"This can't be!" Ding Mao was stunned. How could this young man withstand his Hell Flame, five times stronger than before?
"Are you okay?" Yehken couldn't help but shout, but before blurting out Eddie's name, he cautiously omitted it, ensuring the enemy wouldn't learn it.
Regardless of the battle's outcome, the strength of the Demonic Temple was terrifying.
"It's just a child's play. I'm also an expert in playing with fire!" Eddie suddenly revealed a radiant smile and waved reassuringly at Sophia and Inan.
"Ten times the Hell Flame!" Phosphor Demon Ding Mao, in extreme fury, ignited his entire body in flames. His cloak turned to ash, his body resembling a man of fire.
A black and red column of fire rose to the sky, transforming into a massive fire dragon. The terrifying firestorm dragon lunged at Eddie.
Hessian and Sophia summoned their treasures, raising protective shields.
Only they remained unscathed, protected by the shields, as all the soldiers were blown away by the firestorm.
Buildings collapsed, wood caught fire, and the entire town was engulfed in chaos and darkness. In the center, the fire dragon furiously devoured a single black dot.
Yehken and the others internally screamed, fearing the worst.
They no longer expected Eddie to withstand the attack but hoped he would either raise a protective shield or escape using agility. "
Please don't face it head-on; that Hell Flame is beyond human resistance!"
But Eddie's actions remained stubbornly resolute.
He raised the Ashen Magic Blade in his hand, drawing a gentle, flowing light that met the fire dragon.
Ding Mao thought Eddie was doomed; how could such a weak blade extinguish his tenfold Hell Flame?
Ding Mao's lips curled into a cold smirk.
"Foolish, ignorant boy!"
In the next second, under the tense watch of Sophia and Inan, Eddie did not let the fire dragon devour him. Instead, he slowly rotated, drawing the fire dragon into a spinning motion.
With each rotation, the fire dragon shrank, and mysterious fire rings formed in the sky.
After nine rotations, nine fire rings encircled Eddie, magically spinning around him, obediently under his control, without any explosive temperament.
"Wow!" Yehken and Hessian jumped with excitement.
"This is impossible..." Ding Mao watched in terror, unable to believe his eyes.
Although the gentle blade light couldn't extinguish the Hell Flame, Eddie easily dispersed the fire dragon into stable fire rings.
Through previous failures, Eddie finally mastered the control of Yang aspect fire energy on his third attempt.
Mastering the Yin-Yang dual energy was always Eddie's breakthrough goal.
Now, having complete control over the Yang aspect of fire energy, Eddie felt immensely empowered, as if he held the heavens and the earth in his palm. In that instant, he glimpsed the threshold of the fourth level of the Innate Realm.
Another breakthrough opportunity, and he would ascend to the fourth level of the Innate Realm.
"Go, go!" General Old Ma knew that the longer they delayed, the more dangerous it would become.
If they didn't leave soon, even these students might not be able to escape. Yehken and his companions were inwardly distressed. They had already fought their way out of the town for two kilometers but were still within the interference range. If they didn't move soon, they would reach the Despair Abyss...
As General Old Ma swung his fiery giant beam, he shouted at Hessian, the slowest among them, "Go! Teleport out! Generally, you won't fall off a cliff and die. Use another teleportation scroll to return to your place... Find the most powerful mentor for protection, don't wander around, and don't inform the Warrior's Guild about the attack... The Demonic Temple's forces will be arriving soon, hurry up!"
Hessian and the others were extremely anxious, but they didn't dare to use the scrolls to leave without Eddie's nod. Eddie's plan was to keep the group together, as letting even one member get caught by the enemy would spell big trouble. They had to bring the entire team back.
Suddenly, General Old Ma roared skyward, his body intensifying in bear transformation, almost turning into an iron giant bear. He charged uncontrollably into the giant spiders, furiously slaughtering them.
Repeated assaults carved a path for Eddie and his team. As Eddie approached, the general, with eyes blood-red, unexpectedly struck at Eddie's chest. Eddie deftly dodged, and the general's red gaze slightly dimmed as he growled:
"Go now, I can't hold on much longer. You are different from us; you're students, don't sacrifice yourselves easily, you are the future of the Dragon Teng Continent... We are soldiers, dying in battle is our highest honor! Go, I'm losing control!"
The bear-transformed General Old Horse thunderously rushed into the giant spiders, causing chaos again. Midway, he turned back, leading countless spiders towards the town.
Yehken's palms were sweaty, his teleportation scroll almost dripping with water. When the gem on the scroll glowed without dark energy, he quickly unfurled it and shouted, "It's clear now, out of the interference range, everyone hurry!"
In the sky, the fallen warriors dove down on their giant eagles and dragons, attempting to disrupt Eddie's team's teleportation. Successful disruption meant this last rescue team would perish here...
Eddie raised his Ashen Magic Blade, leaping high, and instantly slew the fastest diving giant eagle. Blood splattered, feathers scattered. Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, the rest of the eagles and dragons immediately fled. The fallen commander's expression changed, and he withdrew the golden crossbow he had drawn.
A fallen warrior, unable to escape in time, was petrified by Eddie's sudden appearance behind him. His escape and struggle were futile. Eddie's blade swept past, and he landed gently. By then, Yehken and the others had already teleported away. In the sky, the headless fallen warrior and the giant eagle spiraled down, crashing into the giant spiders and were instantly devoured.
