God of Illusions

Bai Xiaofei sat cross-legged before the two large pythons. Huskie sat to his left, and Blackie was sprawled over his right shoulder. He suddenly felt that he may be more suited to be a beast tamer than to be a puppet master.

“Alright, now tell me what’s troubling you.” Bai Xiaofei took a deep breath and braced himself for what the “trial” fate had in store for him.

“We are being hunted…” Xing said, stunning Bai Xiaofei.

Holy shit, the two of you are already powerful enough. Yet you’re actually being hunted?

“By who?”

Bewilderment covered Bai Xiaofei’s face, and a sense of expectation surfaced within him. If the hunter is a human…

“A mutated Heart Devourer.”

Fine, my beautiful dream is shattered. The enemy is not a human… This was Bai Xiaofei’s initial reaction, followed immediately by extreme shock.

“Heart Devourer?!!!” he shrieked. If he wasn’t seated cross-legged at the moment, he would have also leapt up in surprise.

The so-called Heart Devourer was one of the rare magical beasts that did not have a fixed rank. Their strength depended on the prey they ate. Heart Devourers only had one inborn ability: Devour. Regardless of the prey and so long as the Heart Devourer ate the heart of its victim, it could inherit one of the prey's abilities. The heart was the fountain of life. Once consumed, the rank of the Heart Devourer would grow as well.

For humans, the Heart Devourer was both a disaster and a source of wealth. A Heart Devourer, once mature,  was almost undefeatable when up against other beasts of the same rank. After all, one wouldn’t even know the abilities possessed by that particular Heart Devourer, so there was no way of planning countermeasures for it. The Heart Devourer, on the other hand, would have an eighty percent chance of finding an ability to counter its opponent after exchanging a couple blows.

Historically, there was indeed an incident where a Heart Devourer had wantonly slaughtered puppet masters. Ultimately, several big shots had to join hands in order to exterminate it. Similarly, the inborn ability Devour allowed the Heart Devourer to have unlimited abilities. After all, the Heart Devourer would gain the abilities of all the beasts it ate. Therefore, any masters who had the capabilities of turning it into their own animate puppet would benefit immensely.

Of course, this was just a theory, and it had never happened before. The mere thought of such a possibility, however, was enough to make one’s hair stand on end. It was a temptation nobody could resist. With such great power, one would be able to achieve the unimaginable.

This was why, when Bai Xiaofei heard the words “Heart Devourer”, he felt like he was already as good as halfway through the gates of hell.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” Xing asked gloomily. Bai Xiaofei immediately shifted his expression back to normal.

“It’s nothing. I was just a little surprised, that’s all. I never expected your enemy to be a Heart Devourer.”

Wiping away his cold sweat, Bai Xiaofei was feeling extremely bitter.

The saying “no matter what, death is the result” perfectly describes my current situation.

“This isn’t just a normal Heart Devourer. Rather, it is a mutated Heart Devourer,” Xing emphasized, as if he would have no trouble dealing with a regular Heart Devourer.

Bai Xiaofei slightly blanked out then asked, “Mutated? What mutation could a Heart Devourer have?”

A regular Heart Devourer was already a cheat-like existence in and of itself. Even after a great mutation, it would still be a cheat!

“For some reason, this Heart Devourer can’t be killed. I once hit him with my Light of Obliteration  and even blasted away half his head. Shortly after I left, his wounds completely healed, and he chased after us. What’s more, he became even stronger after recovering!

“Ever since then we’ve been on the run. If it weren’t for the fact we were out of options, we would never have used Hong’s ability to take on the appearance of a low rank magical beast like the Goldsilver Twin-headed Python.”

Looking dejected, Xing sighed. It was an absolute disgrace for a magical beast to fear revealing its true form. Xing’s words did not dishearten Bai Xiaofei. Rather, they had given him a glimmer of hope.

“You mean your Light of Obliteration is capable of damaging him?”

The most hopeless situation wasn’t when an opponent couldn’t be defeated, it was when one couldn’t even harm a hair on an opponent who could easily dish out heavy damage.

“Yes, it can. However, he has been wary of me ever since I had severely injured him. On top of that, he has countless acceleration-based abilities. His speed is too fast for me. I can't even catch up to him...” Xing grumbled and looked straight at Bai Xiaofei. “Why? Have you thought of a way to deal with him?”

Rather than replying, Bai Xiaofei sank deep into contemplation. “I do have an idea. But whether it will work will depend on how well the two of you understand him.”

Flashing a smile, Bai Xiaofei returned to his old self.

…

Meanwhile, the Savage Class students had just regrouped at the Starnet Academy. They were currently in chaos, each of them akin to a cat on a hot tin roof. They had no idea what to do.

“It’s Big Sister Xue! She’s back!” Mo Ka shouted, and everyone looked over.

Xue Ying’s return put all of their minds at ease. They surrounded her excitedly, and everyone started speaking at the same time:

“Big Sister Xue, what’s going on? What’s up with that twin-headed python?”

“Yeah, that beast wasn’t easy to deal with, right?”

“…”

It wasn’t until Lin Li asked one question that everyone fell silent: “Where is Bai Xiaofei?”

Xue Ying looked at Lin Li then slowly lowered her head.

“What we encountered wasn’t a Goldsilver Twin-headed Python. Rather, it was a Lunapython and Ruindemon Flood Dragon in disguise. Bai Xiaofei is currently negotiating with them. I don't know the specifics…”

The more she talked, the lower her voice became. Everyone in the Savage Class blanked out when they heard her.

Negotiating… Negotiating with magical beasts? No matter how we look at it, this just doesn’t seem possible...

“Lin Li, where are you going?” Xue Ying yelled as she pulled Lin Li back. Lin Li was about to dash towards the Infinite Mountain Range.

“Since you don’t dare to go save him, I will.”

It was the first time Lin Li behaved so coldly towards Xue Ying. She was also the first person in the Savage class to act this way towards Xue Ying.

“You think I’m here because I’m afraid of death? Do you not know me? Or do you not know what Bai Xiaofei is like?”

Everyone lowered their heads when they heard this. Even Lin Li stopped struggling so much. No further explanation was required. If Xue Ying had intended to flee by herself, she wouldn’t have returned so late. The injuries she had sustained to previously protect them was already proof of her character. After thinking about it carefully, everyone was able to roughly guess what had happened.

If they had to pick one person who was the most prone to over-exerting himself among the Savage Class students, it would be Bai Xiaofei. Last time when Xue Ying was severely injured, Bai Xiaofei didn't eat for two days straight.

Some things did not happen for no reason.

“Then what should I do? I don’t want him to die!” Tears started flowing uncontrollably from Lin Li’s eyes as she threw herself into Xue Ying’s arms. A mournful atmosphere lingered in the air.

“I will go look for the principal. He is our only hope!” Xue Ying said with a resolute glint in her eyes.

Thank you for risking death for my sake. Now, it is my turn to repay you!