Chapter Twenty-One: Warning You, Little Miss (Vote Requested)

Last night, I dreamed of being first, then woke up in a panic.

———

After eliminating the black jackal and resuming his journey, Xu Wen gradually put away his earlier lightheartedness. He cautiously summoned the "Flame Shield," sixteen blazing tongues of pure fire element unfurling from behind the round shield like octopus tentacles. They wove together deftly, intertwining and tightening, clinging closely to the shield's surface. It resembled a finely crafted tapestry of fire, compact and sturdy.

Xu Wen cast a satisfied glance at his handiwork and continued forward.

A high-tier, two-star "Flame Shield"!

Unlike the one Xie Zhan had previously wielded, Xu Wen infused his shield with a structural change, enhancing its defense to withstand more frequent and forceful impacts. The price: the user must continuously channel mental energy to maintain it.

Such a modification was not something a two-star fire mage would dare employ in battle, for the constant drain of magic would greatly shorten combat endurance and hasten depletion. Only three-star fire mages usually risked it. But for Xu Wen, who possessed a violet jade pendant and a storage pouch filled with more than a dozen bottles of invigorating pills, this expenditure of mental energy was a trifling matter.

With this advanced "Flame Shield," Xu Wen's aura grew markedly stronger. Now, when confronted by a one-star magical beast, the creature would wisely choose to avoid him.

Yet to two-star beasts, the modest shield remained unimpressive.

A low growl, a surge of magical energy rippled from behind.

Xu Wen reacted almost instantly, spinning around to intercept a wind blade whose speed was hardly remarkable.

Hiss!

The wind blade sliced a gash across the surface of the Flame Shield...

Xu Wen, without needing to look down, knew the shield itself was undamaged—the cut was only in the flame.

He fixed his gaze on the magical beast sauntering out from the side and rear, a slight frown on his brow.

“So, even among magical beasts, there are those with arrogant personalities who look down on others,” he thought. The ambush was brazen, blocking him from behind...

With a thought, the broken web of flames at the shield’s breach billowed and flickered, the tentacle-like strands deftly touching and entwining, swiftly merging, restoring the shield’s integrity.

Meanwhile, Xu Wen murmured softly, and with the aid of his elemental vortex, fire elements gathered at twice their usual speed.

This scene was immediately noticed by the beast opposite him.

"Roar."

The beast leapt from the shadows, crouching low. Two snowy tails swayed seductively behind it, and a pair of emerald eyes narrowed, staring coldly at the flaming arrow materializing beside Xu Wen. Clearly, it sensed danger.

The wind fox’s guarded posture made Xu Wen frown anew.

As expected of a fox-type magical beast. Had it chosen to attack, it would have been blasted even farther away... At this distance, the "Flaming Arrow" would not seriously harm a magical martial wind fox.

Still...

"Making this wind fox put away its arrogance is satisfying in itself," he mused.

Without hesitation, Xu Wen darted forward, bringing the flaming arrow with him, actively charging at the magical-martial wind fox.

"Mm!"

The wind fox clearly struggled to adapt from hunter to prey. It threw back its head in a howl, sinking its sharp claws deep into the earth.

Xu Wen’s eyes lit up: now was the moment!

Boom!

The tail of the flaming arrow erupted with a powerful blast, launching it like a rocket.

At the same instant, air currents surged around the wind fox, forming a swirling, tangible cone of wind. Centered on the fox, it expanded rapidly, meeting the blazing arrow head-on.

Bang!

The rocket-like "Flaming Arrow" crashed into the whirlwind as if striking a high-speed blower. With a muffled thud, searing flames scattered like meteors, while the wind fox’s whirlwind spell was shattered, dissipating, revealing the beast’s scorched fur.

Clearly, while the whirlwind spell had neutralized the arrow, it had not done so completely.

In this first direct clash, Xu Wen gained a slight advantage!

Outmatched in magical exchange, the wind fox immediately shed its earlier contempt. Realizing it could not win with magic, it shifted to close combat.

The speed of wind-type magical beasts was beyond question; in the blink of an eye, it closed the distance to a perilous range!

Xu Wen was no novice, well prepared for dealing with magical martial beasts.

After unleashing the "Flaming Arrow," he remained vigilant. As the wind fox approached, a thirty-centimeter giant fireball appeared in his hand with a whoosh. Its dazzling brilliance and immense heat startled the leaping wind fox, whose eyes flashed with terror. Unable to stop, it managed only a terrified roar before the fireball left Xu Wen’s hand, swelling as it rolled forward like a prehistoric snowball, engulfing the wind fox entirely.

