Han Shuo would never have thought that this woman would make such a move out of the blue. She had only uttered a single sentence before she sprang into action. The broadsword made its way towards him, its fiery heat already causing some discomfort to his skin.
Snorting coldly, the Demonslayer's Edge suddenly appeared in Han Shuo's left hand. He infused it with magical yuan in the manner of the 'Mystical Glacial Spellfire', causing the dark red Demonslayer Edge to suddenly emit faint amounts of cold, purple air. The temperature inside the room suddenly changed, Candice's side was fiery hot, while Han Shuo's was icy cold.
Their swords hadn't even touched before the two hot and cold blasts collided. Clouds of white smoke billowed out, but what surprised Phoebe was that Han Shuo's purple frosty air was unlike any other ice magic she had seen before. It seemed to be more like something living, and could even move in a twisted manner.
When Han Shuo and Candice's swords connected, a violent force interspersed with combat aura crashed into Han Shuo's Demon Slayer Edge like an iron hammer. Embarrassed, Han Shuo backed up a few steps, but the combat aura found it difficult to continue after crashing into the Demonslayer Edge. It couldn't break through the Demonslayer Edge's resistance to hurt Han Shuo.
Instead, it was Candice who suddenly screamed in shock. When the white mist dissipated and Han Shuo looked at Candice again, the broadsword in her hands already had a large chip in it. It looked as if the Demonslayer Edge had damaged it.
Candice looked like she possessed the strength of a senior swordsman, and her strength was even more unfathomable because she also possessed fire magic. The broadsword in her hand must have been a magical sword of extremely high quality, one that enhanced the power of the fire magic it was imbued with. Who would've thought that a sword of such high quality would be immediately marked by Han Shuo.
Just as Candice looked at the broadsword in her hand with a look of shock and anger, seemingly wanting to start a fight, Phoebe, who was standing off to the side, suddenly spoke up. "All right, Candice, Bryan's strength isn't his brute force. I've already said that his awesomeness comes from his extraordinary senses."
"He, he ruined my magical sword!" Candice glared at Han Shuo and then complained to Phoebe.
"Silly, you asked for it. If you don't improve your impudent temperament, you'll suffer a lot of disadvantages in the future!" Phoebe gave Candice a resigned look and tried to say a few words of goodwill. As her beautiful eyes swept over Han Shuo, Phoebe showed an expression of extreme interest. She exclaimed in amazement, "Is this the weapon you were going to forge? Can I have a look at it?"
"There's nothing to see, it's just a bit sharper than normal weapons!" Han Shuo put the Demonslayer Edge away without changing his expression, and only smiled at Phoebe once he'd put it away.
"Huh! Grinch!" Phoebe exclaimed softly and then pointed at Candice and introduced her to Han Shuo. "This is the vice captain of the Battlefire mercenaries, Candice. She's a friend I've known for a long time. Though her temper is a bit brash, she's a nice person. Don't mind her!"
Nodding, Han Shuo glanced at Candice and smiled, "I won't mind, but I hope she doesn't hold a grudge, heh heh!"
"It's just a magical sword, and it's not completely broken. I'm not that cheap. Phoebe, you talk about your private business, I'll stand guard outside. I hope that bloody Grover comes to his senses." Candice glared at Han Shuo with disdain and then walked out with a look of heartbreak on her face as she looked at the broadsword in her hand.
As he watched Candice walk out of the room, Han Shuo felt that although this girl was a bit hot-tempered, she wasn't the petty, grudge-holding type. Otherwise, she wouldn't have left so easily.
"I've come to buy some rations from you, and I would like to ask you to find me a secluded place to stay. It doesn't have to be big, as long as it's guaranteed that no one will be able to find me easily." Han Shuo didn't hide anything as he looked at Phoebe and spoke directly and frankly.
"No problem, how much food do you need?" Phoebe was quite determined and didn't hesitate at all. She agreed and then asked how much food was needed.
"About enough for a hundred people to get through the winter." Han Shuo replied.
Phoebe looked at Han Shuo strangely as soon as he'd spoken. When he started to feel completely uncomfortable under her gaze, Phoebe asked in confusion, "What are you going to do with enough winter rations for a hundred people? Are you planning to leave the Empire?"
Han Shuo wryly shook his head, knowing she would be suspicious. He said, "Don't think too much, I'm helping friends solve a difficult problem. I won't leave the empire in the short term without getting rid of Grover first."
"There's no problem with the food, but you'll have to give me a few days to prepare it. As for a secluded residence, I advise you not to live alone outside for the time being, because Grover and the members of 'Shadow Ghost' have always seen you as a thorn in their side. If I use my resources to find you a place to stay, Grover might be able to pick up some clues."
"Mm, if you don't mind, you can stay with me for now. That way we can help each other as well. When the threat from Grover is neutralised, I can leave this house to you and we'll go back to the Guild, what do you think?" Phoebe thought for a moment and looked directly at Han Shuo.
Han Shuo thought carefully about Phoebe's suggestion and felt that what she said made some sense. However, he was less enthusiastic about accepting the house. After all, even if the threat of Grover was eliminated, there would still be a threat if a huge killing organisation like "Shadow Ghost knew his hiding place.
"I know what you're worried about, so don't worry. As long as Grover is eliminated, I have ways to ensure that 'Shadow Ghost' will never cause us any trouble again. I've recently taken formal control of the Guild and am gathering evidence of Grover's crimes. Grandpa Andrew has given me his full support. Grandpa Andrew has even found the tracks of the old thing, Grover's mistress. He's already sent men to take the things back. I think Grover is even more scared than we are right now. Phoebe spoke words of comfort when she saw Han Shuo's brow furrow.
