Chapter 137: Swift‑Shadow Thunder‑Blade Leopard

Viola heard Lei En's request and couldn't help but space out for a few seconds.

"Are you sure you want to enchant three Fireball spells?"

Lei En nodded affirmatively.

This premium rune book can enchant five spells; logically, each spell should be different to maximize its effect.

Rune books of this type differ from other enchantments: before use, one must achieve soul resonance with the book, matching its soul‑energy vibrations, carry it during daily meditation, infuse soul power, and it becomes an extra Law Seal slot, expanding one's spell count.

Therefore, each caster usually uses only one rune book, and swapping it is very troublesome.

Viola knows Lei En currently knows few spells; if she were to help him choose, she would at least enchant a shield and a support spell, and the Blink would be fine.

But having too many Fireball spells wastes the rune book's slots.

"Are you following the Mo Du school's casting philosophy?" Viola asked with a smile.

"Kind of," Lei En replied noncommittally; when he previously discussed with Viola, he had expressed a leaning toward the Mo Du school.

In fact, he was still restrained and did not replace all five spells with Fireball.

Each spell on the premium rune book can be cast three times daily, allowing up to nine Fireball casts per day.

Although the rune book's Fireball cannot benefit from the Sky‑Blue Song's Ascension Rings and has only three rings, one must not underestimate its power.

This renowned spell kills enemies with pure explosion and destructive force, has a large radius, is as powerful as the hand grenades of a past life, and carries intense flame burning.

In close combat, Lei En has little to worry about; unlike other casters, he does not need a shield, though he now suffers a mild firepower‑deficiency anxiety.

Nine Fireballs a day should be sufficient.

When in doubt later, just toss a Fireball over.

Seeing Lei En's insistence, Viola stopped urging him and immediately had someone contact a Master of enchantment in the Wu Shi Ta to arrange the rune book's enchantment.

Lei En knew she had many tasks, so he did not disturb her and left the Violet House.

He hopped on his bicycle and arrived at the Soul Market shortly after.

The Soul Market lies at the southern tip of Silver Star District, farther from the Wu Shi Ta, so it escaped this quake's impact and opened as usual today.

People came and went in the market, which remained bustling.

Lei En had no specific goal; he just wanted to stroll through the market, perhaps encountering a suitable soul.

As a Mid-stage Exalted, generally it is best to fuse a Mid-stage soul.

Because Mid-stage souls possess strong soul power, after fusion the Exalted gains more soul power, further boosting strength, reducing training and meditation, and bringing the next promotion nearer.

Lei En estimated that a Mid-stage soul is at least three to five times stronger than a Beginner soul, sometimes exceeding a tenfold difference.

That can save a Mid-stage Exalted one or two years of cultivation.

Thus few Exalted fuse souls below their own rank, unless the Element inside is truly overwhelming.

But for Lei En, there is little difference between Beginner and Mid-stage; he cares only about the Elements within the soul, not its overall strength.

So he still, as before, examines every soul he sees with his Soul‑Eye.

Lei En had become familiar with the Soul Market; after browsing shop after shop for nearly two hours and inspecting over a thousand souls, he found nothing.

Most souls in the market are Beginner, abundant, with truly high‑quality ones being scarce.

Souls like the Golden‑eating Ant or the Crystal Giant Lizard are rare treasures seen only once in many years, not easily encountered.

Lei En did not lose heart; with hundreds of shops and many new souls arriving daily, it was enough for his long search. In the following days, aside from moving books in the Silver Star Grand Library and studying foreign languages, he spent the rest of his time idling in the Soul Market.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

In the afternoon, Lei En still hadn't found the desired soul; he inquired at several shops about the Affinity Element of Lightning, but the replies were that it hadn't been seen in many years.

However, finally a soul caught Lei En's interest.

It was one of the market's largest soul shops; Lei En carefully examined the soul stone before him, where a soul flickered, revealing the shape of a demonic beast.

Without the shopkeeper's explanation, he instantly recognized it as the soul of the "Swift‑Shadow Thunder‑Blade Leopard".

