*Ding!
[You entered the Spirit Valley]
Sprawled before them was the same mystic grassland, brimming with translucent figures of various monster spirits.
"Take out the amulet," Li Chengfeng then said aloud, crossing his arms.
Lin Fang reached his neck and removed it. And then, all of a sudden, like smoke taking shape, the eerie black cat spirit materialized above his head.
This time, he saw it clearly. Lin Fang murmured under his breath, "This looks just like Xuan Hei."
Before he could think any more, a strange ripple passed through the valley. Every single spirit in the field stopped moving.
Then, they started bowing their heads one after another as if subjects were greeting their King. Even the Epic grade spirits, like the twin-headed flame hounds or the thunder bear spirit, all of them bowed toward Nemesis without a sound.
Lin Fang couldn't help but take a step back in shock, watching the scenario. "What's going on?"
Li Chengfeng exhaled slowly, folding his arms across his chest, and answered. "Nemesis is a Spirit King, Lin Fang. No spirit has the guts to stand in its presence."
Lin Fang glanced up at the spirit floating above him, and his fists tightened slightly.
Li Chengfeng continued, went on explaining.
With Nemesis on his side, he can suppress any spirit you can find, well, except for another spirit King or a pseudo Spirit King. But that also means Lin Fang cannot form a soul bond contract with any spirit weaker than a Pseudo Spirit King that will willingly submit to him. Nemesis won't allow it. Hence, according to Li Chengfeng, his only path forward as a tamer is to find another Spirit King willing to become his companion.
But Lin Fang inwardly scoffed at that statement. After all, he already has a full roster in his system.
As he cannot say it aloud, he could only go on with the flow. Clearing his throat, he acted curiously, pointing toward the silent cat spirit that hovered above him. "So, how do I suppress it then?"
"Sit down," Li Chengfeng instructed, motioning with his finger. "Close your eyes and meditate. Try to form a mental link with it. If you can reach out, it would become easier to suppress its presence."
Lin Fang nodded and sat cross-legged right where he stood. He focused, trying to calm his breathing and pushing all thoughts aside. Slowly, he tried to reach out with his mind, like he was calling out for the spirit to talk to him.
Five minutes turned to ten, then in no time, more than forty minutes passed without any results. The black cat floated as still as a statue, watching with disinterest. Meanwhile, the system remained a silent spectator as if this wasn't its concern.
Finally, Li Chengfeng stepped forward, stopping him. "That's enough. Wear the amulet again."
Lin Fang opened his eyes with a sigh, slipped the amulet around his neck, and stood up. "So, what now?"
"We go into the wilderness," Li Chengfeng said simply.
"Eh?"
*
Back in the reception hall, Li Xue was tapping away at her tablet while she leaned back with her legs crossed on the counter. Her brothers are nowhere to be seen at the moment.
Spotting them climbing down the chairs, she hurriedly got up. "What happened?" She seemed to be expecting positive results.
But Li Chengfeng only replied flatly. "We're going out. Close the guild for the day." Taking a pause, he then added as an afterthought. "And bring Betty."
Li Xue blinked. "Betty?"
As Li Chengfeng nodded, Li Xue didn't question anymore and simply patted a drawer behind the reception counter. With a tiny click, the drawer slid open and out popped a fluffy white cat, yawning lazily.
"Betty, come on," she cooed.
The cat meowed and leapt onto the counter.
Lin Fang bent down to pet it. "Hey there, little…"
HISSSSS!
Betty's back suddenly arched, and her fur bristled, hissing at Lin Fang, who jerked his hand back in surprise. Hostility is clearly evident in this snow cat.
Li Xue quickly scooped her up, scolding her softly. "Hey, he is the one who cured you. Behave."
As she apologized, Lin Fang waved his hand with a smile, but his eyes momentarily were fixed on the cat, inspecting its data.
Name: Betty
Species: Frost Veil Cat
Element: Ice
Level: 16 (Suppressed)
Grade: Legendary
Potential: Overlord Tier (Level-70)
*
There wasn't much change to her status, except that she is no longer ill, and there was a suppression of level on the cat, meaning the cat is stronger than it seemed on the surface. It reminded him of Po.
As Lin Fang wondered what could it be its true strength could be, Li Chengfeng glanced over and passed off a comment with a shrug. "She's half a step into Spirit King class. No wonder she reacted to Nemesis like that."
