Chapter 539: Shadow

'Judging by the driver's aura, he must follow a combat-oriented path...'

Keeping the heart beast outside is a common habit among drivers.

Some are simply poor, lacking extra space for equipment.

Others keep their heart beasts close at all times for protection.

Yet as the two passed each other, Fang Xing felt his spiritual sense twitch.

'How could an old one-eyed beast convey such rich emotion through its gaze?'

With a thought, he flicked his finger, sending a pinch of powder onto the old one-eyed beast.

Drivers constantly maintain their heart beast's protection, making them highly sensitive to foreign substances.

But ordinary heart beasts have no such issue.

It's unavoidable for a wolf to get dirty.

The powder Fang Xing flicked wasn't poison—just medicinal powder.

But Erha, recently trained, is highly sensitive to this scent.

This makes tracking possible.

…

Half a day later, as he watched the middle-aged driver enter an inn, Fang Xing quietly memorized his room number.

A few days later, he had gathered the man's basic information: 'Xia Feimang, a Combat Driver, whose core heart beast is an insect... He specializes in controlling all manner of insects. No wonder he was drawn to the old one-eyed beast's combat power—probably captured it to keep nearby.'

For Combat Drivers, most Soldier-rank drivers are extremely impoverished.

Whether feeding, learning skills, or investing celestial treasures for advancement, the costs are always heavy.

Choosing an insect specialization is simply out of necessity.

Insect heart beasts grow rapidly and require little food, accounting for nearly half of all Soldier-rank drivers.

But rapid power growth means weak long-term potential, and insect heart beasts have consistently low attack power.

Later on, they must either abandon them or develop toward toxins and similar paths.

This Xia Feimang clearly isn't committed to the insect path—capturing the old one-eyed beast is likely an experiment.

'In short, he's weak... worth a try.'

…

Three days later.

Xia Feimang left Lüsen City, heading toward Mount Qinglong.

Even with minimal consumption, insect drivers still live in dire poverty, forced to take on tasks, hunt, or gather resources...

Their earnings, of course, could never match Fang Xing's.

Beside Xia Feimang, the old one-eyed beast ambled along lazily, occasionally alerting to its surroundings.

Suddenly, it lifted its head, staring at a black-clad figure who had appeared ahead, its wolf face showing a flicker of shock.

'Indeed... not the real old one-eyed beast. Too lax in vigilance. For a heart beast roaming the wilds, losing awareness equals death...'

Fang Xing, face covered in black cloth, stared at Xia Feimang.

'Friend... what are you planning?'

Xia Feimang stepped back, summoning a Black Iron–rank Heart Scripture.

As he opened it, three pages glowed, releasing three heart beasts: Soldier Upper-rank 'Furious Needle Wasp,' Soldier Upper-rank 'Hypnotic Butterfly,' and Soldier Lower-rank 'Hard-Horned Sky Beetle...'

'Three summoned beasts plus your core heart beast—an old one-eyed wolf. A standard Five-Form Battle Array.'

Fang Xing lowered his voice, smiling faintly: 'You're even poorer than I imagined. Is the old one-eyed wolf kept outside because your Black Iron Scripture has no spare space?'

As he spoke, his protective aura intensified, becoming almost tangible.

In his hand appeared a Bronze Scripture: 'Or do you want to fight me first, and learn combat from me?'

'General-rank?'

Xia Feimang gasped, immediately bowing: 'I had no intention of challenging you...'

In truth, if they fought, he'd realize the mysterious man was merely a crippled driver with one General-rank heart beast.

Still, even that was beyond his capacity to match.

Victories of the weak over the strong are celebrated only because they're exceedingly rare.

Plop!

A money pouch landed on the ground, its mouth open, revealing golden radiance within.

'One hundred taels of gold...'

Fang Xing spoke: 'I want to buy your old one-eyed wolf.'

'This...'

Xia Feimang stared at the wolf beside him, hesitating: 'It's just an old wolf...'

Yet over these days, he'd noticed the old one-eyed beast's unusual nature.

Though it lacked mastery of many wolf skills, it displayed remarkable humanity.

Gradually, Xia Feimang had come to regard the old one-eyed beast as his true companion.

The old one-eyed beast stared at the black-clad man with its single eye, as if remembering something, its wolf eyes filled with fear as it bit at its master's sleeve.

'Just answer me: yes or no?'

Fang Xing's voice was dull, his Bronze Scripture flipping pages with a rustling sound.

It seemed any moment a powerful General-rank heart beast would leap out.

In truth, if Xia Feimang persisted, he'd discover Fang Xing could summon only a Blackfire Dog and a juvenile Earth Rampager...

Still, just Erha alone could obliterate all five Soldier-rank heart beasts before him.

Purely by cultivation years, he'd need at least ten Soldier Upper-rank heart beasts to even match Erha.

But with quality differences factored in, the gap was an unbridgeable chasm.

'I agree.'

Xia Feimang finally nodded, crouching to stroke the old one-eyed beast's back: 'My companion... you're free!'

As he spoke, an invisible thread snapped within him, and his heart power dipped noticeably.