On the ground, only Inan and Eddie remained, protected by the Grey Wolf. Inan harmlessly opened the teleportation gate, waiting for Eddie to join her. Eddie swiftly unfurled his teleportation scroll, kicking the Grey Wolf into the gate, then entered with Inan, teleporting away.
Their destination was the campus of the Ivy League Academy.
Old Fox, studying the teleportation array by the gate, suddenly sensed a ripple in space. He glanced up to see Hessian screaming as he teleported down. Quickly, Old Fox dodged to the side. Watching Hessian crash onto the ground, he asked calmly, "What happened? Fatty, you're not dead, are you?" Before he could finish, Yehken and the Ly Brothers teleported down, startling Old Fox into another quick dodge.
Confused, Old Fox was suddenly flattened under a pair of feet, hearing Eddie's voice above him, "Is everyone okay?"
"They're fine, but as the vice principal, I'm curious to ask, 'Where did you set your teleportation destination? Why did you land on my head?'" Old Fox realized why Eddie felt as heavy as Hessian, seeing him carrying Yehken, holding a female thief, and lugging a charred person. Eddie was effectively carrying three people and a captive.
"Teleportation was a bit disrupted, but we all made it back safely. Vice Principal, I don't have time to chat, these people are under your protection. If they lose even a hair before I return, I'll hold you responsible!"
Eddie didn't waste time getting off Old Fox's back, quickly setting down Inan and untying Yehken, then hurriedly opened General Old Horse's scroll, taking the charred Vihan, and teleported to seek reinforcements in the Tianluo capital.
"What the heck is going on? Who's that charcoal Eddie's carrying?" Old Fox was thoroughly confused.
"It's nothing big, just some Demonic Temple goons attacking us in Hope Town. The charred guy Eddie's carrying is supposedly called Heiran Vihan," Yehken casually explained.
"Are you joking? Why would the Demonic Temple attack a few kids?" Old Fox jumped up in disbelief.
"I don't get it either," Yehken shrugged helplessly.
"Is that really Heiran Vihan?" Old Fox sensed the situation was not simple. He recognized the Tianluo traitor Heiran Vihan.
"He's not that tough. Eddie could beat him single-handedly. The tough one was a guy named Phosphor Dingzang, nearly roasted us like ducks! I thought General Old Horse, one of Tianluo's top ten generals, was tough, but he was defeated in one strike. Luckily, the old horse is tough as nails and survived!"
Hessian excitedly recounted the story, ready to narrate everything from departure to now if Old Fox was willing to listen.
"You guys fought Phosphor Dingzang too?" Old Fox exclaimed, "Did Eddie win? Impossible, even I would struggle against Dingzang, his Hellfire is tricky without a counteracting beast... How long did Eddie fight him?"
"Three moves!" Yehken proudly confirmed.
"Impossible, I might not defeat Dingzang in three moves!" Old Fox was utterly shocked.
"He didn't win, just caught Dingzang's tenfold Hellfire with his magic blade, scaring him off," Inan added.
"Still impossible. Catching tenfold Hellfire, maybe I could, but Eddie? Is he really that strong?" Old Fox felt he urgently needed to reassess Eddie's combat abilities.
"Vice Principal, no offense, but aren't you the weakest instructor at Ivy League Academy? To think you're even better at bragging than Hessian!"
Hessian sympathetically shook his head, "I mean, it's normal to fantasize and boast, we all do it, but you can't exaggerate too much! With your level-five master strength, you're no match for even one of Dingzang's fingers. Keep that talk between us, but don't say it elsewhere. It'd be embarrassing for us Ivy League students!"
Old Fox was thoroughly disheartened by Hessian's lecture, almost wishing he could scare the plump kid to death with his full power. But then he thought better of it, realizing that revealing his true strength to Hessian would only lead to more pestering.
Sighing in ultimate frustration, Old Fox conceded, "Alright, Hessian, you're right. I admit I misspoke. The Demonic Temple is not to be trifled with. They might follow us for revenge. But don't worry, I'll protect you all... Ah, I'll find some experts to protect you!"
Eddie, unaware of the commotion behind him with Old Fox, Yehken, and Hessian, encountered a problem upon entering the teleportation gate.
Likely due to holding Heiran Vihan, the teleportation deviated slightly, landing him on a rooftop instead of in front of the palace's teleportation array.
He tried to use his qi to lightly touch the glazed tiles, but slid silently into them, finding them illusory.
Heiran Vihan, however, thudded onto the rooftop, screaming in pain, and was flung meters away, landing somewhere unknown. Eddie, meanwhile, fell straight through the illusionary rooftop to the ground below.
Glad it wasn't a bottomless pit or a dimensional space, Eddie tried to land as gently as a feather, hoping not to trigger any traps.
But the ground was also illusory, and he bizarrely fell through, shattering the illusion to reveal a pool of water. Only then did he realize the house, beams, and ground were all illusions, and he was actually falling into a large pool.
Dizzy, Eddie wondered how he ended up here instead of the palace's teleportation array.
Why did Heiran Vihan bounce away while he fell through?
Overhearing two faint voices discussing him, Eddie looked around but saw no one.
"How did this foolish boy fall into our Mirage Sea?" A voice with natural authority whispered near Eddie's ear.
"Let's capture him and interrogate him thoroughly!" chimed in another voice, playful and seemingly young.
Eddie broke into a sweat. Mirage Sea? Who were these people, and what place was this?