed serpent’s heads, and in the blink of an eye, the giant serpent vanished without a trace. Only a faint blue-glowing point remained in the air, which quickly grew in size to reveal a striking young man dressed in cool black battle armor and with long dark blue hair. Not a single steel needle from Benwing had touched him—he was completely unharmed!

Shen Duo even sensed the young man giving her a wicked little smile.

“He’s in Armor Fusion state! Wow, that’s amazing!”…

The crowd below was in an uproar. The Armor Fusion state is a combat form unique to Sky Illusionists and above, allowing the Illusion Beast to become the Illusionist’s armor, merging them into one to fight together. With Armor Fusion, the Illusionist can unleash the Illusion Beast’s ultimate skills; it’s a coveted combat method for every Illusionist!

“Xiao Duo, don’t underestimate this man. He’s just advanced to Sky Illusionist and can already grasp the Armor Fusion state—he’s a true powerhouse!” Benwing’s words came through their mental link.

Ordinarily, after advancing, one needs time to stabilize their strength. Mastering the Armor Fusion of a Sky Illusionist requires repeated practice with one’s contracted Illusion Beast. For this man to wield his newfound abilities with such ease right after advancing—it was truly daunting.

Shen Duo nodded secretly and suddenly began to swing her long sword. Sword light flashed chaotically in the void as if ten thousand blades were being swung at once. The green radiance dazzled the eyes.

The young man was startled and retreated step by step. Shen Duo leapt into the air, and just as the tip of her sword pointed at him, it twisted into a strange arc, aiming at a specific spot on his armor.

The young man, who had been dodging left and right, suddenly froze in midair. With a beautiful backflip, Shen Duo was caught by the soaring Ironwing Silver Wolf.

Standing on its back, she looked down at the young man, the corner of her cold little mouth lifting slightly. Her face, half-hidden in shadow, exuded a chilling aura.

The sword technique just now was another Xuan-level skill from the old man’s scroll, called “Windrending Strike.” It unleashed an infinite flurry of attacks at lightning speed, but Shen Duo not only used Windrending Strike—she added a final, decisive blow at the end. In other words, all those dazzling attacks were feints; only the last strike was the true, heavy hit!

A pale blue light suddenly flickered from the young man’s body, and a thunderous crash echoed as something heavy hit the ground. The next moment, an astonishing scene unfolded: the eight-headed serpent was writhing in pain on the ground.

The young man hung suspended in the air, his Armor Fusion state gone, and looked at Shen Duo with reproach in his narrow eyes. At this moment, Yu Sha suddenly dove toward the ground, gathering spiritual energy to unleash a fire attack on the serpent!

Yu Sha’s entire body turned crimson, a layer of orange flames burning around the small white tiger. As it approached the eight-headed serpent, an overwhelming pressure seemed to paralyze all eight heads with fear; pain forgotten, their eyes filled with terror. Yu Sha opened its mouth to breathe fire, and the young man, seeing this, hurried to stop it in alarm.

Shen Duo sighed helplessly. “Yu Sha, come back!”

The “Hellfire” stuck in Yu Sha’s throat was swallowed back. Unhappy, Yu Sha glared fiercely at the serpent twice but obediently stopped, flying to Shen Duo’s side as Benwing carried her to the ground and shifted into the form of a normal white wolf.

No one in the crowd expected the battle to end like this; they stood there dazed, unable to react. The young man glanced at them, and they quickly dispersed. Who would dare provoke such a powerful Sky Illusionist? Many itinerant Illusionists, inspired by the battle, rushed off to find a quiet place to reflect and cultivate.

Shen Duo put away her sword and walked to the young man, thanking him politely, “Thank you for your guidance.” She could tell he hadn’t fought with his full strength; that was why she stopped Yu Sha.

The young man stiffened, then snorted coldly. The eight-headed serpent shimmered and transformed into a small blue snake, which crawled onto his arm. The little snake, with its big, tear-filled eyes, looked both pitiful and adorable. It glanced timidly at Yu Sha on Shen Duo’s shoulder, then buried its head in the young man’s palm in fright.

