Chapter 553: Legendary Dragon Hunter

Chapter 553: The Legendary Dragon Hunter

Levi and Shenxi rushed at full speed.

Half a month later, they had crossed most of the Human Empire's territory.

They were still twenty thousand miles from the continent's edge.

Levi glanced down and noticed a sizable human city ahead.

"Let us rest down there for a moment and have a bite before moving on," he said.

Shenxi nodded. "Mm, alright."

"The cotton candy in the last city was delicious; I wonder if they have it here?"

Shenxi thought, her cravings stirred.

Levi smiled and said, "If you want to eat it, we can just make it ourselves. It is no great trouble."

"If they do not have it, I will find a way to make it for you."

Shenxi was overjoyed. "Wonderful."

Levi had seen how cotton candy was made, and replicating it required little effort.

Making cotton candy was far too trivial a matter for a Grand Mage.

Since Shenxi wanted it, Levi was glad to spend the time to do so.

What was life for, if not to do whatever one pleased?

Levi and Shenxi descended to the ground while still some distance from the city.

Then, they entered the city on foot.

Relying on Levi's illusion magic, Shenxi's identity had never been exposed.

The two merely strolled through the cities they passed, eating and buying a few things.

As long as they stayed away from the critical areas of the various transcendent factions within the city, exposure was virtually impossible.

It was not as if any random passerby they happened to cross paths with on the street would be a legendary Grand Mage.

If they truly suffered such misfortune, Levi could only accept it.

Levi and Shenxi walked through the bustling streets packed with crowds.

Shenxi gazed excitedly at the street vendors, buying a little something to taste from every single food stall.

In any case, no matter how much there was, she could always stomach it.

Her main philosophy was to taste everything since she had come.

"Eat a bit slower, do not frighten the others."

Levi reminded Shenxi as she swallowed an entire lotus leaf roasted chicken in one bite.

"Mmh mmh..."

Atop the city wall, a figure stood along the edge of the parapet.

Yet the patrolling soldiers passing by acted as though they saw nothing at all.

The black-robed man merely stood there, his form and aura having vanished from the world.

No one noticed.

He gazed at the two in the crowd, a faint smile gracing his lips.

"Chasing you for so long, I have finally found you."

"Dragons... it has been centuries since I last tasted the blood of a dragon."

"That flavor... is truly nostalgic."

"I hope you do not disappoint me."

The black-robed man vanished from the city wall.

From his appearance to his departure, no one noticed.

Levi and Shenxi were likewise entirely unaware, still happily shopping.

Having left the Elven Forest for so long, the two had encountered no danger.

Levi had nearly forgotten that Shenxi was being targeted due to her identity as a Sacred Dragon.

After wandering the city for half the day, having eaten and drunk their fill, and rested.

Only then did Levi and Shenxi depart.

The two walked out of the city, reaching a spot quite some distance away.

Only when they were hidden from others' sight did they prepare to take flight.

This was also to avoid causing trouble.

Shenxi turned to look at Levi and said with a smile, "Levi, let us race to see who flies faster."

Levi was also full of interest and replied, "Alright."

Pfft!

The sound of a sharp blade piercing a body rang out.

Levi watched the tip of a blade emerge from Shenxi's abdomen; his mind shuddered violently, his pupils shrinking abruptly.

"Who is it!?"

Levi was utterly enraged.

Shenxi stiffened, looking down at the blade protruding from her abdomen, feeling all her strength draining away.

The sharp weapon piercing her body was imbued with advanced rules of weakening.

Even a Sacred Dragon's physique could not fully immune it.

Pfft!

Levi's neck was pierced through by a sharp dagger.

Hearing the sound, Shenxi looked up and saw Levi's head being severed.

A dark shadow appeared behind Levi.

Slowly retracting the sharp blade stained with blood.

The cursed blade remained plunged into Shenxi's abdomen, unextracted.

For a moment, Shenxi could not exert any power, forced to watch helplessly as Levi's headless corpse collapsed.

The black-robed man glanced at the fallen Levi.

Searching the body, he found only a single spatial ring on Levi.

He took the sole spatial ring from Levi's right hand.

The black-robed man walked toward Shenxi and produced four poisoned steel needles, driving them into her limbs.

"This is a deadly poison prepared specifically for dragons."

The black-robed figure lifted Sheng Xi, glanced at the deceased Levi, and let out a laugh.

He turned and departed.

For a high-level legendary dragon hunter to deal with a mage who had not even reached the legendary level was nothing short of effortless.

A legendary dragon in its absolute prime was indeed an incredibly difficult foe.

Even a high-level legendary dragon hunter would find it immensely troublesome.

However, dealing with a dragon that had assumed human form was, for a high-level legendary dragon hunter, a simple matter.

