Chapter 143: Usurping the Nest

Chapter 143: The Dove Occupies the Magpie's Nest

Boom!

An explosion erupted in the woods nearby, sending a thick plume of smoke spiraling into the sky.

Li Wei looked up, curious about what had happened. After a moment’s hesitation, he began walking toward the source.

Shadow Guard led the way, while Li Wei followed behind, cloaked in invisibility.

Soon, he reached the place where the smoke billowed upward.

A mage was locked in battle with a magical beast.

The man had been unlucky—no sooner had he landed than he encountered the beast, and combat had flared instantly.

Li Wei crouched behind a massive tree, peering forward.

He recognized the fire mage from yesterday—the one who had summoned a fire elemental spirit.

His opponent was a Great Steel-Fang Boar, a monstrous wild hog.

"Fire Elemental Spirit, heed my call! Appear!"

The fire mage summoned his spirit ally.

The elemental clashed fiercely with the boar, which, overpowered, turned to flee.

"Blazing Surge!"

A torrent of flame surged forth, engulfing the beast.

The Great Steel-Fang Boar shrieked in agony, its body alight as it staggered forward several meters before collapsing.

Badly wounded, it lay on the ground, barely breathing.

The mage approached and finished it with a single fireball spell.

Just as he turned to leave,

a magical card shimmered into view above the corpse.

The fire mage picked it up, surprise flickering across his face.

"My first magic card."

Hidden in the shadows, Li Wei’s expression shifted slightly.

"So the magic cards are hidden within the beasts?"

The mage glanced at the burning trees around him, indifferent, then walked away.

Li Wei frowned. "Doesn’t he fear setting the forest ablaze?"

But since the man himself didn’t care, Li Wei saw no reason to intervene.

He turned and left.

Moments later, a small raincloud appeared above the flames, drizzling gently until the fire was extinguished.

Curiously, the cloud was tiny—just large enough to cover the scorched area.

"Hmm? Mountain pears?"

Li Wei noticed some fruit nearby.

He took a bite—edible. So he gathered a few and tucked them into the pocket of his invisible cloak.

With these, at least for now, he wouldn’t need to worry about food or water.

Relieved, Li Wei resumed his search for a campsite.

It was still early. He wasn’t in a rush to collect magic cards.

In the coming days, he could simply seize a few from others and still rank among the top ten.

For now, he needed a secluded spot to cultivate in peace.

He glanced up at the sky, sensing someone watching.

Lowering his gaze, he thought: *Better find a cave.*

He didn’t want an audience during cultivation.

Decided, he began climbing the mountain.

"Awooo!"

An Azure Wolf magical beast spotted him and lunged.

A dark blur shot forward.

"Shadow Claw!"

Riiip!

The wolf collapsed, its belly torn open, entrails spilling onto the earth.

A mere first-rank beast—no match for Shadow Guard.

One strike, and it was dead.

Li Wei glanced at the corpse—no magic card. A flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes.

"Not every beast carries a card, then."

Unable to use spatial rings, unable to preserve fresh meat, and wary of blood scent attracting more beasts,

he took only the core, leaving the carcass behind.

No sooner had he gone than several other beasts arrived, drawn by the stench, fighting over the remains.

Halfway up the mountain, Li Wei found a cave.

Shadow Guard went ahead to scout.

"ROOOAR!"

A thunderous roar boomed from within.

Shadow Guard darted back out—right behind him charged a colossal figure.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

A Black Bear magical beast.

The cave was its den.

Spotting Li Wei, the bear charged wildly, rushing straight at him.

Shadow Guard landed, stepping in front of Li Wei.

Boom!

A terrifying force slammed into him, hurling him backward.

Li Wei dodged aside as Shadow Guard flew past, skidding more than ten meters away.

"Shadow Tendrils!"

Several shadow tentacles reached out soundlessly, seizing the dark bear beast that had paused for a brief moment upon colliding with the Shadow Servant.

The dark bear beast struggled furiously, causing the shadow tentacles to fade at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"A Tier 2 magical beast. Just right."

Levi broke into a smile.

He raised his hand, sending a charged fireball hurtling toward the black bear.

The black bear swung its paw, intending to swat and burst the fireball.

Whish!

The paw sliced through the fireball, leaving it completely unscathed.

It was merely an illusion.

Bang!

The true fireball detonated beneath the black bear beast, catching it entirely off guard.

Boom-bang!

The dark bear beast was blasted over, fresh blood streaming from its underbelly.

"Shadow Servant!"

Levi called out, and the Shadow Servant swiftly pounced upon the wounded dark bear beast.

He looked up toward the sky.

Raising his hand, he smashed a fireball against the ground, kicking up a shroud of smoke and dust that blanketed the battlefield.

Under the control of the Object Manipulation Spell, the dust lingered, refusing to dissipate.

By the time the smoke cleared, both Levi and the black bear had completely vanished.

Levi did not know if anyone was watching his battle.

To be safe, he had chosen to do it this way.

Because the secret that the Shadow Servant could possess bodies could not be exposed.

Gu Ze saw the dust settle and the battle come to an end.

He sighed with emotion, "The strength of this armored man is truly formidable!"

Luo Ta nodded and said, "Indeed, his servant's strength is not weak either, managing to withstand the attack of a Tier 2 magical beast."

"The armored man should be a Tier 2 mage, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to heavily injure a Tier 2 magical beast with a single Fireball Spell."

Gu Ze glanced at Levi beside him, and finding him fully engrossed in watching the match, chose not to disturb him.

Inside the cave, Levi heard the sighs of admiration from Gu Ze and Luo Ta transmitted through his illusionary clone.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Fortunately I was cautious, or else I would have been exposed."

From such a distance, Gu Ze had not recognized the Shadow Servant.

Mages accompanied by servants were not uncommon, and moreover, Levi was sitting right beside him watching the show.

Naturally, Gu Ze would never connect the dots to Levi.

Levi looked up to see a black bear lying prone before him.

The Shadow Servant had already brought the dark bear beast under control.

Levi walked into the depths of the cave and discovered an unexpected harvest.

"There is actually a magic card here?"

Levi picked up the magic card floating above a piece of rock.

He glanced at the dark bear beast behind him, roughly understanding the Magic Association's rationale for placing the magic cards.

The Magic Association placed the magic cards in locations that required a challenge to obtain.

Clearly, the green wolf Levi had encountered before did not even qualify as a challenge in the eyes of the Magic Association.

"Shadow Servant, tidy up the den. Throw all these bones out, and fetch me some fresh shrubs."

The stench of the black bear's lair was unpleasant.

The Shadow Servant cleared out the scraps left over from the black bear's meals.

Levi used a burst of fire to burn the lair clean.

A moment later, the Shadow Servant returned with a pile of fresh shrubs.

Levi spread the shrubs across the ground, making it barely fit for sleep.

The fresh, woody scent of the shrubs also improved the stagnant air inside the cave.

Levi clapped his hands, "All set, time to begin cultivating."

He had to stay within the island secret realm for seven days; it would be a waste of time not to cultivate.

In the blink of an eye, three days of the second round passed.

Occasionally, people discovered the cave and wished to claim it as their own, but they were all driven away by the black bear.

The Shadow Servant controlled the black bear's body, exerting even greater combat power.

Ordinary mages were simply no match for it.

Levi remained completely undisturbed.

Until, a group of mages arrived outside the cave.

"That magical beast refuses to leave the cave even after being constantly harassed. There must be treasure inside!"

(End of Chapter)