At that, Tang Yue turned around and began giving orders. "Which of you are Water Element mages? Gather together and control the waves. When the crocodiles dive underwater, use Storm Wave to flip them back up."
Lu Jun stepped forward without hesitation and followed her orders. Soon, more than twenty others joined him. Most either specialized in the Water Element or had it as a secondary element; otherwise, they wouldn't have answered the call to help hunt Flood Demons.
He looked down at the crocodiles roaring incessantly across the lake, his spirits rising. Campus life was far too relaxed. Hunting demons really was more suited to him.
Rumble!!
The next moment, Lu Jun drew his Star Chart. Unlike the others, his azure light illuminated half the sky. A river thirty zhang wide surged over the dam and plunged down like a waterfall.
At the same time, more than twenty Intermediate Water mages unleashed their magic. Twenty Storm Wave waterfalls joined together, forming a mighty tide that poured down. It was as awe-inspiring as the waves at Qiantang River, each surge rising higher than the last. The sky darkened as water vapor gathered overhead.
The entire Songjiang Ferry echoed with thunderous rumbling. The lake heaved as immense energy churned millions of tons of water.
"A Spirit Seed?!" The Military Mage leading the group glanced at Lu Jun in surprise. His Storm Wave stood out most among them; even the combined effort of everyone else couldn't conceal how much he was contributing.
Seeing the human mages' attack coming, the savage and cunning crocodile demons tried the same trick again, diving back into the lake. But this time was different. They were horrified to discover that the water, which had once moved like an extension of their own limbs, was no longer under their control.
Worse, it had become an accomplice in their slaughter, sending them hurtling high into the air.
This was what happened when they faced the stronger mages. Many of the smallest were swept to the very bottom of the lake by the flood. The tremendous force of the Storm Waves crushed their internal organs, leaving them to sink and die on the lakebed.
Splash!
Water Element mages had a natural advantage in aquatic combat. If the energy used to cast a spell was one part, then the momentum they could impart to the water was ten. The more mages there were, the greater the force they could unleash.
The lake seemed to boil. Waves more than ten meters high lifted the massive crocodile demons until they were almost level with the dam. Their bellies flipped upward, leaving them utterly helpless.
Tang Yue shouted, "Wind, Ice, and Lightning mages, cast your spells!"
The remaining twenty-odd mages immediately controlled their Star Charts. Tornadoes rose one after another, sweeping up vast quantities of water and spiraling across the violently churning lake like dragons sucking up water. Ice Locks shot through the air, binding the crocodile demons before slamming them against the dam.
Earth Element mages had already repaired the dam. The moment Lu Mei arrived, she wasted no time, immediately controlling her stars. She hadn't hunted demons in a while, and ever since she'd gotten her Wind and Earth Spirit Seeds, she hadn't had the chance to fight in earnest. Her hands had been itching for action.
Buzz, buzz!
Intermediate Earth Magic, [Mountain Range Barrier Mountains]—not only was it a peak Intermediate Level 3 spell, it was also amplified 2.5 times by her Rock Seed. An apricot-yellow radiance quickly spread across the gray-white surface of the dam, making it crystalline and fortified, with a certain weighty quality.
The tornadoes and waves swept the giant crocodiles more than twenty meters into the air. After they were battered by lightning and frost, they landed on the dam with their weight tripled, shattering into heaps of flesh. They were well and truly dead.
Tang Yue held back. Fire magic wasn't suited to fighting in the water and would only interfere with her companions. Seeing what had happened, she looked surprised. She hadn't fought alongside Lu Mei since Bo City, half a year ago, and now Lu Mei had actually acquired Spirit Seeds.
Noticing Tang Yue's gaze, Lu Mei pointed at Lu Jun and smiled. "My little brother found them for me."
So that was what the Rose Flame had been exchanged for. Tang Yue understood, and at the same time recalled what had happened at the hotel. Her alluring face flushed, and a twinge of jealousy stirred in her heart as she glared at Lu Jun.
Lu Jun looked back in confusion. He hadn't been slacking off; he was controlling his Star Chart. Why were so many people staring at him?
Regardless, with the elite Demon Hunters arriving, the slaughter was finally having a clear effect. More than three hundred giant crocodile demons had died, two hundred of them crushed beneath millions of tons of lake water.
The Water Element was proving even more effective at killing.
Lu Jun pushed his other thoughts aside and stared eagerly at the lake ahead. More than two hundred Remnant Souls rose into the air, while specks of azure Spirit Essence Souls promptly flowed into the White Tiger Pendant on his chest.
