An hour later, Xu Zhaotin and I were already flying on a plane to the city of Yueyang. Why a plane? Yes, because it's faster. I'm not sure if the guardian team is anywhere near the city or not, and also how quickly Zhang Rou will report my movements, but it's better to hurry so that when the guardians arrive, we'll be "going to survive on the lake," or maybe even "going to Hong Kong for a vacation."
"So, how was your duel with Mo Fan?" I asked Xu Zhaotin. "Who won?"
"A mid-level mage is very strong, especially Mo Fan, who has two elements," he replied, recalling what happened. "I lasted about ten minutes against him. He used the fire fist a couple of times, and mostly used initial-level third-stage magic. However, the stamina of mid-level mages is much higher than that of initial-level mages. But I think you would have won in your confrontation."
"Really?" I asked, analyzing his words. Xu Zhaotin is definitely stronger than in the original, managing to hold out against Mo Fan, a mid-level mage with two elements, for ten minutes. However, Mo Fan would also think that an initial-level mage could last so long against him, especially a mage he knew and had almost written off. "Why do you think so?"
"I'm not sure, I just have a feeling," he replied, shrugging. "You are also a mid-level mage. Besides, it will be easy for you to dodge his attacks; they are quite predictable. You are a wind mage, and you have mastered wind step to such a level that you can kill a weak or medium servant with a dagger, and even wound none other than a three-eyed wolf! And it's a pack leader! Plus, you have the lightning element. I'm sure you've already mastered all seven stars," he said thoughtfully.
"Seriously, you think so?" I asked, surprised by his reasoning, and also noting that Mo Fan's combat skills left much to be desired. "Sorry, but I won't live up to your trust. I've only mastered six stars of lightning," I replied, revealing a bit of my cultivation. I had told Mo Fan that I had only mastered three stars of lightning. However, if I truly used all my capabilities, I could probably defeat Mo Fan easily.
"I understand, but I'm still confident in your victory. A person who fought the leader can't lose to someone who is just good at cultivation. Combat skills are important, not just elemental development," Xu Zhao Ting concluded. It was surprising that in just two and a half months, he understood this and excelled in practice, judging by his fights with wolves. Mo Fan still had to learn this better and develop his combat skills.
After several hours of flight, we arrived in Yueyang. Immediately after landing, we headed to the Hunter's League building. My biggest fear was that the Guardians might find out earlier that we were going on a survival mission to Dongting Lake. If they detected where we were going after receiving the mission, my entire plan would go to hell! Fortunately, I didn't notice anyone following us, but perhaps no one expected us right at the airport and would only come after our visit to the league. We reached the league building in about twenty minutes and approached a free reception window.
"Hello, how can I help you?" a cute consultant girl asked us.
"We're here to mark the start of the survival mission," I quickly replied, handing her a prepared contract.
"Okay, one moment," she replied, transferring the data to the computer and checking off places in the contract. "Here, both of you sign." She said, returning the contract to us. I practically snatched the contract from her hands and quickly signed in all the places, then handed it to Xu Zhao Ting, who took it with surprise and also signed quickly. "Thank you, just a little more, I'll make a copy," she said, copying the contract. "Alright, you can go." the girl said, returning the original contract to us.
"Thank you," I said and immediately headed for the exit.
"You seem a bit nervous," Xu Zhao Ting asked, following me.
"Yeah, just like that," I replied, leaving the league building and heading straight for the airport. The ticket for the flight to Huzhou had already been purchased.
Walking down the street, I tried to act as naturally as possible, gradually returning to my normal pace. But soon I noticed a man following us, wearing a tracksuit and a cap. To make sure he was following us specifically, I started weaving through the streets, gradually entering courtyards. He followed us at some distance. I felt he was a mid-level mage, close to the peak.
"Jiaxing Yun, what's going on?" Xu Zhao Ting asked, unable to hold back.
"Huh?" I feigned surprise. "You go to the airport, I just remembered I wanted to stop by somewhere," I tried to send him away.
"Is everything really okay? You're acting quite strangely, going into courtyards?" he asked, resisting my persuasion.
"No, everything's fine, go," I said, stopping and pushing him forward.
"Alright, I'll be waiting for you in the waiting hall, don't be late," he said with suspicion in his voice and gaze.
"Yes, of course, I just want to see something, near the border of the safe zone," I said, escorting him. As soon as he disappeared around the corner, I headed in the other direction, quickening my pace, moving as far away from the city center as possible and as close to the border of the safe zone as possible.
"And where are you going, my dear?" the man who was following me asked, appearing in front of me. "You're clearly not familiar with the local layout," he chuckled.
