Mutant Monster!

The colossal azure beast appeared on a sprawling plain of wild grass. At the heart of that wilderness, a leather-clad figure maintained his altitude in flight — the alluring young man, visible to the Hunter King's gaze against the moonlight, looked like a black bat drifting across the sky, made small by the vast expanse of grass stretching in every direction.

Then, without warning, a massive pressure wave erupted from within the densely overgrown plain. It bent every stalk of grass — most standing over a meter high — flat to the ground, sweeping recklessly from far away all the way to where the Hunter King stood. Vast and spectacular.

"Yaoman, watch out!" the Hunter King called urgently.

"Watch out for wh — God, it's right below me!!"

"Big Guy, save him!" the Hunter King shouted.

The azure beast stamped both hind legs, and its mountain-like bulk launched into the air. It cleared nearly a kilometer from the edge of the plain in a single bound.

It leaped again. The beast practically flew — its enormous form sweeping through the moonlit sky like a raptor in full dive. The second landing brought it close to the center of the wild grass plain. An utterly breathtaking display.

**"ROOAARRR——!!!!!"**

In the swirling storm of scattered grass and wind, Yaoman was struck by something unseen. He tumbled from the sky along a steep diagonal, hit the earth, and gouged a long furrow into the ground — skidding an unknowable distance before finally coming to a stop.

"Yaoman, you alright?" the Hunter King called from atop the beast's skull.

"Not... not dead... That thing is terrifyingly strong. Be very careful."

"The test subject this time was a High-Level Mage — a three-element mutation. Combined with the fact that he was already a High-Level Mage going in, the monster he's become is far more terrifying."

"This kind of experiment needs to be shut down as soon as possible. It's monstrous. I'm strong enough to handle a few High-Level Mages without breaking a sweat, but this creature..."

The Hunter King said nothing more. A pair of eyes — red as a blood moon — had locked onto him.

The azure beast was among the mightiest Commander-class beings in existence. Most Demon-Beasts of lesser power would tremble to their bones at a mere glance from it. Yet the monster lurking in the tall grass showed not the slightest fear — if anything, it looked hungry for blood.

A moment passed before the Hunter King spoke again. "Yaoman, we're near the high-speed rail line. Go guard it — make sure our fight doesn't cause an accident on the tracks."

"Understood!"

"Then let's see what you've got." The Hunter King's gaze went cold. Standing atop the beast's head, brilliant Star Charts blazed into existence around his entire body.

The Star Charts appeared not only beneath his feet but around him and above his head as well, their patterns taking shape at a dazzling speed.

Between Star Chart and Star Chart, an even more mysterious formation was drawing itself — weaving between them all, connecting every configuration. Countless Star Trails crisscrossed like a meteor shower, while Star Motes blazed in numbers rivaling the stars of the night sky itself, dense and boundless...

In the distance, Yaoman glanced back one last time and saw resplendent Constellations rising around the Hunter King. He shook his head. "The Hunter King really doesn't hold back. High-Level Magic straight out of the gate."

The white high-speed train raced through the clean moonlight, its metallic surface catching a brilliant gleam. It cut through the boundless open wilderness at full speed, not slowing at all even through the curves, leaving a sweeping white arc across the vast earth — a beautiful sight.

Yaoman pressed a hand to his chest. A thin smear of blood at the corner of his mouth remained unwiped. He beat his fleshy wings, hovering at the sharp outer curve where the train's track swept wide.

The train was fast — it stirred up a howling wind that set his hair whipping as he held his position in the air.

He began setting up his own magic. Drawing on the Water Element, he cast the Celestial Water Veil — a wide-area technique that wrapped the entire stretch of rail track within its protection.

"Damn it, it's coming!!"

The Celestial Water Veil formed a massive water Barrier. Its blue curtain shimmered with crystalline brilliance beneath the silver moon, and as it rose before the curve in the track, it was as if a blue waterfall had materialized from thin air — a towering cascade standing guard over everything behind it.

**"BOOM — BOOM — BOOM — BOOM——!!!!!"**

Across the sweeping bend, great swaths of tall grass flattened in waves. The dry earth cracked into deep fissures, and in the worst stretches, long rifts tore open across the ground — as though seismic tremors were rolling in from somewhere far away.

Look more carefully and you could see it: a massive shockwave spreading outward, its epicenter the site of the Hunter King's battle at least two kilometers away. The shockwave had clearly not been Released by the Hunter King. Whatever destructive power that monster possessed was terrifying to contemplate.

The Celestial Water Veil held its ground. As the shockwave hit, the entire Barrier shuddered violently, on the verge of being torn apart.

"That savage — at this distance, and the aftershock is still this strong?" Yaoman stared at his barely-surviving Barrier, unease prickling through him long after the impact. "What in the world is the military doing?"

The Imperial Capital's Magic Association was housed within an ancient palace complex, known to many as the Magic Court.

The Magic Court and the Mingzhu Mage Tower were the country's two premier Magic Associations, celebrated throughout the entire world.

Deep within the Magic Court lay an elegant courtyard of old-fashioned refinement — pavilions, rockery gardens, and open halls set beside ornamental pools.

In the western wing, four people were seated around a square sandalwood table. The one pouring the tea was a half-aged man: a vintage Qing-dynasty-style hat on his head, temples frosted white, with surprisingly few wrinkles on his face.

One of the others had a hand pressed flat on the table, body angled sideways — the posture of barely-contained anger. His dress and bearing marked him clearly as a Military Mage, the insignia on his chest unmistakable. From the sheer number of decorations, his rank was clearly no small thing.

Sitting across from the Military Mage was old Professor Qiu Yuhua, dumping the fine tea straight down his throat in a single swallow, savoring nothing.

"Why must you two be at odds?" said the hat-wearing man, his temples silver. "In the end, no single person decides this matter."

"I'm not at odds with anyone. This has risen to a matter of basic decency." Qiu Yuhua turned and unloaded on the military man without a shred of courtesy. "I already made it perfectly clear to all of you last time — don't you dare touch that boy. This matter is not up for discussion. Grand Commander Lu Nian, kindly put away that military authority of yours. Stop hiding behind 'for the country' and 'for humanity' while doing things no different from what the Black Church does. Even the president of the Five Continents Magic Association has gone on record saying he would never bring that person into the New Magic System. What you are doing is sorcery. Divine retribution is coming."