Water Town, Hangzhou
Damon arrived in a small town in Jiangnan, located in the northern part of Hangzhou.
"It's hot in here..." Fanning himself, Damon muttered as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"Water Town? This should be called Drought Town," he commented, looking at the surroundings. The town looked more like a desert than the picturesque Water Town he had been promised.
'Well, the place may be bad... but that's a good thing, right?' Damon thought. 'The Fire Spirit is still here—it means…'
The reason Damon had come all the way to this town was for one thing only—the Fire Spirit.
An Elemental Spirit formed by an increased concentration of elemental energy in the surroundings, these spirits, when absorbed by a mage of the corresponding element, granted special traits and enhancements to their magic—making their element far stronger than normal.
With a grin, Damon imagined himself possessing the Flame Spirit that resided in this town.
Getting down from the bus, he didn't look for an inn. Instead, he immediately began searching for the Fire Spirit.
'A Level 3 Intermediate Mage of the Curse System, Dual Element Mage Mo Fan, that hot teacher Tang Yue, hunters, noble families…'
A lot of people had come to this town in search of the spirit. Everyone was moving about, each with their own motives, trying to locate where it was hiding.
Quickening his pace, Damon noticed a group of old men in farming clothes looking distressed.
"…What calamity has descended on our lands now?"
"The temperature keeps rising. If this drought continues, this year will be disastrous for us all."
The group of farmers were lost in conversation when Damon approached them.
"Hello, excuse me, sir," Damon interrupted politely. Once all the farmers turned to look at him, he continued, "Uncle, do you remember when this place began to dry up?"
With the topic started, the farmers began recalling their own experiences, one after another, until finally one man gave him a direction—to follow the brook upstream. They firmly warned him not to go near that place.
Thanking them, Damon left, following the direction he was given. Moving swiftly, he left the town behind and reached a desolate area. From there, he leapt forward, his monstrous speed carrying him toward the source of the flame energy.
Even with his human-sized frame, Damon's physical strength was monstrous. His speed defied the norms of the magical world—no human below the Super Rank should have been capable of such movement.
Running forward, jumping from one boulder to another, Damon pushed his speed to the limit. The closer he got to the source, the hotter the air became, until sweat streamed freely down his face.
Just as he neared the area, he halted. From ahead came the sounds of explosions and roaring flames.
Dark clouds were gathering over the place, churning violently as a dark curtain fell across the sky.
The Rose Flame Spirit Damon was seeking rose like a pillar of fire, piercing the heavens.
"Fiery Fist: Nine Palaces!"
The flames were darker than normal—phoenix flames. Their full force engulfed the entire area beneath the black curtain.
Even though the reservoir was only a hundred meters across, the once-hallowed, dried-up ground now looked like it had been struck by countless meteorites. Numerous cracks split open, spurting jets of superheated earth into the air!
The fissures looked like vermilion whales breaching from the sea, surging forward with violent force.
Then, eight more molten cracks erupted—it was as though the ground itself had been unshackled.
Waves of fire rolled outward, merging into a raging storm of destruction that scorched everything in its path.
The spirit flames rampaged wildly around the colossal fissures like a furious beast baring its fangs. Its wrath was unrestrained!
A Violent Fist burst forth from nine blazing ground cracks!
Each fissure reflected the others, forming a roaring conflagration that devoured the hundred-meter-wide area, setting everything ablaze.
'Level 3 Intermediate Spell!' Damon's eyes widened as he witnessed the overwhelming destruction firsthand.
BOOM!
The colossal energy of the Violent Fist exploded across the mountainside. Not long ago, this area had been a quiet water reservoir, but after the Phoenix Flames' Fiery Fist: Nine Palaces, there were no words left to describe the devastation.
When the flames finally began to settle, Damon's gaze shifted to the victim of the attack.
But the man still stood. His entire body was encased in a layer of rock armor, now scorched black and peeling away bit by bit.
As the armor fell apart, it revealed Chao He's wounded form. He coughed several times, eyes burning with fury.
"You damn woman! You destroyed my armor!" Chao He roared, fragments of rock crumbling off his body.
"You think your body is enough to pay for this armor?" His gaze turned lustful and cruel as he stepped toward the kneeling Tang Yue.
"Fiery Fist: Exploding Heavens!"
As Chao He relaxed his guard, a colossal fist of flames shot out from within the forest.
The trees turned to ash in an instant beneath its sweep, the surging flames becoming monstrously savage!
The target of the colossal Fiery Fist was none other than Chao He. His face twisted in horror—he hadn't expected another Intermediate Mage to be lying in wait in the forest, attacking at the very moment he thought victory was his.
BOOOOOOM!
The Fiery Fist struck Chao He's position, detonating into another massive explosion that consumed the area in fire.
Mo Fan remained hidden, watching the raging inferno. He thought Chao He must have been obliterated.
Still, the cautious Mo Fan didn't step out of the forest. If there was another trap, both he and Tang Yue would perish.
On the other side, Chao He was now surrounded by a half-arc shield of water.
Behind the watery barrier, his face was twisted with rage.
Even though he had managed to raise his Abundant Water Shield in time, the impact of the Fiery Fist left his insides in agony.
"Kid! If you want to play hero and save the beauty, you should first know if you're capable!" Blood dripped from his mouth as he glared viciously at Mo Fan. "We're both Fire Elementals! You think you can hurt me? You've barely stepped into the Intermediate Rank and haven't even awakened a second element! Do you really think you can fight me?"
Standing far away, Damon watched the battle unfold. His eyes locked on the chaotic clash ahead as he cautiously began to move closer to the area.