"And who said I was trying to run from you?" I asked, also chuckling, while planning my actions. My daggers were in my backpack, on the side and on top of other things. I need to leave the heavy backpack and get the daggers out. Also, I think someone is watching both of us from around the corner, trying to hide their presence.
"Ha, a little flea, who has gotten too big for the great lineage of Guardians, thinks she can defeat me? A third-stage lightning mage?" the man continued to chuckle, slowly and steadily creating a star chart. Well done, you revealed the cultivation of your main element, thank you.
"Oh? And which of the great lineages do you belong to?" I asked, also with a smile. "There are many of you, aren't there?"
"Our lineage is one of a kind!" he roared, greatly angered by my words.
He was about to unleash a mid-level third-stage lightning spell, but I was faster. There's no point in talking to an opponent. A whirlwind of wind blades surrounded him, rapidly constricting and attacking a single point. To defend against this magic, he had to urgently interrupt his spell and activate his armor, which showed noticeable traces from the blades. Meanwhile, I jumped aside, as far as possible, quickly took off my backpack and took out my daggers, creating a star path of wind, the very one that Pin Zhou Lun showed, rushing directly at the mage who had just freed himself from my spell. However, it was not destined for me to win so easily. After all, the opponent was a mid-level mage at his peak. He almost instantly created a lightning wrath, from which I barely dodged in flight, thanks to the spell's properties.
"You're quite good, kid, you even have ancient knowledge, though it's unclear where from," the man chuckled. So ancient knowledge is the way to create various spells, it's getting more and more interesting. "Well, I also possess one such knowledge, stone cage!" he said the name of the magic, and four stone pillars grew around the place where I landed. A second later, bars appeared from the pillars, blocking all directions, including upwards, creating a cage of stone. The spell exuded third-stage earth magic. Fortunately for me, this mage hadn't broken through to the mid-level in it yet, I was almost sure of that. "Well, will you run again or give me the dragon's tooth?"
"You think such a little cage will hold me?" I asked with a skeptical smirk, simultaneously arranging fourteen wind stars into two star paths of wind blades. I learned this trick not so long ago, so it took a couple of seconds to complete.
"You're still thinking of resisting, huh?" he chuckled again, pointing his hand at me. "My cage can also shrink, you know," he said, clenching his fists, and the cage, responding to his gesture, began to shrink.
However, my magic was ready. Two streams of wind energy passed through my arms to the daggers. I swung one arm behind my back, and the other pressed to my chest, then sharply spun forward, rushing at the mage. Wind blades flew from the daggers, spinning around my axis, creating a spreading circle that demolished the cage and turned it into mere pieces of stone. I was lucky to possess a secondary spiritual seed of wind, otherwise I wouldn't have broken through this cage.
"Huh? Trying to break free again?" the mage raised an eyebrow, pointing lightning wrath at me. Only this time I only shifted slightly to the left, sending my lightning wrath to suppress it with my right hand.
From the clash of our spells, a shockwave appeared, which pushed me slightly back and further to the side. However, I was prepared for this and moved towards the opponent in an arc. He, in addition to the shockwave, received a small electric discharge, which cracked his armor even more and began to fall apart slowly. My spell, amplified two and a half times by the spiritual seed, naturally could overcome his magic and inflict damage on him. From the shockwave, the mage took a couple of steps back and for a fraction of a second, due to surprise, lost track of what was happening.
I had enough of those fractions of a second to approach him, using the third stage of wind step and decapitate the distracted enemy. Surprise was frozen on his face forever. I then stood up and caught my breath. Such a complex spell in execution can exhaust anyone. But a very reasonable question arose: what to do with his body? If I left it, the magic court would look for me. So, we are near the border of the safe zone. I think if I leave a lure here, everything should be fine. I hope the beasts appear here faster than the authorities.
Returning to my backpack, I quickly changed my blood-stained clothes for clean ones. I'll have to destroy them later. I also took out a lure; now I only have three left. Approaching the decapitated corpse, I placed the partially opened lure in his pocket. I wasn't afraid of being found by it, as I had previously wiped the box with a sterilizing wipe. After all the manipulations, I hurried to disappear. Twenty minutes later, I was at the airport and found Xu Zhao Ting.
"So, what did you want to see?" he asked seriously when I approached him.
"Oh, just a place, it turned out not to be what I thought," I said, shrugging.
"Really, and what place?" he asked, looking at me suspiciously. Did I really slip up that badly?
"I heard that you can easily encounter monsters on the border of the safe zone here, so I decided to check it out. It turned out to be a lie," I said, sitting down next to him with an indifferent look, waiting for the plane.
"I see, I just thought you were dealing with that guy who was following us," he said, shrugging and sitting next to me. "You know who it was, right?"