The Ascension of Contracted Spirits

Chapter 300 - 160: Mercenary Group that Steals Fire_3

The leader of the Mercenary Group that Steals Fire, a man known as the Flame Thief, his crimson eyes hidden under the brim of his hat, flickered slightly.

"I know you, the Rookie King of North Campus of Canghai Pavilion, now promoted to the Southern Campus."

"Step aside. The Patrol can’t do anything to me. Trying to stop me is futile, all you are doing is just dooming yourself."

"Oh?" Renwo Kuang raised an eyebrow, "You know of me? Now that’s interesting."

The Flame Thief remained silent, patting the head of the Red Flame Tiger.

"Roar!"

The fiery tiger, ablaze, opened its mouth and spat out a stream of red flames, narrowly missing Renwo Kuang’s head.

With a loud bang, the rock wall beside Renwo Kuang exploded, scattering stones and debris everywhere.

Despite this... Renwo Kuang didn’t even blink.

His copper bell-sized eyes remained fixed on the four men and four beasts.

A strong desire for battle stirred around him, never diminishing, always escalating.

"Your courage is admirable, but you’re too young. Go back, train for a year or two, then come back to challenge me."

The Flame Thief nonchalantly waved his right hand.

Understanding his intent, Gu immediately ordered the Big Serpent Vine to put down the Fire Elephant Tree, then it crawled towards the Muscle Zombie.

"Hiss hiss hiss!"

The Big Serpent Vine was indeed a demon beast metamorphosed from a plant.

Although it wasn’t particularly agile, it could move freely like a python, making it difficult to deal with due to its tenacious vines and hardy vitality.

"Roar!!"

Renwo Lang activated Boiling Blood without a moment’s delay.

He could sense the strength of the enemy and prepared himself for a tough fight.

"Fight!"

With a deep roar, Renwo Kuang coughed up a mouthful of blood, his entire demeanor suddenly turning more aggressive.

It wasn’t just that Renwo Lang was holding nothing back; as the Patron, he was resorting to desperate moves from the outset.

"Rustle rustle rustle--"

A character for "strength" fell onto the back of the Muscle Zombie, stark like a stamped seal.

Renwo Lang’s body swelled, his muscles bulging once more. Raising his arm, swinging his fist, it was like the roar of a thunderstorm.

"Be careful."

The Flame Thief’s eyes showed a flash of concern as he offered a solemn warning.

"Hehe~~ I’ve been around for so many years, do you really think I can’t handle a dumb brat?"

Gu had brought out an energy water ball in her palm as soon as Renwo Lang activated Boiling Blood.

Inside the sphere of water, an originally light blue translucent liquid began to sway.

She dipped her fingers into it, and the liquid immediately turned a bloody red, changing in color within moments.

"Snakey, treat it well~~~"

"Hiss!" The Big Serpent Vine hissed, morale high.

An E-class ability - ’Growth Master’!

Active Ability - ’Furious Liquid’!

"Pop!"

The water sphere burst, and blood splashed onto the Big Serpent Vine. The hidden life energy rushed into its body.

In an instant, the Big Serpent Vine’s intertwined vine body glowed with a visible scarlet color.

At this moment, it seemed to have evolved from a constrictor into a dragon-like beast.

"Whoosh!"

The Big Serpent Vine struck out, twisting dozens of vine tentacles into a single powerful blow.

Opposite it, Muscle Zombie rushed towards it through the mist of blood, causing the rocky ground to crack with each step it took.

"Booom!!!"

The vine whip and Savage Fist collided, creating a sonic boom at the epicenter.

The nearby walls and the ground, merely caught in the aftermath, crumbled like fragile sheets of paper.

"Bang!"

The vine whip of the Big Serpent Vine burst into pieces, and its main body groaned, being thrown dozens of meters away.

The Muscle Zombie stood in place, the iron fist that he wound up was shrouded in a rising mist of blood, and it seemed unstoppable.

"You’re truly formidable."

"You’ve been in the Southern Campus for such a short time, yet you’ve already made a minor breakthrough in your class. In no time, you’ll be stirring up storms in the Southern Campus, carving out your own legend."

The Flame Thief clapped his hands together three times, the crisp sound resonating throughout the mine shaft, reaching far and wide.

His voice was calm, his crimson eyes watching the Big Serpent Vine slowly get up and slither back to its master’s side.

Apparently, for the hardy Big Serpent Vine, even though it had been defeated by the strongest counterattack, it only sustained moderate injuries. It was far from being mortally wounded.