Little White Tiger trembled with a metallic ring, quivering with delight. It had finally devoured Remnant Souls again after so long.
Reaping in Bulk!
Lu Jun was delighted. Two hundred Remnant Souls was about the limit of Little White Tiger's range. Otherwise, it could have collected all three hundred.
Of course, most were Servant-level. There were only two or three General-level Remnant Souls.
Added to the General-level Remnant Souls from the last Bo City battle, which were stored in the White Tiger Pendant's [Blood Lake], there were only seven or eight in total. He was still nowhere near the hundred or so needed to combine them into a complete General Essence Soul.
But that was fine. Lu Jun had enough Servant-level Spirit Essence to combine two complete souls.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
In the Blood Lake inside the White Tiger Pendant, more than two hundred ghostly candle flames fused together. Two clusters of green flames ignited, stirring up a considerable surge of energy.
Altogether, they formed two complete Servant-level Spirit Essences.
With all his elements now at the Intermediate Level, once this initial stockpile had formed, the snowball would start rolling. He was only five souls short of adding a fourth-level Primary Magic spell to another element—and that was despite his bad luck: he hadn't gotten a single complete Servant Essence Soul.
Just look at Mo Fan. After reaching the Intermediate Level in every element, he had managed to bring both his Lightning and Fire Elements' Primary and Intermediate Magic to Level 4 in just one year.
Lu Jun was fired up. All four of his elements were short on Spirit Essence. If he could bring every Primary spell to Level 4, each one would be equivalent to half an Intermediate spell, giving his combat strength a huge boost. Then he could fight his way through the new students at the entire school with far less trouble.
If he reached Level 4 in his Intermediate spells too, heh—he'd dare take on all the senior students at the Main Campus of Mingzhu Academy by himself.
Opportunities to farm monsters this safely didn't come often.
Lu Jun wasn't the only one thinking that way. The other elite Demon Hunters were just as eager. Everyone present was at least an advanced Demon Hunter, each with two Intermediate Elements. They were the finest members of Magic City's urban management corps.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
The crocodile horde had taken a brutal beating. Realizing that staying in the water left them at the mercy of their attackers, they roared and climbed out of the lake, scrambling up the steep face of the dam with astonishing speed and agility.
The long wall of the dam was packed with densely overlapping black-scaled beasts. It was more terrifying than the zombies in Train to Busan. After all, every one of them was a giant demon beast nearly ten meters long, their savage, bloodthirsty aura overwhelming.
The Flood Demons weren't like those lame-legged Sea Monsters. They were genuine amphibians. They'd stayed in the water because it gave them an advantage and kept the Military Mages from harming them.
Now things were different. The lake was full of killing intent, making it more dangerous than the land. They were better off climbing ashore and fighting at close range.
At the head of the horde, an Advancement Period General-level crocodile opened its savage, cavernous jaws. It was more than twenty meters long, almost like a giant dragon. Thick black scales covered its body, and its horns gave it a fierce, imposing look.
Based on its experience, the fragile bodies of human mages would be easy to crush once it got close enough to fight.
In just a few seconds, the first few giant crocodile demons were nearly ashore. They were incredibly fast—nothing like ordinary crocodiles on Blue Star. And this dam had been specially built to be taller than usual.
Tang Yue called out, "Everyone, be careful! The crocodiles are coming ashore. Don't panic, though. Compared with other demon beasts, like the Mountain Wolves, they're relatively slow. They can't turn around easily once they charge, so just circle around them and attack."
Everyone present was an experienced hunter. Each first cast Wind Track on themselves or their companions, then attacked to keep the crocodiles at bay. Lu Mei controlled her Wind Track, empowered by her Spirit Seed, [Demonic Wind].
Lu Jun felt a soft white whirlwind circling his body, like a flurry of snow. His hair fluttered, and his coat snapped in the wind. The effect was extraordinary—as expected of a Spirit Seed. It boosted his speed while also providing a degree of offense and defense.
Anyone who came near him would be scraped by the wind blades. Once they broke the skin, the bleeding wouldn't stop and the wounds were hard to close. Even a Primary Magic Fire Seed spell would be extinguished instantly if it touched the wind.
Rumble!!
Flames, lightning, and wind tornadoes surged through the air in a chaotic barrage.
Lu Jun kept busy, controlling his Star Chart. He took a deep breath, eager to test the limits of [Tide]. His earlier Storm Wave had struck a group of crocodile demons and already consumed 20% of his magic energy.