What was more, he had utilized a dragon-poison needle crafted from the stinger of a wind poison dragon.

To capture a human-form dragon was as easy as reaching out one's hand.

The black-robed figure was also somewhat pleasantly surprised and startled.

He had originally intended to endure a bitter struggle before subduing his opponent.

He had not expected it to conclude so easily.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot, you mages can reincarnate into liches."

The silhouette of the black-robed man materialized once more beside Levi's corpse.

He produced a small vial and poured out a few drops of a pungent potion.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Levi's corpse instantly dissolved into a pool of yellow water.

Stowing away the corpse-melting fluid, the black-robed man left.

Half an hour later, the black-robed man appeared yet again.

He scanned the surroundings, sensing not the slightest ripple of magical fluctuation.

The black-robed man nodded in satisfaction, "It seems he likely did not prepare any means of reincarnation; this time I can rest easy."

Mages possessed the greatest number of life-saving methods, making it necessary to guard against them.

The black-robed man truly departed.

"Troublesome, this fellow's strength is quite formidable."

Levi spoke to Sheng Xi.

The two of them stood beneath the dragon-blood tree within the small magical world.

With their own eyes, they watched the process of the black-robed man assassinating Levi and Sheng Xi displayed upon the magical light screen before them.

Five hundred meters in the sky, an invisible monitoring magic eye focused its gaze upon the place where Levi had "died."

Sheng Xi said, "How much longer until he realizes I am a fake?"

Levi said, "If he does not intend to kill you, he will likely estimate until he brings you back before discovering that it is an illusion."

"I hope so, for at that time we can wipe them all out in one fell swoop, sparing us from having someone constantly plotting against us from behind."

Levi could perceive the direction of the phantom form taken away by the black-robed man.

The black-robed man seemed to possess some sort of extremely powerful concealment ability.

That ability could interfere with Levi's perception of the phantom form.

From time to time, Levi would lose his connection to the phantom form.

But it mattered not, for the opponent had already taken a spatial ring from his hand.

Contained within the spatial ring was a gift Levi had prepared for him.

He hoped the opponent would find it satisfactory.

Once certain the enemy had truly left, Levi and Sheng Xi stepped out of the small magical world.

The two continued their journey toward the direction of the Endless Sea.

Levi said, "This time it was thanks to your perception ability that we escaped disaster."

Otherwise, given the black-robed man's caution.

Even if Levi had experienced Nirvana and been reborn after the first assassination attempt.

Upon resurrection, he would likely have run straight into the returning black-robed man.

Life and death would have been unpredictable. The black-robed man was able to approach and launch a sneak attack without Levi noticing at all.

This demonstrated that the gap in strength between the two sides was incredibly vast.

Sheng Xi said, "That person should be a dragon hunter, an extraordinary profession among humans dedicated solely to hunting dragons, and their numbers are exceedingly rare."

"I sensed the resentment of dead dragons emanating from his body."

"The poisonous stinger he used against me at the end looked like the stinger of a wind poison dragon, bearing a lethal poison that even a dragon would find difficult to resist."

Hearing this, a thought stirred in Levi's heart.

"A dragon hunter? The stinger of a wind poison dragon?"

"Is it possible that he is the one who killed the wind poison dragon within the Poison Dragon Cave?"

Sheng Xi said, "It is possible."

"If that is the case, then his identity should be quite easy to confirm."

Levi's eyes flickered.

The formation of the Poison Dragon Cave occurred after the death of the wind poison dragon, a death zone created when the earth was tainted by the highly toxic dragon blood.

The operation to hunt the wind poison dragon was a grand campaign.

The human empire would most likely have records of it.

Levi had been to the Poison Dragon Cave and had also heard some related legends.

This indicated that it was not some top-secret event; with a little effort, it should be locatable.

The Maple Leaf City Mage Tower.

The phantom form of Levi, sitting in the sixth layer of the mage tower, opened its eyes.

Having received the command from the original body, it was to investigate the related events of the human empire hunting the wind poison dragon.

To determine the identity of the participants.

Now, Levi's phantom form operated under the name of "Torresta."

Announcing to the public that he had already become a sixth-tier archmage.

No one dared to offend the Maple Leaf City Mage Tower any longer.

Those who had left the mage tower were also filled with immense regret.

Some wished to return, but Levi, in the name of Torresta, refused them.

Though the members of the mage tower were left with only a scant few individuals.

A select few could enjoy all the resources within the Mage Tower.

Envy-inducing to outsiders.

Otz of the Northern Xuan Kingdom, the newly appointed Dean of the Magic Academy.

Even when facing the formidable sixth-rank Archmage Torresta,

he could only turn a blind eye.

He neither approached to flatter nor targeted the Mage Tower again.

After all, the Mage Tower was already in name only.