Meanwhile, the Muscle Zombie, Renwo Lang, who had simultaneously activated Boiling Blood and Explosive Muscle, was now experiencing an irreversible decline after releasing one powerful punch, despite his seemingly invincible stance at that instant.

"Step aside, I don’t want to take your life."

The Flame Thief’s gaze was burning, and although his voice was indifferent, the aura of a typical team leader persisted from start to finish.

"Hee hee~~ The boss is way stronger than me~~ You can’t possibly be his opponent~~~"

Perched on the Big Snake Vine’s back, Gu poured another green energy orb into its body, chattering cheerfully.

"That’s more like it." Renwo Kuang’s wilting spirit suddenly retracted, making way to the right.

"Just as it should be~~~"

Gu smiled charmingly, her gleaming eyes rolling around. The next second, her smile froze.

Without anyone noticing, a shadow appeared behind Renwo Kuang.

The shadow wriggled lightly, transforming into a humanoid shape.

He was well-proportioned, a long scar running across his face, making him look somewhat vicious.

But all of that wasn’t the point; the point was, this man leaned lazily against the wall of the main corridor, hands in his pockets, giving off a remarkably nonchalant vibe.

"Oh?" Flame Thief narrowed his eyes slightly, "So there’s another one..."

"I was so focused on you that I didn’t notice there was another little mouse around..."

"Little mouse?"

Upon hearing this nickname, Ye Hanjun lifted his head and asked with an interest:

"I wonder if you have heard of the title ’Flame Thief’?"

"A D-Class title ’Flame Thief’, highly rare among the D-Class."

"Once fully matured, this title holds top-tier combat power within its level, frequently overcoming higher levels with Contracted Spirit Fond Spirits as if it were commonplace."

"Just wondering, does your Flame Thief Mercenary Group share an internal relation with this ’Flame Thief’ since you have the same name?"

"..."

The four members of the Flame Thief Mercenary Group fell silent.

Whether it was the Patron, Hu Dai of the Flashing Leopard, or the Patron, Raspberry of the Ghost-Faced Moth, or even the Patron, Gu of the Big Serpent Vine.

Both men and women lost all traces of laughter, their faces gradually darkening, and a cold light shining in their eyes.

"Who are you? You seem to know much more than the average person."

Flame Thief raised a hand, signalling his team to stay calm.

His intense gaze left Renwo Kuang and focused tightly on Ye Hanjun.

Unaware, Ye Hanjun pushed off the wall with his back and casually strolled toward the four humans and four beasts.

"Renwo Kuang, I want to ask you something."

"You’ve been in the Southern Campus for a while now, have you heard of any renowned fire-element magic apprentices, or fire-element magicians?"

"Uh?" Renwo Kuang paused slightly, lowered his head in thought for a few seconds, then hesitated, "It seems like not."

"However, if we don’t factor in the current Canghai Pavilion and look back at the past few years, there was one senior from the Southern Campus who was exceptionally brilliant, and had fiercely made his way to the Ten Talents with just an E-Class ’Magic Apprentice.’"

"And he ranked high; at his peak, he ranked second. Across the entire academy, only the three heroes and the chief of the Ten Talents could suppress him; everyone else admired him from afar, basking in his glory..."

"Sounds interesting." Ye Hanjun smiled, "Others may not know, but I do."

"A D-Class ’Flame Thief’ is never self-awakening."

"Just like the mutations in Fond Spirits, some abilities undergo deeper changes due to various factors, which is similar to a ’class change’ operation."

"And the ’Flake Thief’ can only be obtained under two circumstances."

"Either an E-Class fire-element ’Magic Apprentice’, or a D-Class fire-element ’Magician’."

"The steps involved include an ancient and complicated transformation ceremony."

"Of course, the ceremony is only 10% of the importance, what matters more, is the person’s fortune."

"Once successful, they would achieve rebirth."

"If they failed, they would die, their body and spirit utterly destroyed."

"I wonder if you think what I’ve heard is true or false?"

"..."

Flame Thief didn’t reply, only smiling slightly.

The next moment, he swung his right hand, his voice suddenly growing cold:

"Red Flame, kill them!"

"Roar(╬◣д◢)!!"

The Red Flame Tiger roared, charging forward.

It lifted its hefty tiger paw, its flaming claws were awe-inspiring. Each swing of the paw was overpowering and unstoppable.

"Hisss!"

"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"

"Whooo!"

The Big Serpent Vine, Ghost-Faced Moth, Flashing Leopard, the three Fond Spirits followed closely behind, each from three different directions to cut off the duo’s escape route.

"You’re losing your temper already?"

Stepping back, Ye Hanjun’s smile widened.

"Huazhu, it’s your turn."