God of Illusions

“Do you know why the first thing a magical beast will do after reaching the Emperor Rank is to transform into a human form?” Hu Xian’er asked instead of answering Bai Xiaofei’s question, causing Bai Xiaofei to sink into silence. 

After a short contemplation, he guessed, “To enter human society and learn the things they can’t learn from the magical beasts?”

Bai Xiaofei was speaking softly, as he wasn’t exactly sure himself. The magical beasts had their own society, and the knowledge of human society seemed unnecessary for them.

“That is only one of the reasons, and you are far off from the main reason.” Hu Xian’er took a deep breath as a complicated glint appeared in her eyes. She said, “Even after reaching the Emperor Rank, a magical beast will never be able to change the fact that he is a magical beast. Fact is, magical beasts are not the top living form. Their form is not favored by the heavens. Because of that, the Emperor Rank is the limit of magical beasts. All this will change the moment a magical beast transforms into a human. After transformation, the magical beast will have a chance to break his own shackles, becoming a unique existence that is both human and beast. It is an existence possessing a beast’s power and a human’s boundless potential. It will allow a magical beast to reach the realm he longs for.”

Hu Xian’er paused, a fanatical look appearing in her eyes as she continued, “Moreover, the human lifespan is far longer than a magical beast’s. That was why I had decided to transform even if I have to plunge myself into a crisis.” Hu Xian’er stopped talking and slowly looked at Bai Xiaofei with a blissful smile on her face. “Looks like I made the correct choice, right?”

This time, the smile did not cause Bai Xiaofei to blank out. He was able to catch the hidden meaning in her words.

“What did your clan experience to have forced you to make this choice?” Bai Xiaofei asked. Hu Xian’er immediately sank into silence. A desolate smile formed on her face, and her eyes filled with sorrow and fury.

“The fox clan has been declining for a while, but nobody has ever openly made a move against us. But two days before we met, Kuang Ta came to our place with his subordinates and forced us to become his subsidiary clan. My mother knew what he actually wanted. He wanted me, my sisters, and all the other female foxes to be his toys. Thus, she led a number of our clan members and resisted, but we were too weak and were completely hopeless. That was when my mother decided to explode her magic core.”

At this point, Hu Xian’er’s eyes were red, and tears were trailing down her cheeks. She started choking with emotion.

“But the explosion of my mother alone was not enough to buy us enough time. Thus, our clan members and subordinates exploded their own magic cores one after another…”

Hu Xian’er’s words formed the image of an extremely desperate scene in Bai Xiaofei’s mind, filling his heart with sorrow. Hu Xian’er was still not done with her story.

“Ultimately, we were able to escape, but the explosions had separated me and my other clan members. I tried searching for them, but my form was too conspicuous. That was when I decided to use the secret technique.” Hu Xian’er was gradually regaining her calm. “Right after that, I met you, and you know everything that happened next…”

Hu Xian’er’s emotions were already under control. She gazed at Bai Xiaofei with her eyes still red from crying. One could say that apart from Bai Xiaofei, the current her had nobody else.

“Looks like I have underestimated the severity of the situation…,” Bai Xiaofei said slowly with his brows tightly knitted. At the same time, he reached out and wiped the tear stains from Hu Xian’er’s face with his hand.

“So you still don’t have a concrete plan as to what to do in the future?” Bai Xiaofei asked. The pain on Hu Xian’er’s face deepened.

“Don’t worry. I am all you will ever need. And I am a man of my word. There will be a place for you in this Infinite Mountain Range,” Bai Xiaofei slapped his chest and promised, not giving Hu Xian’er a chance to continue wallowing in sadness.

Hu Xian’er remained in a short silence before her tears turned into laughter. She nodded solemnly. “Um, I trust you!” 

“That’s more like it. The heavens will not forgive you if you don’t smile more after getting a face so pretty you can turn all living beings mad.”

“What should I do now?”

With only the two of them alone, Hu Xian’er was no longer with the confidence she displayed earlier. She seemed to have completely forgotten about the promise she had made Xing, Hong, and the others. Love was indeed something capable of turning someone foolish…

“What else can you do? As you yourself said previously, to become strong as soon as possible. With your current strength, it’s pointless to keep worrying over it. Just work hard to learn everything the academy has to teach. That is your sole task for now.”

Hu Xian’er might be at a loss, but Bai Xiaofei’s thoughts were clear. He would never allow Hu Xian’er to risk her life.

“By the way, what happened to your body? What had you gotten from that Saint Rank magic core? Even now, I still don’t understand how you had defeated the golden wolf,” Bai Xiaofei finally asked the question he wanted to ask a long time ago. Facing this question, a smile formed on Hu Xian’er’s face. This was a topic she was very willing to talk about.

“There is nothing special about my body. Apart from having a magic core, thicker origin energy, and stronger physical flesh, I am no different than an ordinary Transformation Stream puppet master.”

Bai Xiaofei broke out in cold sweat when he heard that.

You call that nothing special? You have enough origin energy to fight several battles in a row without being exhausted during the New Student Tournament, and you are strong enough to send a Monarch Rank magical beast flying with a single slap. If that is nothing special, humans would have conquered the Infinite Mountain Range long ago.

“What’s with your puppets?” Bai Xiaofei suppressed the envy in his heart and asked a different question. Not a single ability Hu Xian’er had revealed was weak. Based on the classification of Transformation Stream puppet masters, her puppet abilities were definitely from the Phantom Fox. But it was impossible that Hu Xian’er would actually slaughter a fox for puppet abilities.

“Those are abilities I gain automatically. The moment I fulfill the requirement, I will regain a part of my original strength, and at the same time, I will obtain an ability of the equivalent strength.”

Bai Xiaofei sighed. She made everything sound so simple…

“What about the Saint Rank magic core? What did it give you?” Bai Xiaofei asked and swallowed. With so many powerful magical beasts fighting over it, that magic core was definitely not a simple item. He had personally witnessed Hu Xian’er’s shocking performance of crushing a Monarch Rank magical beast that was far above her rank. What ability exactly had she gotten from that magic core?