This Swift‑Shadow Thunder‑Blade Leopard is a Beginner demonic beast, the strongest among Beginners, equivalent to a Tier‑3 Exalted, just one step shy of Mid-stage.

It possesses three Elements: "Swiftness", "Rapid Sprint", and "Lightning Breath".

Swiftness and Rapid Sprint are Physical Elements, while Lightning Breath is a spell Element; all three are ordinary Elements, not especially rare.

Lei En found the soul's description in the "Thousand Souls Book".

This beast, like other leopards, is extremely fast, but it surpasses ordinary demonic leopards; "Swiftness" itself grants it extraordinary speed, and when "Rapid Sprint" is activated, its speed increases further, at its peak it is said even shadows cannot keep up, like lightning.

As for Lightning Breath, it is a spell Element, and its power is not small.

"Such a pity," Lei En muttered, shaking his head.

He had read in library records that the Swift‑Shadow Thunder‑Blade Leopard could potentially contain the Lightning Affinity Element; if it advanced to a Mid-stage beast, there would be a chance for the Affinity Element to appear in its soul, but it had not.

Nevertheless, just "Swiftness" and "Rapid Sprint" alone interested him.

"Swiftness" is a common Element, one of the most basic, akin to "Strength", with great potential; if strengthened, it might even evolve into a Supreme Element.

"Rapid Sprint" requires physical activation, allowing a burst of astonishing speed for a short time; the higher the level, the faster the speed.

Many Shadow Warriors fuse this Element, commonly called "Sprint" or "Rapid Run".

These two Agility Elements can greatly boost one's speed, compensating for shortcomings.

Lei En checked the soul's price, set at six hundred Gold Shields, a very reasonable rate. He thought it over and decided to purchase it first; if Viola had no news, he would have to fuse the Swift‑Shadow Thunder‑Blade Leopard.

"Boss."

Lei En called out.

The shop's owner, who had been waiting nearby, about forty years old, heard the summons and promptly approached, respectfully saying, "Mr. Lei En."

Previously, Lei En had consulted him about Lightning Affinity, so he knew Lei En.

In the Soul Market, information flows freely among the major shops; they knew an Exalted was recently seeking the Lightning Affinity Element, covertly probing each other, hoping that if the Affinity appeared they could profit handsomely, but the Element was so rare that no opportunity arose.

Lei En's "Voice of All Things" intermittently activated, making the shops' intentions crystal clear to him.

But he paid no mind; with most Shadow‑Blade assassins eliminated, and under the Duke of Silver Star's sweep, Longshande would not have any Loxie followers for some time, so he no longer needed to be as cautious or hide his presence as before.

"I'll take this demon soul."

Lei En didn't haggle, and pulled six gold notes from his pocket, each worth one hundred gold.

He currently had a fair amount of money, not counted precisely, but together it should be three to four thousand gold, more than enough to buy this demon soul.

The shopkeeper took the gold notes, and Lei En grabbed the Soul Stone and left.

Watching his departing back, the shopkeeper looked thoughtful, hesitated for a moment, as if having made some decision.

Lei En bought the demon soul but didn't leave, continuing to wander the market for over an hour, still without result.

After several days, Lei En returned to the Public Security Bureau.

As soon as he entered the squad's assembly room, his teammates' gazes fell on him; Polok smiled and greeted, "Lei En, if I hadn't contacted you through the comm device, I would've thought you didn't want to return to the Demon Extermination Squad and wanted to quit."

"How could that be?" Lei En said, a bit embarrassed.

Since he joined the Demon Extermination Squad, he had only undertaken a few missions, done two or three night shifts, and hadn't met his teammates often, feeling little sense of belonging.

It felt as if he were drifting outside the squad, not truly a member.

Especially lately, first he stayed in the Iron Must Fortress for almost ten days, and after leaving, more than a week passed without reporting to the Demon Extermination Squad; if it were anyone else, they'd likely have been dismissed.

