Chapter Sixty-Two: The Eye of the Demon

In his urgency, Blackfeather quickly devised a plan. “It seems I have no choice but to kill it swiftly before it completely destroys the cave. However... if I use destructive spells like Dark Storm or Eternal Night, the cave may be ruined by my own magic, even if the Dark Demon Bear doesn’t succeed. If the mountain collapses, I could be buried alive...” He stared anxiously at the falling stones from the cave’s ceiling.

A millennium-old beast was never easy to kill. Despite its severe injuries, as long as the wounds were not fatal, their vitality remained stubbornly strong.

“I can’t worry about all that now. I need to make it stop first—” Blackfeather gathered his strength, gripping his staff tightly. “Dark Storm” began to swirl and gather in the vortex of his palm. “I must control the force of this strike as best I can...”

Just then, the Demon’s Eye in the shadow behind Blackfeather manifested once more. As his power surged, its gaze grew intense, like two lanterns cutting through the darkness, locking fiercely onto the eyes of the Dark Demon Bear. Suddenly, the bear’s movements ceased; it stood frozen, staring blankly ahead.

“What... what’s happening?” Blackfeather wondered, retracting his staff.

“After meeting my gaze, the Dark Demon Bear stopped attacking?” He recalled a legend: among demonic creatures, if one’s strength far surpassed another’s, a mere exchange of glances could compel the weaker to retreat without a fight.

He suddenly understood. “So the Demon’s Eye possesses this ability! This creature has become demonized and possesses some intelligence; perhaps a stare is all that’s needed for it to submit. Let’s test the Demon’s Eye.”

He stopped casting spells, planted his feet, and manipulated the Demon’s Eye above his head to lock eyes with the Dark Demon Bear. The bear too, stared unblinking at the Demon’s Eye.

“Be still!” Blackfeather commanded. Suddenly, a sense of “fear” appeared in his mind, emanating from the bear, astonishing him.

Soon, the Dark Demon Bear slumped to the ground, spirit broken, clutching its wounded abdomen and curling up.

“It really works!” Blackfeather exclaimed in delight.

But as he withdrew the Demon’s Eye, he felt his magic rapidly draining, leaving him utterly exhausted.

“The cost is considerable. I’ll need to practice this skill; in the future, I can use the Demon’s Eye to intimidate lesser beasts when I don’t want to fight.”

After adjusting his state, Blackfeather approached the bear, whose eyes now wandered in terror, devoid of resistance. He raised his staff, channelled his power, and in an instant, the staff slashed down like a sharp blade upon the bear’s head.

“Magic Light Slash!”

A jet of black light burst from the back of the bear’s neck, mingling with a mist of blood, swirling outward in turbulent currents. The bear’s massive head tumbled backwards, leaving only a pitch-black cavity in its shoulders.

Blackfeather absorbed the bear’s spirit essence, sat cross-legged to recover for a while, then retracted his wings segment by segment, sealing them within. After recalling the Demon’s Eye, its night vision effect lingered. His blood felt as if it had been refined, vastly different from before—his body light, his muscles and bones invigorated.

He stood, clenched and opened his fist, sensing his newfound strength coursing through him.

Stepping out of the cave, Lingxiao Tears and Divine Lord Guo rushed to greet him.

“Brother Blackfeather, you finally came out! Is the Dark Demon Bear dead?”

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Lingxiao Tears asked.

“Yes,” he answered.

Divine Lord Guo circled him, glancing him up and down. “Hmm, I feel something’s changed about you—different from before.”

Blackfeather smiled. “Perhaps it’s the millennium spirit essence I absorbed from the bear, or the second seal being lifted. I do feel different from before.”

In the blink of an eye, the weekend arrived. Blackfeather slept until noon, waking on his comfortable bed at home.

“Other than tonight’s training in Twilight Forest, I have nothing to do today...”

He lazily rolled over, feeling a slight soreness in his shoulders—perhaps from days of intense training with the second seal activated.

He sprang up, dressed in casual clothes before the mirror, then went downstairs to the dining room, where he found food and a note on the table.

He picked up a piece of bread, biting into it as he read:

“I’ve gone out to train. There’s rice in the pot, heat up the dishes yourself.”

The note was written by Yi Xin, her handwriting neat and beautiful.

Blackfeather tossed the note behind him. “Hmph, just one year older than me, yet acts like a parent.”

After a simple meal, he headed out. In high spirits, he hummed softly as he walked. Above him stretched a boundless blue sky, with gentle, tranquil sunshine. Passing through the streets, he headed straight toward the main city gate.

“Let’s see what’s happening outside the city, maybe something interesting...”

As he approached the gate, he saw a chaotic crowd—the merchants trying to enter and fruit farmers with carts leaving stood aside, anxiously looking toward the city’s outskirts. In the center, the towering figure of Rin Proud Soul, a member of the Half-Giant race, led the Holy City Guard in an imposing formation outside the gate, booming,

“This is Holy City territory! Whether you’re from the Divine Realm or some noble academy, here you follow Holy City’s rules!”

His giant hammer rested at his feet, one hand gripping the handle, his cape billowing high behind him, his usual arrogant posture emphasized by a thumb motion toward the city wall.

The Holy City Guard stood in a crescent formation behind him, about a dozen strong. The front row held long swords, the back row shouldered rocket launchers custom-made by the engineers from the Snowlands.

Blackfeather noticed that behind these warriors, two wounded beast-girl children were being protected, lying painfully on the ground with round ears atop their heads and thick tails behind them.

He was surprised. “Aren’t these the beastfolk I met in Twilight Forest that day?”

Standing among the crowd, Blackfeather looked across the grass to the opposing side. There, confronting Rin Proud Soul, stood several young students clad in pure white uniforms of the Royal Intermediate Magic Academy, with silver badges bearing the “Royal Magic Academy” insignia.

At their head were a pair of twin siblings, both with pale golden hair and the bearing of nobility. The boy among them was lightly wounded, clutching his chest and retreating, evidently having just clashed with Rin Proud Soul. He shouted angrily,

“Just a guard from a remote city dares to block our way? Is the name of the Divine Realm’s Royal Magic Academy not impressive enough, or do you intend to openly defy the Thunder Family?”