Chapter 296: Demon Overlord

Chapter 296 The Demon's Master

Li Wei opened his eyes; the spirit-gathering crystal in his hand was already shattered.

The fire spirit within the crystal had been entirely absorbed away.

He stood up, seeing corpses of magical beasts scattered all around.

During his cultivation, the aura of the fire spirit had attracted many beasts.

All had been slain by the Shadow Attendants.

Fortunately, he had chosen a secluded area where no powerful beasts roamed.

Otherwise, his cultivation would surely not have proceeded so smoothly.

Li Wei quickly gathered his spoils, then rose and walked toward the depths of the Fire Element Secret Realm.

He sought a better place for gathering spiritual energy.

A better gathering spot also meant greater danger.

What Li Wei needed to do was balance risk against reward.

To gain the maximum harvest within the limits of tolerable danger.

This was no easy task.

Returning to where he first entered the Fire Element Plane, the other four were nowhere to be seen.

The lava that had surged from the volcano had also cooled down.

Condensing into soft blocks of black earth.

Becoming natural traps.

Sufficient to burn anyone careless enough to step upon them alive.

Li Wei walked toward the volcano.

Most paths were impassable; one could only fly over.

For Li Wei, this was hardly a difficulty.

Avoiding several beasts and pointless battles, Li Wei ascended the volcano.

Rolling thick smoke billowed from within, the pungent smell overwhelmingly strong.

Only wearing invisible armor allowed Li Wei to move normally.

Elemental transformation had time limits; Li Wei could only use it at critical moments.

Reaching the summit, Li Wei saw the boiling lake of magma below.

He did not see the figure of the Fire Element Lord.

There were many Fire Element Spirits, however, playing amidst the magma lake.

Seeing Li Wei appear, many spirits instinctively hid inside the magma lake.

A few Fire Element Spirits stared wide-eyed at Li Wei.

Some temperamental spirits launched attacks on Li Wei without hesitation.

Spitting out lava bombs to strike him.

Li Wei dodged the lava bombs as much as possible, avoiding direct conflict with the spirits.

Lest he cause trouble.

Circling the crater once, Li Wei found an empty space devoid of Fire Element Spirits.

He intended to set up the spirit-gathering ritual here.

Just as he took out materials to prepare the ritual array.

Suddenly, he felt the activity of surrounding fire elements declining.

His expression shifted slightly.

It felt as though someone was condensing the fire spirit.

Li Wei looked around, searching for a human figure.

Invisible to the naked eye, he released mental power to probe, discovering an anomaly.

Halfway between the crater rim and the lava lake.

Li Wei’s senses detected an obstacle, shaped like a stone platform extending from the mountainside.

Yet, the naked eye could not see that stone platform.

Clearly, something had hidden the platform away.

Li Wei took a loose rock, walked to the crater edge, and tossed it toward the platform's location.

After falling seven or eight meters, the rock vanished from sight.

He confirmed there was something below.

Li Wei pondered briefly, then decided to descend and investigate.

His body glowed with pale blue light as Li Wei slowly descended.

Near where the rock vanished, he felt a sense of repulsion beneath his feet.

Below existed a magic barrier, repelling objects possessing magical energy.

He raised an eyebrow, lifting a hand to drop a fireball.

Bang!

The fireball exploded mid-air.

As the firelight spread, a hidden magic barrier materialized.

The scene within appeared before Li Wei.

Inside the barrier, a mage looked up at Li Wei, his expression somewhat unfriendly.

"Get lost."

The mage shouted. Through the barrier, Li Wei saw the other's figure.

He recognized him; the man was one of the two Purple Class students.

Steer's face looked grim; his mood was very sour.

"Are you looking for death!"

He leaped up, bursting out of the magic barrier.

Steer stared at Li Wei, brows furrowed tightly.

He waved his hand, and a blazing demon claw appeared in mid-air.

The withered, thin demon claw, like a chicken foot, swept toward Li Wei.

Li Wei fired several fireballs to block the demon claw.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Demon Claw smashed straight through the fireball, disregarding its explosion.

It struck Li Wei directly, smashing him hard into the mountain wall through his invisible armor.

Crack!

Four layers of the invisible armor shattered.

Li Wei’s gaze hardened; the power of this strike had reached the high end of the Fourth Tier.

Seeing Li Wei unscathed, Steele showed a trace of surprise.

“An invisible magic shield?”

“Heh heh, is this what you rely on?”

Steele let out a cold sneer.

Controlling the Demon Claw, he grabbed Li Wei and tossed him into the lava lake.

At the very last moment before falling into the lava lake, Li Wei neutralized the downward force and surged upward.

Steele watched Li Wei escape from the volcanic crater.

He snorted coldly, turned, and returned within the magic barrier.

The next second, he sensed a violent fluctuation of fire elements coming from overhead.

Looking up, a cyan fireball descended from the heavens.

Steele’s eyes tightened slightly; he felt a sliver of pressure.

“What a joke? What right does trash from the Red Class have to threaten me!”

The Demon Claw soared skyward, clawing at the cyan fireball, intent on crushing it.

Boom! Bang!

The cyan fireball detonated.

The Demon Claw was blasted apart, fragments stained with cyan flames burning slowly.

Steele’s long hair whipped up in the wild wind generated by the shockwave.

His expression turned terrifying.

Deep within his pupils seemed to harbor flames from the abyssal inferno.

Every single person in the Purple Class is a prodigy, a monster.

Steele felt personally provoked.

Wrath surged.

Li Wei descended slowly, saying, “I do not wish to fight you.”

Steele replied coldly, “This is not for you to decide.”

Before the words faded, a withered demon engulfed in flames crawled out from behind Steele.

This was Steele’s Supernatural Trait—Demon Master!

The Burning Demon was thin as a hemp stalk, yet the aura it displayed was shocking.

Steele was merely a mage at the peak of the Third Tier.

The Burning Demon summoned by the Supernatural Trait possessed an aura reaching the peak of the Fourth Tier.

The Burning Demon opened its pitch-black maw, looking at Li Wei with a ferocious grin.

Whoosh!

The Burning Demon charged at Li Wei, five fingers dry and thin like chicken claws; compared to human fingers, the demon’s fingers possessed more joints.

Sharp Demon Claws tore through the air, aiming to shred Li Wei into fragments.

Li Wei parried while evading.

Tear! Rumble!

The Demon Claws slashed across the mountain wall, instantly pulverizing the solid rock, leaving four deep claw marks.

A cyan fire serpent bypassed the Burning Demon, flying toward Steele.

Steele stood in place, neither dodging nor flinching.

Li Wei’s eyes flickered, showing hesitation.

He did not want to take a life.

The conflict between them had not reached this level.

Primarily, Steele’s status as a Purple Class student made Li Wei wary in his heart.

If Steele were to die, the trouble would be immense.

Just as he hesitated, the Burning Demon seized the chance, two large hands grasping Li Wei.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The invisible armor shattered layer by layer.

(End of Chapter)