Within the blazing inferno, the wind fox’s anguished howls resounded, growing ever more distant as the fireball rolled on...

After fifty meters, the fireball finally vanished, leaving the wind fox limp, barely alive, lying where the fireball disappeared, seemingly dead.

Small wonder—struck at such close range, as though hit by ten consecutive two-star low-level spells, survival was miraculous, but serious injury inevitable.

“Beautiful!”

Just then, applause and admiration rang out from the forest ahead.

“Are you a disciple of the Seventh Alchemy Peak or the Seventh Forging Peak?” As he asked, it was clear they belonged to the Sixth Alchemy Peak.

Xu Wen’s brow furrowed. He ignored the three men and two women emerging from the darkness, their tone pompous, and instead advanced toward the wind fox, "lifting" his "Flame Blade."

Whoosh!

A projectile broke the air. Xu Wen, without looking up, raised his shield to meet it, the fireball shattering.

Though the Flame Shield was unharmed, the attack succeeded in halting Xu Wen’s advance. He raised his eyes, silently, to the brown-haired girl who had launched the fireball.

“Hey! Don’t you know it’s rude not to answer when someone asks you a question?” the girl demanded, her gaze fixed on the Flame Shield, seemingly surprised.

Realizing he was dealing with a group of undisciplined registered disciples, Xu Wen could no longer ignore them. While keeping a close eye on the wind fox, he warned them sternly:

“Didn’t your master ever tell you that barging in during someone’s battle and launching magic without warning is clearly an aggressive act?”

“Heh, don’t misunderstand. We just wanted to get acquainted, nothing more.” The blue-eyed boy, refined and aristocratic, spoke with the same pompous tone as before. He looked to be around fourteen, yet insisted on speaking like an adult, which grated on Xu Wen. He waved dismissively, “Misunderstanding or not, let’s talk after I finish with the wind fox. But I warn you, girl, don’t go tossing ‘things’ at people so casually. The consequences of unnecessary misunderstandings can be severe!”

“You…” The brown-haired girl flushed angrily, but recalling Xu Wen’s elemental vortex and his two-star, seventh-tier power, she merely huffed and turned away.

Barely half a second passed before she glanced back, compelled by curiosity, her eyes still fixed on Xu Wen.

“Go!”

With a thought, Xu Wen wielded the Flame Blade, sending it shooting forward.

At that moment, the wind fox, lying motionless for over twenty seconds, suddenly rolled aside, deftly avoiding the attack as the Flame Blade struck the earth.

Whoosh!

The cunning wind fox, feigning death to dodge Xu Wen’s assault, swiftly leapt up, its charred paws slashing at the enemy who had left it in such a sorry state.

So swift was the change that all six present were taken aback, even Xu Wen. He hadn’t expected the wind fox, battered by the fireball, to muster such astonishing fighting strength.

He cursed his own carelessness and blamed the five interlopers—had it not been for that fireball, his attention wouldn’t have been divided.

“I’ll have to use that move!”

With matters urgent, there was no time for further deliberation or incantation. Xu Wen raised his round shield, the fiery "Flame Shield" meeting the wind fox’s descending attack.

“Careful!”

“Get out of the way!!”

Seeing Xu Wen’s hasty defense, the five onlookers shouted in alarm, instinctively averting their eyes, unable to bear watching his impending fate.

The wind fox, a two-star mid-tier magical beast, possessed not only formidable close-combat prowess and speed, but also wind magic. For a fire mage to attempt to block its melee assault with a single-direction defensive spell like "Flame Shield" would be a fatal mistake!

The wind fox’s charge could easily send his shield flying, and its wind blades could tear through any unprotected head or neck.

If Xu Wen died beneath its claws, the five would carry guilt for life!

Yet…

As the five began low incantations, preparing magical rescue, the expected scene of Xu Wen being struck down did not occur. Instead, the wind fox, poised for a thunderous blow, let out a wretched, panicked howl as dozens of serpent-like tongues of fire from Xu Wen’s shield snaked out, binding it in midair!

Boom!!

With a resounding crash, the wind fox slammed heavily into the ground several meters from Xu Wen.

Before the beast could break free, Xu Wen swiftly slid back two steps, and with a seemingly casual wave of his sleeve, a scattering of white fire phosphorus powder drifted toward the fallen wind fox...