That is, Lei En received preferential treatment from Polok; the bureau chief Felion also knew he had just earned a great merit for Longshande, so he didn't pursue the matter.

However, this also gave Lei En some thoughts.

He couldn't just hold a position without contributing, which affected the whole squad's combat power; others might not say it aloud, but surely they thought the same.

His original purpose for joining the squad was to wear this identity as a cover to absorb souls.

That goal was achieved, but now he is a Mid-stage Wizard, looking down on ordinary missions; occasional low-level monsters yield little benefit when he absorbs their souls.

It seemed there truly was no need to stay in the squad any longer.

Lei En, pondering whether to quit, greeted everyone, "Captain, and all of you, long time no see."

Holy Swordsman Freida still wore a cool demeanor, while Berserker Hagrov and Shadow Warrior Ilei responded with smiles.

Lei En activated his Soul Eye to observe covertly.

It was clear that although they wore smiles, there was no genuine enthusiasm.

Female sorceress Albenna even refused to put on a façade, gave a faint reply, her eyes weary, her soul color gray, emotions deeply low.

Lei En noted her condition and realized one person was missing from the assembly room.

He couldn't help but ask, "Milton?"

Their smiles all faded, appearing somewhat glum; Albenna's face showed sorrow, and the atmosphere grew very silent.

Polok broke the silence, lamenting, "Milton has disappeared."

"When?"

"That very night the earthquake struck Silver Star District; we were also fighting evil god cultists. The situation was urgent, the district was in chaos, Milton got separated from us, and never returned," Polok explained briefly, his tone heavy.

Lei En caught the implication in his words.

Disappearing during the battle with the cultists likely meant he was dead.

At that time, there were nearly forty Shadow Blade Assassins, each an elite of the Shadow Blade, silently taking out a low-level Wizard—nothing unusual.

That night, nearly a hundred transcendants died at the hands of Shadow Blades, many bodies never found.

Lei En found it odd; Milton was a Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard, appearing as rank 2 but actually already at rank 3, just one step from Mid-stage, even he couldn't fully gauge himself—how could he die so easily?

Yet now that Milton is gone, pondering it is useless.

Lei En shook his head and said to Albenna, "I'm sorry to hear this."

Albenna and Milton were a couple; losing her lover, it's no wonder her mood was so low, her face gaunt. Hearing Lei En's words, she immediately couldn't hold back tears, sobbing softly.

Hagrov suddenly glanced at Lei En, muttering a few words.

Berserkers are people whose thoughts can't stay hidden; clearly, he was displeased with Lei En, but out of respect for Captain Polok's face, he kept silent.

Lei En was unfazed, saying directly, "Hagrov, say whatever you want."

"Where did you go that night?"

Hagrov shouted, "With your strength, if you had been with us, Milton might not have died."

Lei En gave no answer, but looked at Polok.

Only he should know his own situation best, but his rank wasn't high enough to partake in Longshande's upper-level decisions, so he didn't know the whole truth.

He didn't even know he was inside the underground fortress at that time.

Polok suddenly raised his voice, "Hagrov, I told you long ago, Lei En had a more important mission then."

Hagrov turned away, irritated, unable to accept that reason.

Ilei and Albenna also remained silent, clearly siding with Hagrov.

Lei En didn't know how to explain; these three teammates weren't familiar with him, unlike Polok and Freida who had experienced the Abyssal Gate incident together, never having fought side by side, so they wouldn't trust him that much.

In contrast, they liked Milton more, but he was already gone.

Lei En's gaze swept over his teammates.

In his Soul Eye, their soul colors kept shifting.

Only Freida's demeanor was calm, without a hint of doubt.

Finally, Lei En's eyes landed on Polok, and he instantly understood that Polok had called him over today hoping he could provide an explanation.

Polok wasn't targeting him, but wanted to know exactly what had happened.

Lei En sighed, knowing that even if he explained clearly, the rift between him and his teammates would remain, never fully mended.

He didn't hesitate, deciding to quit the Demon Extermination Squad immediately.

(End of Chapter)