Nodding, Han Shuo said, "All right, I'll stay here for now. I'll leave after the threat of Grover is removed!"
"That's great! With you here, those damned assassins won't be able to ambush us!" Phoebe was overjoyed to see that Han Shuo agreed.
Phoebe then had Fabian prepare a room for Han Shuo. Han Shuo's room was also very spacious, with all the amenities of daily life. It was only separated from Phoebe's room by a wall.
At night, Han Shuo would sit cross-legged on the bed and begin to circulate his magical yuan, practising magic as usual.
Han Shuo's magical realm had now reached the moulded spirit level. This level was a process that unlocked the potential of the brain. As long as he made it past this level, Han Shuo's memory, comprehension, and observation skills would all increase tremendously. His mind would be far more intelligent than an ordinary person's.
However, because this level was a kind of awakening of the mind's potential, it was particularly risky. One misstep could result in the mind sinking into a state of confusion, where it would operate entirely on instinct. If it was serious, the practitioner might lose their memories or have a split personality even after recovering from this state.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Han Shuo's head was enveloped in a cloud of black light. It was as if a cloud of black lightning had encircled Han Shuo's head, continuously releasing incredible amounts of lightning.
This state was maintained for who knew how long. Han Shuo exhaled lightly and stopped training with a sense of trepidation. After experiencing the horrors of the
"Moulded Spirit Realm", Han Shuo himself proceeded with all due caution. He always chose the quietest conditions to train in, and didn't dare to be disturbed by anything outside.
After finishing his training, Han Shuo saw that he was still in a good mental state and began to meditate again carefully, wanting to increase his mental strength through meditation. Suddenly, his mind trembled with a crash and his mental strength began to accumulate at a rate many times faster than normal, according to Han Shuo's thoughts.
Death energy was everywhere under heaven and earth. This time, Han Shuo could feel very clearly that by using his mental power, he could even slowly gather the Death Energy bit by bit. He could sense that the method of gathering Death Energy was something that was completely unattainable in the normal course of casting magic.
This time, the meditation took Han Shuo into a wonderful world. Han Shuo could clearly feel that his mental strength was growing much faster than before. Although the benefits weren't as great as when he used the Eye of Darkness, the mental strength gained from this type of meditation was quite pure and clean, and was not accompanied by any pain.
When Han Shuo awoke from his meditation, he suddenly remembered that the first two levels of demon magic emphasised the training of the body's meridians and bones, but the level of Moulded Spirit was completely made for training the potential of the mind. The mages' meditation was used entirely to gather mental power in the mind. They would never use it to train other parts of the body.
Judging from this, if Han Shuo's brain potential received a high degree of improvement, then the speed at which his mind gathered mental energy would naturally increase greatly. This would then lead to unquantifiable benefits when Han Shuo practised his magic in the future.
"Indeed, it looks like the same evil training methods from two different worlds can complement each other. It looks like even without the 'Eye of Darkness', the amount of mental power I get from meditating is much greater than that of ordinary mages." Han Shuo was pleased and muttered to himself.
"Phoebe, do you like this brat?" At that moment, faint sounds of conversation drifted in from next door.
The soundproofing of this house was good. If it were any other person, they wouldn't have been able to clearly hear the conversations from the other rooms through the wall, but Han Shuo was no ordinary person. The perversity of the sensitivity of his ears allowed him to clearly hear the mumbled conversations of the two girls in the middle of the night.
"Candice, what nonsense are you talking about? Bryan helped me out a few times, we're just friends fighting side by side." Phoebe had lowered her voice as far as she could and argued.
"I don't think so, if they're just friends fighting side by side, then why are you always defending him and giving him such high praise? I just think you treat him a bit differently, that's all. Did something happen between you two? From my highly experienced instincts as a mercenary, you definitely treat him differently from others!" Candice's voice was filled with thick suspicion and seemed to speak quite professionally.
"Really, there's nothing. We've been friends for so many years, would I lie to you? Oh, right, what do you think of Bryan?"
"What do you mean?"
"One word - strange! Whether it's his abilities, the strange sword in his hand, or his background, it's all very strange. I think this person must have a secret he's hiding, you better be careful!"
"I'm not asking you, I knew that a long time ago... why would I need you to remind me? I'm asking you, how is he as a person?" Phoebe's tone was strange as she asked again.
"Huh. And you say you're just friends. I don't see that you care so much about your other friends. His looks are okay, but he's not handsome or charming. I haven't come across anything else, but from your descriptions he doesn't seem like much. Petty, profit-seeking and sex-crazed don't seem like professionals!"
Han Shuo heard everything they discussed and was cursing Candice inwardly when the three original demons in another location suddenly sensed the approach of assassins.
There were ten assassins this time, one of the front ones was dressed all in black and his body was floating in the air. It looked like he was at least of Archmage level. Through the vision of the original demons, Han Shuo could see that Grover had also appeared in the distance. His face was gravely cautious, and the experts at his side, such as Ellis and the others, were all part of this time's operation. It seemed that Grover was putting all his eggs in one basket. He wanted to make it difficult for Phoebe to escape this time.
The three original demons slowly changed direction, following Han Shuo's instructions. They carefully avoided the area covered by the Archmage's mental power and carefully sensed the strength and numbers of those coming. It was the early hours of the morning and the guards were in the heavily fortified northern part of the city. This took a few minutes, and was the most lax security in the entire northern part of the city. It seemed as if these people had already carefully scouted the conditions here.
Han Shuo measured the strength on his side and felt that the odds were stacked against him. He could no longer listen to Phoebe and Candice's conversation. He rushed out of his room as fast as he could, kicked open the door to their room with his foot, and rushed in without a second thought.