Chapter 50: Gray Citadel
–Wind Valley
Trees snapped in half, boulders shattered, the air thick with the stench of blood.
Four or five mangled corpses lay scattered on the ground, blood splattered everywhere, a gruesome scene.
Massive, beast-like fist prints were deeply imprinted on the ground, the surrounding area pulverized.
A woman in a gray robe frowned, squatting down to examine the scene.
“This is strange. They were killed without even summoning their spirit beasts. But judging by these marks, it wasn’t a speed-type spirit beast…”
“Big Sister, could it have been a peak Dead Sea Stage Spirit Master!?”
Behind the gray-robed woman stood another woman in a gray cloak.
Both their clothes bore the mark of a silver shuriken, like a small, spinning pinwheel, the symbol of the Gray Citadel.
The Storm Realm—Gray Citadel.
Unlike the low-ranking Wind Demon Palace, the Gray Citadel was one of the top factions in the Storm Realm, its reputation formidable. In recent years, a true Saint-rank monster had even emerged from their ranks.
So far, the Twelve Palaces of Ice hadn’t found a way to deal with that monster.
Including the Wrathful Saintess, if that monster entered the Wind Valley, all members of the Ice Shield Palace would retreat without hesitation.
“Peak Dead Sea Stage… no, I’m familiar with their auras. This one is different.”
Hearing the other Gray Citadel member’s speculation, the gray-robed woman shook her head gravely.
A deep scar ran down her face, from her forehead to her chin, as if she had almost been cleaved in two.
Although her appearance was frightening, the powerful aura she radiated was unmistakable. She was at the peak of the Dead Sea Stage.
“Could someone have contracted a new high-rank spirit beast?”
“Or perhaps it’s not from the Ice Shield Palace, but a member of another Sea Region faction training alone…?”
“Regardless, that person is dangerous. The Sea Concubine Palace Spirit Masters will be arriving soon. We can’t afford any more casualties.”
“Kill her!!!”
As the scarred woman’s vicious words echoed, a gray mist rose from their feet.
Like phantom ninjas, the two Gray Citadel women vanished instantly, leaving a swirling cloud of dust.
Meanwhile, not far from there, by a clear lake…
A beautiful, silver-haired girl in a Wind Demon Palace uniform stood by the shore, casually counting the tokens she had collected.
It had only been four or five hours since she entered the Wind Valley, and she had already collected thirteen Storm Realm tokens.
Watching the Iron Jade Ice Scorpion crush the Storm Realm girls into pulp, Gong Lianyue felt nothing, her heart as still as water.
“Have I killed too many? The Saintess selection is just a side objective…”
The girl sighed. She should probably keep a low profile. It would be dangerous to attract too much attention.
The little fox’s transformation abilities were limited. It could alter her clothing, hair color, and makeup, but it couldn’t change her physique or facial features.
Like creating a character in an online game, most people, no matter how hard they tried, could only create an ugly monstrosity.
The same was true for the little fox’s transformations. It could transform, but only into grotesque abominations that barely looked human. There was no way to maintain a disguise.
Not to mention that Gong Lianyue could see her own transformed appearance. She had vomited until she passed out last time.
Whoosh~~~
As Gong Lianyue pondered, a wave of illusory mist approached from behind.
The pale mist rapidly enveloped the entire lake area, engulfing the girl.
She paused, her eyes narrowing as she looked back, sensing a deep, despairing aura within the mist, like the deep sea.
“Have I been discovered?!”
“No, I shouldn’t have…”
For a moment, Gong Lianyue thought she had been caught, but she quickly realized the mist wasn’t targeting her specifically, but the entire lake area.
They must be searching based on aura. In that case, it would be easy!
She quickly hid all the tokens inside her clothes, and the little fox transformed into a silver Wind Shadow Fox with two antennae on its head.
A Dead Sea Stage Spirit Master! This was her first encounter!
Besides the Eight-Headed Mist Crow, Gong Lianyue hadn’t faced a Dead Sea Stage Spirit Master before. She couldn’t help but feel nervous.
“Strange, the aura disappears here.”
As the mist dissipated, two figures in gray uniforms appeared, their voices filled with confusion.
Looking at the pinwheel patterns on their clothes, Gong Lianyue’s pupils constricted.
Gray Citadel!
She recognized their mark. They weren’t on the same level as the Wind Demon Palace or the other small fries she had killed along the way.
The woman with the ugly scar on her face was Dead Sea Stage, while the other, cloaked figure seemed to be at the Dawn and Dusk Stage, like herself…
“Hey, Wind Demon Palace, did you see any Spirit Masters from the Sea Region pass by?”
Hearing the scarred woman’s condescending question, Gong Lianyue narrowed her eyes, annoyed.
She wanted to talk back, but considering that an ordinary Dawn and Dusk Stage Spirit Master wouldn’t dare to confront a Dead Sea Stage one, she held back.
“She went that way~~~” Gong Lianyue casually pointed in a random direction, her tone dismissive.
To her surprise, they actually believed her.
“…”
“Heh, she must have sensed my aura and fled. I didn’t even have time to deal with the others.”
The scarred woman sneered, walking past the (silver-haired) girl with an air of arrogance.
A Dawn and Dusk Stage Spirit Master with a Wind Shadow Fox, from the Wind Demon Palace… not even worth her time.
However, as she passed by Gong Lianyue, the girl’s expression turned strange.
“Big Sister, watch out!!”
“What?”
Hearing the anxious cry from behind, the scarred woman turned around in confusion.
The cloaked woman was enveloped in a white mist, inexplicably entering a battle stance.
“That woman just tried to ambush you with an illusion-type spirit beast!!”
“…”
The scarred woman froze, dumbfounded, while Gong Lianyue looked innocent.
What was going on? Why wasn’t the Cloud Dream Flower’s Deep Sea illusion working?
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