Chapter Fifteen: The Hunt for Demonic Beasts

Stepping out from the edge of the woods they had just traversed, a murmuring brook appeared before their eyes. Ling Xiao-tear halted, pressing her palms together before her chest, closing her eyes gently. She spread her "web of perception," attuning herself to the slightest stirrings of wind and grass in the surroundings.

Even with her eyes closed, everything around her was vividly outlined in her mind—objects traced in violet lines against a backdrop of utter darkness. Whenever a living creature moved within the web’s reach, the flow of its aura would mark its location precisely, shining as a violet point of light.

"Through the grass to the right, there’s a little rabbit demon, just ten years into its cultivation. Let’s approach quietly, so we don’t alarm it..."

Within her perception, a plump rabbit demon grazed obliviously; a sinister glint flickered in its red eyes.

The two of them crept onto the grassy patch, halting about fifty paces from the snow-white rabbit.

"Leave it to me!" Blackfeather declared, face serious as he fixed his gaze on the rabbit demon. A staff materialized in his hands, which he gripped before him, channeling all his strength. Ling Xiao-tear stepped back, just as he shouted with all his might:

"Bankai!"

A few leaves overhead shuddered loose from the branches, startled by his bellow. But after several long minutes, nothing happened.

"Blackfeather..." Ling Xiao-tear’s face darkened, "You should just drop out..."

Blackfeather relaxed his pose, spreading his hands in explanation. "I was just thinking, maybe I could slay it with a cool move..."

"Bankai? There’s no such thing as Bankai! What are you doing? Just attack it!"

"Or maybe use Haki or something, clear the small fry..."

"There is no Haki! For heaven’s sake, get a grip!" Ling Xiao-tear was at her wit’s end. "Just use magic, please? Use your magic, alright?"

"Alright, alright." Blackfeather composed himself again. He raised his staff, gathering his mana and striking a pose before suddenly pausing to ask,

"But... I’m not allowed to use dark magic, and I don’t know any other spells..."

Ling Xiao-tear nearly fumed from every orifice, but upon consideration, he wasn’t wrong. She shoved him behind her. "Let me do it! If we dawdle any longer, the twenty minutes will be up."

With a flash of violet, Ling Xiao-tear wielded her staff with practiced ease. In an instant, several violet chains burst from the ground around the rabbit demon, binding it tightly.

At first the rabbit kicked frantically, a low growl rumbling from its throat, but the chains squeezed hard around its neck. Soon, its eyes rolled back, its legs twitched, and its body stiffened.

"My binding spell isn’t particularly powerful, but it’s more than enough for this little rabbit."

"You killed it just like that?" Blackfeather swallowed.

A beast soul, shaped like a peach pit, floated from above the rabbit’s head into Ling Xiao-tear’s palm.

Beast souls are formed as the spiritual energy within a demon clan member crystallizes over ten, a hundred, or even thousands of years of cultivation. When the beast dies, its soul separates from the body and can be harvested by magicians. The higher the soul’s quality, the more it enhances a mage’s power. These souls can be absorbed directly or made into potions.

It’s said that not only beasts possess souls—human beings also develop such souls over time. The stronger the mage, the purer their soul. Many practitioners of forbidden arts seek to absorb others’ souls to advance their cultivation—a practice rightly despised by the orthodox factions of the continent.

"Don’t be fooled by how small this beast is now. Once it matures, it’ll become a far more formidable demon beast, and then it’ll start attacking humans. The surrounding villages would all suffer!"

"That makes sense." Blackfeather nodded.

Ling Xiao-tear pointed to a nearby man-eating flower, ten years into its cultivation. Its lovely blossom swayed languidly in the sunlight.

"If you can’t handle animals, try a plant. It’s simpler—just use your fists. Finish up quickly so we can report back to the teacher."

"Alright then." Blackfeather rolled his sleeves, full of confidence, and strode over.

"Watch me!"

No sooner had he approached than the flower’s bloom quivered, then a gaping maw yawned open beneath it, swallowing Blackfeather in one gulp.

Ling Xiao-tear watched as Blackfeather, half-swallowed by the man-eating flower, struggled. She no longer felt any urge to help.

"How have I known someone like you for so long..."

Twenty minutes later, the students returned to the gathering point, each bearing their own "trophies." Teacher Stone surveyed the collection of beast souls with satisfaction. Though they varied in shape and size, all were at least ten years in cultivation.

Behind Ling Xiao-tear, Blackfeather slithered over, his body coated in the green slime from the flower’s maw, looking for all the world like an oozing green monster, bristling with thorns and broken twigs collected along the way. He had truly exerted himself in his battle with the man-eating flower.

Teacher Stone looked distastefully at the hand Blackfeather extended, but fortunately, the flower’s beast soul was acceptable.

"Next is the absorption of the beast souls," Teacher Stone announced as he paced. "Aside from your regular academy classes, if you wish to advance quickly, you may hunt demon beasts alone or in teams in the outskirts’ forests."

The students each absorbed their beast souls, letting streams of light swirl about them as their magic power visibly increased.

"This forest is called the Greenwilds Outside the City," Teacher Stone continued. "Because it’s near the ancient battlefield of the Human-Demon War, the lingering darkness there has attracted many demon beasts, though most are weak. It’s an ideal place for low-level magicians to train."

He went on, "Beyond the river and through the old battlefield lies the Twilight Forest. That place is sparsely populated and the demon beasts are exceptionally fierce."

"Exceptionally fierce... sparsely populated..." Blackfeather mused. "Perhaps I could practice my dark magic there..."

Teacher Stone seemed to guess his thoughts and raised his voice, "You’re nowhere near strong enough for that! To venture there, you’d need to reach at least the late stage of intermediate magician!"

"Late stage of intermediate magician?..." the students whispered among themselves.

Each stage of a magician’s journey is divided into four sub-levels: early, middle, late, and peak. When they first entered the school, all these students were at the early stage. Progressing to the middle stage is relatively quick, but breaking through to the late stage takes many years of steady accumulation, and so on.

Once an intermediate magician reaches the peak, they can graduate from the academy and seek admission to a more advanced school.

Teacher Stone concluded, "The most powerful demon beasts are found in the Desolation Forest east of the Holy City. That region lies close to the Forsaken Eastern Lands. The violent storms blowing in from across the strait make it the destination for high-level magicians."