Then he swung out another punch. His second Tide Waves shot forward. Though it was only Intermediate Level 1 Magic, the Spirit Seed and its special effects had both amplified it, bringing its power close to that of ordinary Level 3 magic.
A slightly dimmer azure waterfall, noticeably wider than before, plunged down with tremendous force. More than ten Servant-level steel-plated crocodile demons climbing the dam were swept up and slammed into the water.
Splash!
The already turbulent lake developed a clearly visible azure channel. The powerful surge of the water swept forward at high speed, crossing the vast lake in the blink of an eye, from the dam to the opposite shore. Crocodile demons along its path were all swept up.
And the wave's momentum didn't stop there. It slammed into the far shore, sending a dozen-meter-tall wall of azure water flying into the air. Like a savage Water Dragon, it crashed into the forest, gouging a deep trench through the trees as mud and sand churned into view.
Lu Jun sensed more than thirty Servant-level Remnant Souls drifting toward him. At last, he'd also gotten one [Servant-level Spirit Essence].
By now, the General-level giant crocodile demons had finally noticed him. Two or three of them, each more than ten meters long, rumbled as they crawled toward him.
Some crocodile demons had already climbed onto the dam nearby and were fighting a few hunters. With only seventy or eighty people on a dam this long, it was inevitable that there wouldn't be enough hands to fill every gap.
But Lu Jun wasn't the least bit afraid. He dodged with Wind Track while controlling his stars. An indigo Star Chart took shape before him, and the surrounding water vapor swirled together with the wind from his Wind Track, rising into a towering tornado.
His third, further-amplified azure river swept down. Nearly fifty meters wide, it rolled forward and mercilessly knocked two or three ordinary Generals off the dam.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The crocodile demons' enormous bodies were caught in the current. Dull impacts, like the thud of massive bodies hitting the ground, rang out as if they'd been struck by the force of ten thousand tons. Just like before, the current swept them all the way to the opposite shore, where they continued along the trench it had carved, flattening more trees.
When the tide receded, the three Generals lay helpless in the crater. Their bones were broken, their internal organs reduced to a lump of mush, and they were barely alive.
Lu Jun moved quickly. His eyes turned black and white as he controlled his mental realm and unleashed a fourth Storm Wave. Its power surged again. Vast energy gathered around him, and the entire lake shimmered with an indigo glow, as if it were responding to his call.
The surrounding elite hunters were forced back again and again, utterly stunned.
From the third spell onward, every one had pushed into territory he'd never reached before.
Rumble!!
Every crocodile demon sensed the immense energy and tried to retreat, but Lu Jun guided it with pinpoint precision toward the densest part of the horde.
The towering flood smashed through swathes of black-scaled armor. The lake filled with crimson blood, and its stench rose into the air. On the opposite shore, the water carved a channel straight across the lake.
"Tide Waves."
Lu Jun cast his fifth Water Element spell. After five successive amplifications, it had begun to touch the minimum standard for High-Order Magic. Indigo light spread across the dam, and the entire lake stirred in response.
Splash!
Like a silver bottle bursting and water gushing out, the General-level crocodile in its Advancement Period could no longer hold back. With a low growl, it burst out from the deepest part of the lake.
Its long, powerful black-scaled body coiled upward like a swimming dragon as it pounced on the dam from above, trying to block Lu Jun's spell. Its shadow blotted out the sun.
But Lu Jun didn't panic. A brilliant glow erupted beneath the crocodile, surging straight toward its belly. The enormous beast was forced dozens of meters into the air before crashing heavily back into the lake.
The vast lake looked like a basin of water that had been blown apart. Its center caved in, exposing the riverbed, as wave after wave spread toward the surrounding shores.
The impact crushed at least a dozen innocent crocodile demons, while the Advancement Period General was badly wounded.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded. Was this really the defensive, controlling Water Element they knew? It was more terrifying than Lightning or Fire.
One Man Holds the Line
Tang Yue, Lu Mei, the Demon Hunter mages, and the Military Mages all exchanged bewildered glances.
Even Lu Mei was stunned. She'd thought she knew her little brother well, but every battle still brought a surprise. Then again, student battles had never been enough to show just how powerful Lu Jun's Water Element was.
But Lu Jun wasn't finished. He took a deep breath. In his Spiritual World, the Azure Star Nebula had dimmed, but he still had enough magic energy left to unleash a sixth Storm Wave.