Only a few stragglers remained—no real threat.

The Mages' Association, as a neutral organization, did not involve itself in the rivalry between the Magic Academy and the Mage Tower.

Today, upon learning that Torresta wished to meet with the President of the Mages' Association,

the President immediately postponed other appointments and arranged a private audience with the esteemed sixth-rank Archmage.

With the development of the Northern Xuan Kingdom, even the President of the Mages' Association had changed.

The previous President was a fourth-rank mage.

The new President was a high fifth-rank mage.

Facing the visiting sixth-rank Archmage, the President extended every courtesy.

Upon hearing that Torresta wished to use the Mages' Association library to investigate certain matters,

after a brief inquiry, the President promptly granted access.

"My apologies, Lord Torresta. This is the highest level of access our branch can provide."

Seeing Torresta off, the President felt embarrassed for not being able to assist further.

The dragon hunting operation, though not classified information,

was known only to a select few within the Empire.

Finding nothing, Li Wei was not overly disappointed. After thanking the President for his assistance,

he sought other channels to obtain information.

Receiving feedback from his Phantom Body, Li Wei remained calm.

He instructed the Phantom Body to find any information related to that person.

If nothing could be found, then so be it.

Li Wei and Saint Xi Fei were ten thousand meters above the ground.

Howling cold winds were blocked by magical barriers.

The barriers maintained a constant temperature, preventing ice formation that would obstruct vision.

Glancing at the distant radiant sun, Li Wei estimated the time.

"About time."

After the enemy took Li Wei's spatial ring,

even without actively erasing the mental imprint or triggering the gift mechanism,

the gifts within the ring would activate on schedule.

The black-robed man walked along the path.

Suddenly, an intense magical fluctuation erupted from his body.

The black-robed man froze, quickly identifying the source of the disturbance.

It was the spatial ring he had taken from Li Wei's corpse.

He had intended to take it back, find someone to remove the mental imprint, and see what treasures lay within.

A sixth-rank Archmage's spatial ring—surely worth something.

Suddenly, violent elemental fluctuations burst from within the ring.

The black-robed man was stunned.

But he immediately sensed danger.

Without hesitation, he discarded the ring.

Boom!

The spatial ring shattered, releasing a super fireball a kilometer in diameter that consumed everything around it.

A gift specially prepared by Li Wei.

He had placed a miniature sun inside the spatial ring.

Standing at a distance, the black-robed man stared expressionlessly as the massive fireball slowly dissipated.

Half his body was charred.

His black robe had long since been incinerated.

The figure of the legendary Dragon Hunter was exposed in the sunlight.

His eyes were vertical pupils of crimson red, his body covered in dark red dragon scales.

This legendary Dragon Hunter was also a Dragon Blood Warrior.

Or rather, he had once been a Dragon Blood Warrior.

After breaking through to Legendary rank, he had reclassified as a Dragon Hunter.

Gaining supernatural traits and rule-based abilities that inflicted extra damage on dragons.

Dragon Hunters possessed another powerful legendary ability.

They could steal draconic powers through slaying dragons, becoming ever stronger.

Hunting dragons was how legendary Dragon Hunters enhanced their strength.

Dragon Hunters were destined to be enemies of dragons for life.

Thanks to extraordinary magic resistance derived from dragons, the Hunter survived Li Wei's solar gift.

At this moment, he realized Li Wei was still alive.

Saint Xi's form had vanished.

The Phantom Body could not withstand the explosion's force.

This made the Dragon Hunter realize he had been deceived.

The Hunter turned his head toward the distance, dangerous intent gleaming in his eyes.

"How interesting... The hunt... has just begun."

"It seems I underestimated you. From now on, I will give my all... to the hunt!"

The burnt skin on the Dragon Hunter's body slowly peeled away, revealing fresh new flesh beneath.

Beneath the skin, a new layer of dragon scales slowly grew forth.

This too was a manifestation of the great dragon's powerful regenerative ability.

A high-level legendary dragon hunter was, by nature, a living legend.

Long-absent fervor surged through his heart.

He had a premonition that if this hunt succeeded, his strength would ascend to an even higher level.

Reaching the pinnacle of legend.

"What gift?"

Saint Xi asked curiously.

Li Wei chuckled and said, "Nothing much, just a small fireball."

"If he doesn't die, I hope he'll know when to retreat and stop bothering us."

The two flew toward the coastline of the Skyward Continent.

Along their path, flying magical beasts hurriedly avoided them.

To prevent unnecessary complications.

Li Wei and Saint Xi made no further stops.

After flying continuously for two days, they arrived at Hanhai City, the southernmost tip of the Skyward Continent.

From here, the two would enter the Endless Sea to search for the whereabouts of the third divine essence fragment.

(End of Chapter)