Breaking a bond with a heart beast naturally carries a cost.

But this cost can be regained through later cultivation. Compared to angering a powerful General-rank driver and risking death, his own life mattered more.

After losing its master, the old one-eyed beast appeared dazed.

But the next instant, a beam of light enveloped it.

It came from Fang Xing's Bronze Heart Scripture!

Compared to the juvenile Earth Rampager, the old one-eyed beast resisted slightly.

But the severance of its bond had severely damaged its spirit—it remained in spiritual shock, and eventually dissolved into light, settling onto the Bronze page.

Beside a lifelike gray-white old wolf, text appeared:

【Gray Wolf】

【Elder Stage】

【Cultivation: Eight Years】

【Quality: Black Iron】

【Skills: Bite, Claw Strike】

As he read each line...

…

'Seems ordinary. Is this an illusion?'

Fang Xing murmured to himself, turning to Xia Feimang.

'My lord, may I leave now?'

Xia Feimang rose, wiping sweat from his brow, and asked.

'Yes. Take the hundred taels of gold—it's yours.'

Fang Xing nodded, watching Xia Feimang depart.

He turned and began running.

Soon, he entered a small grove.

Such places, near human settlements, rarely host wild heart beasts—only traces of ordinary animals.

He slapped his Bronze Heart Scripture, releasing the old one-eyed beast.

The old one-eyed beast stared blankly, then remembered to snarl.

'Aowu!'

At that moment, a flash of light emerged from Fang Xing—Erha leapt out.

Its three-meter-long frame immediately made the old one-eyed beast recoil in fear.

Even its eyes showed a flicker of awe.

'Indeed... you recognize the Blackfire Dog. You guessed my identity...'

Fang Xing tore off his face cloth, revealing his true face: 'And... your eyes betrayed you. You're skilled—you evaded the Bronze Heart Scripture's appraisal. But I still need to confirm.'

Yet the old one-eyed beast remained dazed, seemingly stunned by Erha.

'Go!'

Fang Xing pointed casually—Erha lunged, clamping its jaws around the old one-eyed beast's neck, pinning it to the ground, exposing its belly.

Exposing one's vital points without reservation is how canines express submission—even when forced.

"If that's the case…"

Fang Xing squatted down and pressed his palm against the old one-eyed wolf's forehead: "I never expected my first foreign heart-beast to be you…"

Humming!

In his eyes, a burst of light suddenly erupted.

Then, using his heart-force as a link, he prepared to form a contract with this gray wolf!

No!

Wrong!

With Fang Xing's current mental state, he could sense that the true subject of the contract was not the gray wolf before him.

It was the gray wolf's shadow!

It controlled the gray wolf entirely, as if possessing it.

But upon sensing Fang Xing's heart-force, the old wolf's shadow immediately recoiled, transforming into a human silhouette, surrounded by a hazy ring of gray mist.

"Ghost Shadow?!"

A name, startlingly apt, surfaced unexpectedly in Fang Xing's mind.

Then, his heart-force spread out and unhesitatingly forged a contract with the Ghost Shadow.

Boom!

In an instant, information about the Ghost Shadow appeared in his mind:

【Ghost Shadow】

【Juvenile Stage】

【Cultivation: Eight Years】

【Quality: Emperor】

【Skills: Deception, Ghost Possession】

……

"Hss…"

"Emperor-quality heart-beast? No… this gray mist feels familiar… Are you the heart-phantasm of Fang Leng?"

Through mental communication, Fang Xing immediately understood.

Fang Leng had indeed died, but his heart-phantasm had endured, using a special ability to possess the gray wolf.

Since it was born from Fang Leng's heart-phantasm, it retained fragments of his memories—hence the complex expression on the old one-eyed wolf's face when it saw Fang Xing…

"Back then, Du Gu Fang of the Heart Sanctum had misidentified it… Fang Leng's heart-phantasm wasn't the 'Gray Mist' of Decayed Wood quality—it was the Emperor-quality 'Ghost Shadow'… Though perhaps it wasn't his fault; the Ghost Shadow excels at deception, even fooling the Heart Phantasm Canon's identification…"

"I never thought I'd witness the rumor—that when a powerful Master dies, their core heart-beast doesn't perish but becomes a wild heart-beast…"

From the Ghost Shadow's memories, Fang Xing uncovered the truth of that night three years ago.

"That night, Fang Leng went out alone, encountered a heart-beast, and was killed by wolf fangs… But the Ghost Shadow, though merely a heart-phantasm, possessed a unique ability—it did not vanish, instead using 'Ghost Possession' to possess the old one-eyed wolf, secretly absorbing heart-force over these years until finally coalescing into a heart-beast… Had I not appeared, it might have grown into an immensely powerful heart-beast, becoming Xia Mang's golden key to ascendancy?"

"No—if Fang Leng hadn't gone out that night, but accepted his fate, he might have discovered his heart-phantasm's secret in a few more years… and risen himself."

"My brother's heart-phantasm became my wings? So you really did send me a golden key, Fang Leng?"

(End of Chapter)