Splash!
Lu Jun hovered in midair, his eyes reflecting black and white. His mental focus was intense, his presence godlike and demonic. The restless lake churned below as countless wisps of water vapor rose. Specks of Demonic Power were drawn out, and the vast indigo radiance gathered around him.
An enormous Domain seemed to flicker into existence. The Water Element magic energy in that area surged, instantly overwhelming every other element and taking control, creating intense repulsion.
Tang Yue clearly felt her Fire Element Star Nebula fall silent beneath the pressure. The others felt it too, and were all suppressed to some degree.
The Military Mage leading the group stared in disbelief. "Th-this is a Domain? How could an Intermediate Mage possibly—?"
An elemental Domain was the hallmark ability of High-Order mages. Anyone who mastered one stood among the elite, just like those who had reached the Fourth Realm in the Dimensional System.
It was almost impossible for Intermediate mages to achieve. Only Calamity Bringers like Qin Yuer, Mu Ningxue, and Ding Yumian could possess Domains at the Intermediate Level.
Tang Yue frowned and judged, "It's not a Domain. At most, it's a Pseudo-Domain."
By then, Lu Jun had no energy to pay attention to the others. His focus was absolute as he struggled to control the magic with his peak Second Realm Mental Power. The truth was, the commotion was simply the result of his inability to control the energy, which spilled out and created the illusion of a Domain—a different way of achieving a Domain Effect.
An ordinary Water Element mage with a Tidal Spirit Seed probably couldn't do this. Stacking a sixth spell was simply too difficult. Otherwise, when this Spirit Seed had been sold, it wouldn't have gone for so little; its price would have shot up by tens of millions.
Rumble!!
He threw his final punch. The Water Element Star Nebula was instantly drained, and radiance shot skyward from his whole body. As it plunged down, it formed a curtain of water that blotted out the sky, like the Sky River Dive.
In an instant, it covered half the lake. The Advancement Period General at its center bore most of the impact. Millions of tons of water came crashing down, sending the entire lake surging into the air and huge waves rebounding toward the dam.
Mud and sand churned in the murky water as the lake rose and fell. The enormous crocodile leader lay in the center, its long body broken in two. The waterfall had crushed its spine, and blood poured from its body as its internal organs twisted out of shape.
At the same time, a General-level Remnant Soul rose into the air. The Remnant Souls of more than two hundred Servant-level crocodile demons caught in the attack also gathered into the White Tiger Pendant.
Lu Jun was a little disappointed. Even the Advancement Period General hadn't dropped a General Essence Soul. One would have sold for at least twenty million.
It didn't take long for him to cheer up. Looking inside the White Tiger Pendant, he saw that he'd gathered enough Remnant Souls to combine five [Servant-level Spirit Essences]. Along with the two complete Servant-level Spirit Essences he'd obtained, he now had [seven]. He also had more than ten General-level Remnant Souls.
In other words, if Lu Jun wanted to, he could immediately raise one of his Water Element Primary Magic spells to Level 4.
After thinking it over, he decided to keep the two Servant-level Spirit Essences to sell. He guided all the rest with his mental energy into the dim Azure Star Nebula in the dark universe.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
A continuous series of sounds like eggs hatching rang out. Within the Water Element Star Nebula, one star after another swelled as it was nourished by the Spirit Essence. Five stars rose to a new level, and a surge of Warm Spring magic energy burst forth, making the nebula slightly brighter.
Two stars were still left, but Lu Jun wasn't in a hurry. The flood season would last a while, and there'd be plenty of opportunities to kill demons. Sooner or later, he'd gather enough. He might even get enough for two other elements.
This time, Lu Jun was deeply moved. He hadn't expected that pushing his Water Element to its limit would bring him so close to the threshold of a Domain. In a sense, it was the strongest tool he had.
Even his Metal Element fell a little short. Of course, it needed time to build up power, while Intermediate Metal Magic didn't. With a single breath, it could form seven swords, each as lofty as a mountain, and when they fell, they could devastate everything.
Once he reached the peak of the Intermediate Level, he could even fight certain weaker High-Order mages. Later, Mo Fan had fought a Super-Order mage with High-Order magic, and that wasn't an exaggeration.
But the nearby Demon Hunters and soldiers all gasped. An Advancement Period General-level demon could normally only be dealt with by a High-Order mage, or by several experts who had reached the peak of the Intermediate Level.
Yet Lu Jun had killed it with just two Storm Waves.
Before you continue