Is This the Reward?

On this day, the flames of the red lotus continued to burn on the riverbank, without ever extinguishing.

If this place weren't usually frequented by many people, this scene would surely have aroused suspicion.

Under these circumstances, Shana also trained for a whole day.

Under Fang Li's guidance, he trained to target the new power that had been generated within himself.

It must be said that the result was gratifying.

With Fang Li's guidance, Shana has basically mastered the control of flames.

Of course, even with Fang Li's guidance, Shana's progress was only this much in just one day.

It was only when the flames of the crimson lotus began to dim on the riverbank that everything came to an end.

"Call..."

Fang Li and Shana both breathed a sigh of relief.

Immediately afterwards, the two made completely different decisions.

Is it already evening?

Fang Li glanced at the sky, gazing at the sunset in the twilight, seemingly unaware of how quickly time had passed.

As for Shana, she was completely frozen in place.

Because Fang Li's breath had just hit Shana's ear, it finally reminded Shana of what had happened.

It's like Fang Li has been hugging me for the entire day.

As Shana realized this, a soft "thump" sound, audible only to herself, came from her body.

That was the sound caused by Shana's heart suddenly pounding faster.

The next second, Shana almost instinctively turned around and slashed fiercely at Fang Li behind her.

"Laugh----!"

A faint whooshing sound rang out.

This also means that Shana's strike missed its mark.

At the critical moment, Fang Li noticed Shana's movement in time. He took a step back and dodged the katana that was slashing down at a somewhat dangerous angle, letting the sharp blade graz his nose.

Under these circumstances, Fang Li retreated while speaking casually.

"I gave you a whole day of intensive training, and this is your thank-you gift?"

Upon hearing this, Shana seemed to realize what she had done and was momentarily at a loss for words.

Seeing the hint of panic in Shana's eyes, Fang Li seemed to find it amusing and continued his pursuit.

Are all Flame Haze Warrior so ungrateful?

Rather than being sarcastic, the words were more like deliberate attempts to make things difficult, leaving Shana speechless.

Seeing this, Fang Li finally smiled.

At that smile, a feeling of shame suddenly welled up in Shana's heart.

"I... I didn't ask you to help me!"

This statement sounds exactly like someone throwing a tantrum or being willful.

Perhaps she had this intuition as well, because her pretty face couldn't help but blush.

Seeing that Fang Li's gaze was becoming increasingly mocking, Shana flew into a rage.

"Anyway, I didn't ask you for anything! And I won't thank you!"

Enraged by this awkward situation, Shana raised the Nietono no Shana in Fang Li hand and swung it down at Fang Li.

This time, however, Fang Li neither dodged nor evaded, but calmly watched the katana slashing down, and muttered this sentence to himself.

"Is it close to its limit?"

The words had barely left her lips when Shana stopped wielding her sword.

"Call..."

His fiery hair suddenly cooled and returned to its jet-black color.

"Zheng..."

A pair of eyes that had been burning like they were under intense heat suddenly dimmed and returned to normal.

Shana felt a surge of fatigue welling up inside her, leaving her stunned.

Only then did Alastor's voice ring out.

"I've overused my energy."

Alastor's voice carried a hint of reproach as he said, "Such behavior is unacceptable, you should know that, right?"

Shana was speechless.

Unlike the Crimson Realm Denizens steal the Power of Existence from humans, the Flame Haze Warrior, while also using the Power of Existence in battle, consume their own power.

More accurately, it should be said that it consumed the power of the Demon Lord residing within the body.

When Crimson King who has made a contract with Flame Haze Warrior enters the body of a contractor, the total amount of his "existence" is fixed.

Therefore, when Flame Haze Warrior use their power, the Power of Existence of the Demon Lord within their bodies is consumed like a person's physical strength, but it can be restored to its original amount after rest.

This is both a good thing and a bad thing.

The good thing is obvious: they don't have to devour the Power of Existence of humans like the other Crimson Realm Denizens, otherwise the Flame Haze Warrior would have no reason to exist.

The bad thing is that once the Power of Existence is consumed, it will still affect the battle until it is restored.

Therefore, for Flame Haze Warrior who may fight Crimson Realm Denizens at any time, it is a bad thing to recklessly deplete their own Power of Existence.

That's why Alastor blamed Shana.

Of course, this is a bit of Zhuge Liang.

If Alastor truly believed Shana shouldn't do this, he would have warned her from the very beginning.

The reason they didn't do that was probably because Fang Li was there.

In the battles against "The Shaper" and "The Hunter", Fang Li has demonstrated a fighting power and willpower that surpasses anyone's imagination.

Shana wasn't the only one deeply affected by this; even Alastor unconsciously began to acknowledge Fang Li and placed a certain degree of trust in Fang Li.

However, Alastor would still remind her of things that needed to be reminded.

"Although it's rare for 'Flame Haze' to appear in the same place repeatedly, logically speaking, there shouldn't be any more enemies in this city. But this time is different. Reiji Maigo is here, and that ' Bal Masqué ' could attack at any time. If we're not careful to conserve our strength, it'll be troublesome once a battle breaks out. You're not a new Flame Haze Warrior; don't lose your awareness in this regard."

Shana immediately slumped her shoulders, like a child who had done something wrong, and obediently lowered her head.

This is the kind of performance you only show when facing Alastor, right?

After all, for Shana, Alastor was a mentor, friend, and guardian figure, and this kind of behavior would only be shown when she was facing Alastor.

Faced with Shana's reaction, Alastor's voice softened.

"Rest well today, and don't do this level of training again. At least remember to conserve enough strength to fight."

Upon hearing this, Shana nodded somewhat reluctantly.

To make matters worse, Fang Li had to kick someone when they were down at this crucial moment.

"Don't worry, even if you're an ungrateful Flame Haze Warrior, I'll still train you. No need to thank me."

Shana finally snapped.

"It's so noisy! So noisy! So noisy!"

The sun sank below the horizon with Shana's outburst, ushering in night.