Shen Duo was at a loss—who would guess that such a cute form belonged to the mighty eight-headed serpent? Really, are the more powerful Illusion Beasts cuter in their alternate forms?

The young man hadn’t expected Shen Duo to be so serious. He turned, glanced at Yu Sha, then said coolly, “Impressive strength.”

Yu Sha bristled with anger. “Xiao Duo, don’t stop me. Let me burn him and that snake to cinders!”

Shen Duo shot Yu Sha a warning look and apologized to the young man, “Sorry, my Illusion Beast was out of line just now.” A duel is a duel; even if this man was a bit arrogant, Yu Sha shouldn’t have tried to kill.

The young man looked at the girl before him in black, her eyes clear and a hint of apology on her small face. He coughed lightly. “My name is Feng Jun.”

Uh… Shen Duo was taken aback, then smiled. “Hello, Feng Jun. My name is Shen Duo!” Though she was a direct descendant of the Shen family and often mocked as the “Useless Ninth Miss,” this was the Barkra Empire, the vast and boundless Saint Radiance Continent. No one here knew her past; she had no need to hide her name.

Perhaps this was the start of a friendship born from battle; Shen Duo had unexpectedly met Feng Jun.

Feng Jun stared at her face for a long time before giving a bored snort.

Shen Duo asked curiously, “Feng Jun, is something wrong with my face?”

“Nothing,” a faint trace of disappointment flickered across Feng Jun’s handsome, aloof face.

When the two reached the inn, they broke into a cold sweat—the second floor had collapsed and was unrecognizable. The innkeeper, seeing the culprits, wept silently, biting a small handkerchief. How could he dare ask for compensation from such terrifyingly powerful guests? But if he couldn’t, how would he support his family?

The innkeeper cast pitiful glances at them. Feng Jun frowned and pointed at Shen Duo without hesitation, “Ask her.”

What! She wasn’t the only one responsible for the destruction.

Then Feng Jun whispered in Shen Duo’s ear, “I have no money.”

Shen Duo’s mouth twitched. Unable to stand the scene, she resigned herself to compensating the innkeeper. But the inn was now a ruin, unfit for lodging. When they tried to find another place, they were refused everywhere. Who would dare take in these two destroyers?

Left with no choice, Shen Duo set up a simple tent on an open patch of ground, took out some food and drinks from her storage ring, and prepared to rest—she had already agreed to travel with Connie the next day.

Feng Jun followed and sat at a distance, occasionally casting cold glances their way. The blue snake, in its adorable form, stared longingly at the rhino jerky in Shen Duo’s hand with big, watery eyes. Under such an intense, bizarre stare, Shen Duo lost her appetite.

She had no choice but to ask, “Feng Jun, would you like some?”

With a huff, Feng Jun slowly walked over, took a piece of jerky, and chewed it with relish. The little blue snake clutched a piece as well, happily gnawing.

Though Feng Jun ate elegantly, he didn’t eat lightly. In the end, Shen Duo, Yu Sha, and Benwing could only watch as one man and one beast devoured their meal.

“Uh… there’s some nectar here.” Shen Duo kindly handed Feng Jun a bottle, which he finished in one gulp. Looking at the empty plates and at Feng Jun wiping his mouth, Shen Duo was speechless.

The blue snake, its belly round, wriggled contentedly on the ground.

How long had it been since they’d had a proper meal?

Feng Jun stood, looked down at Shen Duo with an air of superiority, squeezed out a reluctant “Thank you for the meal,” beckoned the little snake, and walked off. The snake trailed after him, not forgetting to glance longingly at the plates.

“At this rate, we’ll be eaten into poverty!” Yu Sha wailed indignantly. “Xiao Duo, that wretch drinks nectar better than I do!”

“Alright, alright, it was just one meal.” Shen Duo soothed Yu Sha and went into the tent. Silver moonlight shone in from outside, and she suddenly found Feng Jun’s name familiar. Searching her memory, she finally remembered—the continent’s number one prodigy was also named Feng Jun!

If Feng Jun knew how slow she was to realize this, he’d probably cough up blood…