Chapter 172: Summoning Tameirlan, an Ineffably Brilliant Light

On the largest stage of the circus.

Under everyone’s gaze, the magician Lu En smiled faintly, removed the black top hat from his head, revealing a cascade of brilliant golden short hair.

He gently flicked the brim of the hat, and the opening suddenly trembled.

Snap.

With a snap of his fingers, the first white dove burst forth from the hat’s mouth, its beak clutching a blooming red rose, dewdrops on the petals refracting gemlike glimmers under the spotlight.

Immediately followed by the second, the third, countless white doves soared from the hat, each bird’s beak holding a rose, tracing elegant arcs through the air.

Their wingbeats gradually synchronized into a hypnotic rhythm; the fragrance of roses intertwined with the freshness of feathers until they formed a massive heart shape, then scattered, dropping their roses so each one landed precisely in the outstretched palms of the children below.

“Such beautiful roses! I’ll give mine to my mom—she’s so tired!”

“I wish I had a flock of pigeons like that.”

“Pigeons are tasty.”

The children, gazing at the delicate, dew-kissed roses in their hands, burst into excited cheers.

When Xia Mingyu confirmed the rose in his hand was real and not an illusion, his expression froze.

How could this ability be so similar to his own—Magician’s Trick?

Could it be that this circus director’s profession blessing is the True Magician?

After the dove illusion, the magician performed one new trick after another.

Such as a teleportation trick swapping places with a rose, a shadow-cutting trick where he sliced off his own shadow and threw it to the ground, turning it into a black shadow wolf, and a thief’s trick plucking an object from a locked box with a mere reach.

And most astonishing of all—a time trick: Lu En pressed his pocket watch, tossed a small ball upward, and the ball descended so slowly, as if time itself had stretched, taking minutes to fall.

Each trick sent the children in the circus tent into ecstatic applause, their palms reddened from clapping.

After watching these tricks, Xia Mingyu suddenly realized something.

He conjured a red rose and placed it on the ground beside him, then attempted to activate his Magician’s Trick ability with a snap.

Snap!

The next instant, he miraculously swapped places with the red rose on the ground.

Yet, after several seconds passed, he only then regained awareness of the Magician’s Trick ability’s status.

It seemed this spatial transfer ability imposed a cooldown period on Magician’s Trick.

This scene was undoubtedly witnessed by Lu En, still performing on stage.

A flicker of astonishment passed through his violet-gold heterochromatic eyes, causing him to pause his act mid-performance.

After a moment’s thought, Lu En’s handsome face broke into a faint smile as he gazed down at Xia Mingyu and spoke:

“Wise One, you also practice magic?”

His voice sounded soft, yet it filled the entire tent, drawing every child and circus performer’s gaze toward Xia Mingyu.

“Just a little,” Xia Mingyu said calmly.

“Then would you care to come up and demonstrate?”

Lu En smiled gently, asking.

“The Wise One knows magic too? I’m so excited!”

“To see the Wise One perform magic—this will be the happiest day of my life.”

“Mom, you don’t have to worry I’ll be unhappy after you leave—I’m truly happy today.”

Xia Mingyu: “.”

Seeing the children’s eager eyes around him, he could only nod helplessly.

Seeing this, Lu En stepped aside, smiling and gesturing with open arms for Xia Mingyu to step onto the stage.

Meanwhile.

Luo Yi, Kalun, Boge, and four others stood silently at the entrance of the circus tent, awaiting the prince’s return.

When the tent’s lights had gone out earlier, they nearly rushed inside—luckily, the lights returned quickly, halting them just in time.

“Knight Captain, all esteemed lords, please sit and rest,” said the extraordinary knight Gray, thoughtfully bringing four chairs to the entrance.

“How much longer will this circus last? It’s almost dawn!”

Luo Yi, having stood all night, sighed deeply as he sat.

If not for the fact that this circus director was his own uncle, he would have stormed in long ago to guard the prince.

“Usually, the circus ends at dawn. It shouldn’t take more than half an hour now,” Kalun observed, watching the ink-black sky above gradually lighten.

Hearing this, Luo Yi’s expression eased, and he even stood up again.

If only half an hour remained, he could endure it—after all, he didn’t want the prince to see him sitting on a chair waiting.

Upon hearing this, Luo Yi’s expression softened considerably, and he even stood up again from his chair.

The Faceless ones lurking in the shadows of the square were now frantic.

Their invisibility gear only functioned under cover of night—once dawn came, it would fail.

If they missed this chance, they’d expose themselves, alert the enemy, and never get another opportunity to assassinate the Wise One.

“Captain, strike now—wait any longer and it’ll be too late!”

“Captain, you don’t want to fail the mission and face punishment, do you? I recall you’re just one mission away from being granted a face.”

The Faceless ones eagerly urged.

The captain hesitated—on one hand, he remained terrified of the monster circus, remembering the leader’s warning; on the other,

Every Faceless one, since childhood, had been forced to ingest a special potion that erased their face, identity, even gender, leaving only a quick-identifying code.

His current code was Qing Er, meaning he ranked second among all Faceless ones with green eyes.

After completing one hundred missions, a Faceless one would be granted a face and noble status, finally living in the light, no longer hiding like a monster in shadows.

This was Qing Er’s dream—and the dream of every Faceless one.

After a moment of silence, Qing Er withdrew a silver divination compass from his pocket.

This was a preset compass capable of locating individuals with the ability to bring bountiful harvests.

A few days ago, its needle had trembled violently and pointed south—indicating the emergence of an unprecedented Harvest One in the Southern Region, whose power might surpass all imagination.

Thus, his hundredth mission had two targets: kill the Southern Region’s Wise One, Xia Mingyu, and kill the Harvest One who triggered the silver compass’s tremor.

