Chapter 4: Compound Phantoms
After arriving at the Demon Purification Pool, Li Mingxing suddenly remembered that, in his anger toward Zheng, he had completely forgotten to buy one or two new Black Demon Diamonds from the beautiful bartender.
With no other choice, Li Mingxing left Zheng to wait there for a moment and hurried back to the bartender. After exchanging 1,000 spirit coins, he purchased two Black Demon Diamonds. Upon returning, he found Zheng engaged in a fight with two men by the pool.
Seeing Li Mingxing approach, Zheng kicked one of the men, whom she had been dominating, flying away and then came over to stand beside him.
Li Mingxing cast a cold glance at the two men and asked in a chilling tone, “What’s going on here?”
“Nothing much,” Zheng replied, eyeing the two men disdainfully. “Just a couple of fools who saw me standing here alone and thought they could cause trouble.”
Li Mingxing’s voice grew even colder. “Good. Anyone who dares lay a hand on my woman clearly doesn’t want to live. Killing isn’t allowed here, but none of you will escape my grasp. From now on, you’re my enemies.”
With those words, an imperial aura surged explosively from Li Mingxing, pressing the two men—still struggling to rise—back down with overwhelming force.
Realizing Li Mingxing was not to be trifled with, the two men exchanged a glance and fled in disgrace.
After the brief scuffle, Li Mingxing handed the Black Demon Diamonds to the two guardians of the pool and thoughtfully shielded Zheng from prying eyes as she undressed and entered the Demon Purification Pool.
While waiting for Zheng’s emergence, the two guardians approached Li Mingxing. “Your follower is incredibly strong,” one remarked. “Among those two just now, one was a trainee hero, and yet she utterly defeated him. If she becomes your follower, her power will be boundless.”
Before Li Mingxing could respond, a thunderous roar echoed from the pool. Both he and the guardians looked toward the source in astonishment. The guardians exchanged looks; one muttered, “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen such a presence.”
As Li Mingxing pondered the situation, Zheng emerged from the pool, completely transformed. Only then did he understand why the guardians had spoken so reverently.
Zheng’s ethereal form was a composite, not a single entity like theirs. She still appeared as a young girl, clad in sleek black armor, wielding a three-meter-long spear that gleamed with a cold light. Beside her crouched a three-meter-long black flying dragon.
“Black Dragon Knight,” Li Mingxing whispered.
One guardian patted Li Mingxing’s shoulder. “Brother, you’re incredibly lucky. Such composite ethereal forms usually belong to individuals with exceptionally strong mental power or spiritual abilities. It’s rare to see this on a first ethereal transformation.”
He continued, “Moreover, the power and skills of composite forms are calculated separately. Your subordinate’s black dragon has two skills besides normal flight: an O-level dark breath and a high-altitude charge—both offensive abilities that increase in strength as they level up.”
“But the girl’s skills are extraordinary: O-level spear mastery, horsemanship mastery, and curse attack. Though these are basic skills, combined with her dragon mount, their power multiplies manifold.”
Hearing this, Li Mingxing’s gaze toward Zheng changed. He wondered if he should really bring her into the most perilous place.
Perhaps sensing his thoughts, Zheng turned to him, her eyes filled with a honeyed tenderness that was impossible to resist.
Li Mingxing stepped closer, pulling her into his arms. “You didn’t really have to do this,” he whispered.
Zheng shook her head. “If I don’t help you, who else will?”
She tightened her embrace. At that moment, one of the guardians loudly interrupted, “Are you two done yet? If so, move along—others are waiting.”
Li Mingxing felt a bit embarrassed. He picked up Zheng’s clothes and looked at her. Hidden beneath her black helmet, her face seemed to flush. She turned away, and the black armor, the spear, and the black dragon all retracted into her body.
At that moment, Li Mingxing noticed a black dragon tattoo had appeared on Zheng’s smooth back. Though he wanted to investigate further, the next batch of people needing purification was approaching. Not wanting to expose Zheng’s vulnerability, he hurriedly helped her dress.
As they left, Zheng realized the new tattoo on her back. She didn’t understand how it came about but sensed that after the black dragon merged into her, she could control and use its skills.
Li Mingxing thought for a moment and said, “I’ll take you somewhere where you can quickly upgrade one of your combat skills to level two. But it’s my foundation. If I bring you there, you will…”
“Will I be trapped there forever?” Zheng asked, glancing at him.
“No. I won’t let you stay there permanently. But you can’t reveal the entrance’s location to anyone but me. Otherwise, you’ll only have death as an option. No matter how much I love you, this is the only way,” Li Mingxing said with some helplessness.
Zheng gently rested her head on his shoulder. “If you’re willing to tell me this, how could I refuse?”
Li Mingxing smiled softly and called out loudly, “Aisha, gather your troops. We’re going somewhere.”
Aisha was momentarily stunned. Since leaving the Inner World, all of Li Mingxing’s forces had been sent back to his city for safekeeping. Why would he order her to bring them again?
While Aisha was puzzled, Li Mingxing’s Forest Fairy Legion appeared at the mysterious bar’s exit. Seeing them, Aisha quickly organized the still-dazed troops and followed Li Mingxing into the teleportation portal.
In the next instant, Li Mingxing and the group appeared in the residential area where his city was located. Upon entry, confusion filled Aisha and her troops’ eyes.
Zheng asked, “Is this the Inner World?”
“Not at all. This is a half-world, temporarily my domain. I can build small structures here. I’m also going to the dark part of the mysterious forest to draw its aura into this half-world,” Li Mingxing explained.
At this, Aisha seemed to understand his intentions and stayed close to him, while her subordinate Druid girls went off on patrol.
Seeing how obedient Aisha’s troops were, Li Mingxing nodded approvingly. “While you’re in the real world, patrol and train here. I’ll try to find more people to enter this area. You can see if they can be trained as Druids. If not, I’ll arrange other training.”
Seeing Aisha’s earnestness, Zheng wanted to ask Li Mingxing for a mission, but he didn’t give her the chance. Instead, he took her to the room he had rented.
After carefully securing the doors and windows, Li Mingxing said, “Even Aisha only knows the city entrance is somewhere in this area. You’re the first to know the exact location.”
With that, he conjured a torch in his hand, opened the portal to his city, grabbed Zheng, and jumped in.
Upon entering Li Mingxing’s city, Zheng’s expression mirrored her astonishment when she first entered the mysterious bar. The city was vast—nearly three thousand acres—filled with his hardworking and training troops, leaving Zheng deeply amazed.
But Li Mingxing gave her no time to dwell on it and dragged her to the newly built mercenary camp.
He had visited this camp before but hadn’t entered due to lacking combat skills.
Now, bringing Zheng there was partly to help her increase her strength and partly to assess the camp’s condition.
Unaware of Li Mingxing’s intentions, Zheng emerged from the camp after a while. “Inside, a voice told me I have two ethereal forms in my body that can upgrade two combat skills. It takes fifteen days, so…”
“I understand. I’ll help you take leave, and I’ll come for you after fifteen days,” Li Mingxing said, immediately grasping her meaning.
Hearing this, Zheng threw herself into Li Mingxing’s arms and pressed her soft, rosy lips against his. After a tender embrace, she gently pushed him away and rushed back into the mercenary camp, leaving Li Mingxing with her parting words whispered in his ear:
“When my skills reach level two, I want to go with you to the Inner World.”