What's with the Light Element Pretension?

Unlike the bloodthirsty and reckless One-Eyed Demonic Wolves, the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat, though equally cruel, was more cautious due to its inferior raw strength.

When it realized Xu Fang had spotted it, its charging motion abruptly halted, and it unleashed a skill from its massive eyeball.

Crimson Dark Beam!

It was fast. The human opposite seemed frozen in shock, standing motionless without reacting at all.

A flicker of excited light flashed in the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat's eyes, as if the next second it would sink its teeth into this two-legged prey.

"Radiance!"

A soft golden light wove a curtain like the aurora between the human and the rat. The originally thick Crimson Dark Beam shrank as it entered the curtain, growing smaller and smaller until it vanished entirely.

The Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat's eyes bulged wide. It wasn't unfamiliar with human mages—it had seen light-attribute mages before.

But those were all used for illumination. This bizarre situation was a first!

And it wasn't over. After devouring the Crimson Dark Beam, the golden light, as if unsatisfied, expanded its range and enveloped the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat!

From the rat's perspective, aside from a golden filter over its vision, its body felt no discomfort.

Instead, it felt like soaking in a hot spring—warm and incredibly comfortable.

But from an external view, it was chilling. The rat's body steamed with crimson magical energy, which was absorbed and assimilated by the golden light.

"That's insane!"

Xu Fang watched this slow-boiling-frog scene, feeling his magical energy recover, and couldn't help but marvel.

It reminded him of a skill he loved using in games as a kid—Parasitic Seed!

On the other side, after a few seconds of comfort, the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat's beastly instincts snapped it awake. It launched another attack, screeching as it charged out of the golden light straight at Xu Fang.

"Come on!"

Xu Fang's fighting spirit blazed. In his Spiritual World, the golden main body of the seven stars dimmed, while the crimson Star Ring surrounding them blazed bright.

"Fire Spark!"

A striking crimson Star Track appeared around Xu Fang, flickering past him before rapidly condensing in his right hand.

Then, he hurled it with force, hitting the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat dead on!

The rat let out a miserable shriek. Its already drained body couldn't withstand the strain, and under the flames' scorching, it turned into a pile of charcoal.

"And it's dead?"

Xu Fang felt a bit disappointed. This lab rat wasn't tough enough—he hadn't finished experimenting yet.

The whole fight lasted less than half a minute. If Xu Fang had gone all out, the time would have been even shorter.

And the special Star Ring's power was truly extraordinary. With the time others spent cultivating one element, he could master two.

The Light Element's Radiance, supposedly just a lighting skill, came with an assimilation and absorption effect, leaving the enemy weak and limp while keeping his own mana full for sustained combat!

This domain-like ability, Xu Fang recalled, was something only High Level Mages with Soul Seeds could possibly master.

The Fire Element had no added effects, but judging by how one Basic Level 1 skill had blown up the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat, its power was at least equivalent to an ordinary mage's Fire Spark Burning!

—And that was with solo casting. Xu Fang could sense that when both the stars and the Star Ring lit up together, he would unleash an even more terrifying killing move!

"My talent exceeds my imagination."

"Too bad the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat was too fragile. It fell before I even tried hard. I'll have to wait for next time."

In high spirits, Xu Fang hopped on his bike and rode off.

An hour later, a truck driver passing by saw the battle traces and hastily notified the City Demon Hunting Squad.

"Very few traces of battle. That mage should have finished the fight within three moves." Li Wenjie of the Wind Element carefully examined the area and found no signs of dodging.

In other words, that mage had stood still and one-shot the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat. Terrifying!

"A fully carbonized corpse. Captain, can you do that?" Guo Caitang turned to look at the burly Xu Dahuang.

Xu Dahuang shook his head, speaking gravely: "Taking this beast's life is easy—one Fire Spark would do it. But burning it alive? Hard.

My Fire Spark Burning deals decent damage, but to have it die without much struggle like this... I can't do it."

"He must be a really strong mage!" Xiao Ke, the Water Element cutie, had sparkling eyes. "I wish he could join our hunting squad."

"Dream on. A mage that strong—would we recruit him as captain?" Fei Shi rolled his eyes, then caught Xu Dahuang's unfriendly glare and quickly smiled apologetically. "Heh heh, Captain, just kidding."

Xu Dahuang snorted: "Keep your feet on the ground. Stop daydreaming all day. Why don't you dream about a Lightning Element mage joining our team?"

"Captain, that's too far-fetched. Even in my dreams, it feels unreal..."

After the first semester ended, Xu Fang welcomed a one-month winter break.

At sixteen, he was at that age of fiery vitality where sleeping on a cold brick bed felt fine. Having just tasted the flavor of magic, Xu Fang craved more, but after several trips to the outskirts, he hadn't been lucky enough to encounter any demons.

"Looks like I need to be more targeted."

With that decision made, Xu Fang stepped through the doors of the Hunter's Alliance.

The Hunter's Alliance was an organization that brought together scattered hunter squads. Every day, hundreds of Hunter Mages came here to find suitable bounties.

"Looking for an Earth Element Mage who can use ground waves for movement assistance. Generous pay!"

"Wind Element mages, look here! Our squad urgently needs a scout!"

"Any Ice Attribute mages? Veteran hunters get priority!"

In the Hunter's Alliance hall, shouts rose and fell in waves. Strong teams had long lines, and those wanting to join had to bring resumes.

"Hey buddy, flying solo?"

A scrawny guy sidled up, acting familiar. "Ever think about joining our squad? We're newly formed, but we've got potential, and the benefits are unbeatable. Every rookie gets..."

Xu Fang glanced at him, snapped his fingers, and a ball of light flickered to life on his fingertip. "Taking me?"

The scrawny guy choked on his words. After a few seconds, he cursed and walked off. "Damn, bad luck. What's a lousy Light Element doing at the Hunter's Alliance? Hood and mask, trying to play mysterious like some big shot?"

He'd spotted Xu Fang's shady look from afar and thought he'd hit the jackpot, recruiting some big shot pretending to be weak. Turns out he was just a pig.

And not just a pig—a show-off to boot!

After shaking off the scrawny guy, Xu Fang kept scanning the bounty board.

He had no plans to join a hunter squad. First, he wasn't short on cash; squad perks didn't tempt him.

Second, his main goal was cultivation. Joining a squad would just tie his hands, forcing him to use only one element, which went against his purpose.

He'd go solo.

"Let's see... this one's good, this one fits too... West Suburb Graveyard, that's the one!"

Finding a suitable bounty, Xu Fang walked to the front desk to register.

"You're taking the mission alone?" The receptionist was taken aback. "According to the intel, your target is just a Giant-Eyed Stinky Rat, but soloing it is still too risky. I'd recommend finding some reliable teammates."

"No need. I'm enough on my own," Xu Fang said.

The receptionist sighed. Good advice was wasted on the stubborn. She pulled out a registration form from the drawer. "Please state your name and leave a deposit. We'll refund it along with the bounty after you complete the mission."

"My name is Zhang San."

"Alright, Mr. Zhang San. Here's your operation permit. Please know your limits."

The receptionist was a decent sort—still thoughtful even without seeing his handsome face. He'd have to finish a few more missions to boost her commission!