The First Summoner - Chapter 66

Early the next morning, Shen Yan practiced swordsmanship in the courtyard.

Her body felt unusually heavy. Her right hand remained sore and weak, while blood loss left her drained.

After two hours, she began to feel unwell.

“Miss, you’re so pale,” Hongri said in distress.

Yinyue frowned. “Did you injure your neck?”

“A minor wound.”

Tan Zhuang’s expression changed. “How were you injured, Yanyan? Is it serious? Uncle Dazhuang will fetch a physician!”

“There’s no need, Uncle Zhuang. It’s nothing.”

He hesitated, plainly unconvinced, but Shen Yan had already raised her sword again.

…

Over the next several days, news that Shen Yan had transformed from worthless trash into a genius spread throughout Nanxiao Kingdom.

The Shen family made no move, and Shen Yan did not appear.

When curious people finally visited her residence, they learned she had left to gain experience, leaving only two maids behind. Naturally, the Shen family heard as well.

Shen Yan and Tan Zhuang had gone to Lingyan Forest. She needed to reach at least the eighth level of the Yellow-rank realm to register for Western Region Academy’s entrance test.

She temporarily set alchemy aside and devoted herself to cultivation.

She fought constantly and practiced the Summoning Arts.

At first, she could bring only a few otherworldly beasts from the other dimension into reality. Gradually, the number increased.

She never summoned the ghosts from her sea of consciousness. Their appearance would cause far too much trouble. No one had ever heard of a Summoner calling ghosts from the Netherworld.

Whenever she used the Summoning Arts, the Chongming Bird made the greatest fuss. It resented fighting for her when no contract bound them.

Bai Ze was the calmest.

The female ghost in red chatted with Shen Yan whenever summoned.

Feng Xingyao had remained unconscious ever since his transformation.

The flood dragon awoke, but the sight of Feng Xingyao terrified it so deeply that it fled the ability space. It demanded never to share the same space with that man again.

“Why? Are you that afraid of him?” Shen Yan asked.

“Who fears him? This sovereign merely feels that he suppresses me.”

She probed carefully. “Do you know him?”

Its tiny eyes flickered. “No.”

Shen Yan grew increasingly curious about Feng Xingyao’s identity, then forced herself to stop. Curiosity might kill her.

“Do you have a name?”

“How could this sovereign’s honored name be told to you?”

Her eyelid twitched. “Then I’ll call you Lucky.”

The flood dragon bristled. “What Lucky? That’s hideous! This sovereign’s name is Wuying!”

Shen Yan looked down at it. “Lucky sounds better.”

“This sovereign said my name is Wuying!”

“Wuying, then,” she answered perfunctorily.

Wuying tried to bite her wrist, but she slapped it away.

It glared at the hateful human. A majestic primordial sovereign beast had fallen so low that a weak human could smack it around. Outrageous!

Old memories stirred, and killing intent flashed in its eyes.

One day, it would return and take revenge!

For now, it was a tiger away from the mountains, bullied even by dogs. It would endure!

Shen Yan suddenly sent it into the beast companion space and looked toward the approaching Tan Zhuang.

He scanned their surroundings warily. “Who were you speaking to, Yanyan?”

“Myself. I’m going back to training.”

“All right.”

…

Shen Yan spent two months fighting in Lingyan Forest. During that time, she advanced three minor levels and reached the ninth level of the Yellow-rank realm.

She gained a deeper understanding of spiritual-power cultivation. Without combat experience, a cultivator who trained spiritual power alone would inevitably lose to an opponent of the same rank.

Her summoning and swordsmanship also improved greatly. Tan Zhuang praised her repeatedly as a genius.

“Yanyan, Western Region Academy begins registration in one month. It’s time to leave. The journey is long, and you cannot delay.”

Her aura now restrained, Shen Yan nodded. “I understand. I’ll return to Nanxiao first, kill Shen Xue, and then depart.”

Tan Zhuang looked regretful. “I’ve been away too long. Tianmen is ordering me back, so I cannot escort you to the academy. Be careful on the road. Here is a map of the Pingze Western Region and a communication crystal.”

“Thank you, Uncle Zhuang.”

He had helped her enormously. His guidance had allowed her cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds.

He smiled honestly. “Uncle Dazhuang will visit again. I also believe you can handle matters in Nanxiao yourself. Do your best.”

Shen Yan smiled and nodded.

Tan Zhuang escorted her to the gates of Nanxiao’s imperial capital, then left.

Shen Yan entered the city with a changed state of mind, but her determination to kill the original body’s enemy remained unchanged.

She returned first to her residence.

Something was wrong. The place stood empty, dust covering every table and chair. No one had lived there for a long time.

Her heart sank.

Hongri and Yinyue…

She searched everywhere and found dried blood on the floor.

Her expression turned icy. She went into the street and questioned passersby.

More than a dozen knew nothing. Finally, someone recalled, “Half a month ago, I saw several Shen disciples take two maids back to the Shen estate. They may have been Hongri and Yinyue…”

“They were injured, and their hair had been hacked off. They looked pitiful. That’s why I remember.”

Shen Yan closed her eyes and restrained her fury.

The person studied her face. “Wait. Are you Shen Yan?”

The name drew many stares. Some recognized her at once.

“She really is Shen Yan! She’s been gone for two months!”

Fury burned through her. She had underestimated the Shen family’s shamelessness. They had actually attacked two maids.

If Hongri and Yinyue’s lives were in danger, she would unleash a massacre.

Facing the crowd, Shen Yan forced herself calm.

“Everyone, I am Shen Yan!”

“Today, I invite you to witness a grand spectacle—a duel to the death between Shen Xue and me!”