Therefore, his hundredth mission had two targets: kill the Sage of the Southern Region, Xia Mingyu, and kill the Harvester who caused the Silver Compass to tremble.

After trembling briefly, the needle locked firmly onto the center of the circus tent.

Seeing the needle shift from its previous target—Chixu Fortress—to this location, Qing Er froze, suddenly realizing something.

The Wise One… and the Harvest One causing the compass to tremble… are they the same person?!

At this thought, his greenish beast eyes turned icy, cold and brimming with murderous intent, like a predator locking onto prey.

Kill the Wise One, and he would gain everything he desired: a face, a noble identity, and… family.

Qing Er tucked away the compass, gripping his poisoned dagger with clenched fists.

Perhaps, if he avoided harming the circus performers and targeted only the Wise One, he wouldn’t provoke them.

Under the lure of his dream, Qing Er’s inner scale tipped slowly toward one side.

At that moment, as the night’s darkness thinned, the magical effect of the Faceless ones’ concealment gear began to fade.

Boge, ever vigilant, suddenly felt a sense of being watched.

“Sensory Enhancement,” he silently activated his ability.

The next instant, the rustle of wind through leaves, the laughter inside the tent, the breathing of the crowd—all flooded into his mind, analyzed and synthesized.

The next moment, the wind rustling through the leaves, the laughter inside the tent, and the breathing of the crowd on the square all surged into his mind and were analyzed and synthesized.

Without hesitation, Boge drew an arrow from his quiver, nocked it on the Windwhisper Bow, and fired sharply toward that spot.

Without the slightest hesitation, Boge drew an arrow from the quiver on his back, nocked it on the Whisperwind Bow, and shot it sharply toward that spot.

At the very moment the arrow neared its target, a masked black-clad figure suddenly emerged, dodging frantically—but still too slow, the arrow grazing his arm.

In the instant the arrow was about to strike, a masked black-clad figure suddenly burst out and dodged sideways, but still failed to fully evade—the arrow sliced across his arm.

Seeing they were discovered, Qing Er no longer hesitated—he roared, unleashing a torrent of emerald-green magic, his body becoming a blur as he surged toward the circus tent along the compass’s direction.

Simultaneously, three Starlight Faceless ones erupted in magic, charging fearlessly at Kalun’s group, while two Crescent Faceless ones followed Qing Er in pursuit.

At the same time, the three Morning Star Faceless Ones in the squad unleashed their magic and charged recklessly toward Kalen’s group, while the other two Crescent Faceless Ones followed Qing Er in a sprint.

The moment Kalun sensed the quality of Qing Er’s magic, he realized the man’s power far surpassed his own—he and the others unleashed their magic, desperate to catch up.

At the same time, Kalun poured magic into the Watchful Eye in his hand.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The shriek of blades echoed endlessly.

Though the three Starlight Faceless ones were swiftly dealt with, the delay cost them precious seconds—they could only race forward, helplessly watching as Qing Er, at the front, slashed through the tent’s curtain and plunged inside the circus!

Although the three Morning Star Faceless Ones who came to block them were quickly dispatched by the four of them, they had still delayed them slightly—they could only race forward at top speed, helplessly watching as Qing Er, the leader, slashed through the tent flap with his dagger and plunged into the circus!

“Cat’s Shadow, Hawk’s Gaze, Snake’s Lunge…”

Inside the tent, Qing Er instantly locked onto the black-haired youth standing at the center stage—he activated all his Hunter-class abilities at once, surging forward like a torrent of emerald light, poisoned dagger in hand, aimed straight at Xia Mingyu.

After bursting into the tent, Qing Er instantly locked onto the black-haired young man standing on the central stage. He activated all his Hunter abilities at once, charging toward Xia Mingyu like a surging torrent of emerald-green light, dagger dipped in poison in hand.

Xia Mingyu, lost in thought about what trick to perform, suddenly felt the Watchful Eye in his pocket violently tremble.

As if by instinct, he looked up—and saw the emerald-green flash hurtling toward him.

In an instant, he judged from the overwhelming magic power and terrifying speed that this was no foe he could face alone—far beyond his current level.

“Tameirulan!” Without hesitation, Xia Mingyu shouted inwardly using the Unity ability.

“I am here.” A warm, familiar voice echoed in his mind.

“My comrade, lend me your sword and blade!”

Xia Mingyu raised his right hand and instantly activated his new ability, United in Hatred, granted after ascending to Starlight with 1.4 billion blessings.

The next moment, the golden-haired youth, radiant as the sun, appeared on stage before him, clad in blue pajamas, sword in hand.

The magician, who had just raised his hand to eliminate these three insolent intruders and send them to the Abyssal Hell, paused his killing intent.

“You have three seconds…” Xia Mingyu said urgently, feeling his magic drain at an extreme rate.

He knew summoning Tameiran would consume vast magic, but lasting only three seconds? That was absurd!

Just three seconds—could Tameiran really kill the three powerful enemies charging at him?

“Enough.”

The golden-haired youth smiled faintly, gently pressing the tip of his sword against the floor.

“Corona Slash,” he whispered.

The next instant, blindingly brilliant heat erupted from his blade, like a rising sun that made the surrounding air boil and steam with moisture.

Qing Er, who had been charging forward at full speed, froze in place. From the endless white light, he felt an unprecedented terror—he wanted to turn and flee, but it was already too late; he could only stare in horror as the brilliant radiance swallowed him whole.

Not just him—the stage, the children in the audience, the members of the deformed troupe, and even the tent canopy above were all drowned in this white light, cascading like a deluge of apocalypse.

Gentle Blessing: Your attacks will not harm anyone you do not intend to harm.

(End of Chapter)