Lin Fang nodded slowly in understanding, rubbing his arm.
Three Hours Later;
Far from the city, Lin Fang and others were seen riding in an armored military-grade vehicle that rumbled like a beast through the rough terrain.
Li Chengfeng drove in silence, fully focused. Betty sat in the backseat on Li Xue's lap with her eyes constantly on Lin Fang, while the person in question simply stared outside.
The atmosphere in the vehicle was mostly silent for their entire journey. Lin Fang wanted to talk, but seeing the old man looking a bit too focused on driving and Li Xue had headphones over her, he could only shut his mouth.
After three hours of journey, the vehicle finally entered a ghost town, the buildings looked modern but destroyed as if the town had gone through a large-scale battle.
Driving through the streets, Li Chengfeng finally opened his mouth after a while, explaining briefly. "This Town of Danfeng was destroyed in a dungeon break a decade ago. It was such a tragedy. Overnight, tens of thousands were massacred. The corpses were cleared, the monsters were also killed, and the town remained a desolate ruin, but due to the remnant evil energy trapped in the surroundings, this had become a regular spot for dimensional dungeons. Every once in a while, a dimension dungeon pops up."
Lin Fang silently noted the information. However, he couldn't help but take out his smartphone to see if he could find any information on Baidu, but unfortunately, there was no network signal here. "No wonder the response from hunter guilds was poor and the loss was quite high."
The vehicle eventually stopped near an ancient ruin-like shrine.
"Get down," Li Chengfeng said as he stepped out.
Lin Fang followed him out, feeling the heavy wind, which almost instantly hit his face.
Soon, the trio stood at a crumbling archway of blackened stone, where a blue translucent portal floated slightly in the air. Its surface rippled faintly like a disturbed pond as they approached the portal.
Li Xue stepped up first with her eyes narrowed at the portal. "Uncle, it is still blue and has no energy leaking, but there seems to be slight vibrations. I guess we have a little more than three days to clear this one out."
"Let's go in." Li Chengfeng said, stepping forward.
"Wait." Lin Fang tilted his head slightly. "I don't have a Hunter license. Isn't this illegal to enter a portal?"
Instead of answering, Li Xue pulled out her phone, flicked across her screen, and held it up. A digital lease with the Zero Guild's seal was shown on the screen.
Before he asked, she said. "Nothing to worry about that. Zero bought the hunting rights for the dungeon. It's the guild's responsibility who to let in or not."
"Alright then." Lin Fang exhaled.
The three of them stepped into the portal.
The world twisted around him as soon as he stepped inside. For Lin Fang, it was such a familiar feeling. The same thing he experienced when he entered the Spirit Valley.
And when Lin Fang's vision cleared, he found himself standing at the edge of a blackened cave, which was lit by molten veins of lava running through its walls.
*Ding!
[You entered a dimensional dungeon.]
[Grade 3 is detected]
"Grade 3?" As his eyes slightly fluttered at the info, suddenly, from the molten crevices, skeletal figures began to rise.
Lin Fang tensed at the sight of skeletons, which oddly looked human than monsters. All of them carry the same type of blades like soldiers from the past.
But Li Chengfeng simply crossed his arms. "Now, if you want to bring the power of Nemesis, you have to fight them. We won't lift a finger but will make sure you won't die. Go ahead."
"Wait, what?"
Before Lin Fang could argue anymore, Li Chengfeng tossed him a glowing purple crystal, not giving him any time to talk.
As Lin Fang caught it in reflex, a familiar chime rang in his head again.
*Ding!
[Mana Crystal detected.]
Absorb Mana?
[Yes] / [No]
Lin Fang accepted immediately, and the mana crystal instantly lost its color, and energy flew into his body. The crystal turned white.
*Ding!
[582 Mana Points worth reserves added to host]
[You have 60 minutes before the expiration]
Meanwhile, Li Chengfeng spoke calmly from behind. "Good. Even if you are a plainfolk, it seems you have a high aptitude to use mana crystals. But then again, as an innate soul, it is obvious."
As the undead began to swarm, Lin Fang gritted his teeth and tried to channel his mana.
However, nothing happened.
*Ding!
[The host's body is not suitable for manipulating mana. Please pick a weapon.]
"Eh?"
As Lin Fang froze by the surprising notification, the first skeleton had already initiated the combat, swinging its rusted blade at him.