Things like mutated blood and mutated bones could also be collected as materials for Magic Tools, and their value was even higher.
After finishing the collection just as Fang Yu and Leng Qing were about to leave, footsteps suddenly sounded from outside.
Fang Yu: "…"
Someone?
The two of them walked out.
They saw three people entering the alley.
One man and two women.
The man was dressed in white, with an extraordinary bearing and a cold sharpness between his brows.
One of the women wore blue, the other white. Both were beautiful and refined.
What caught Fang Yu's attention, however, was their cultivation.
He could not sense their aura.
Were these three at a higher realm than him?
Fang Yu was surprised.
The newcomers were equally capable. Especially the woman in the blue dress—she looked at Fang Yu and Leng Qing with confusion.
"Who are you?"
"And who are you?" Fang Yu countered.
Their sudden appearance felt strange to him.
After all, they did not seem weak.
Leng Qing remained silent, showing no intention of speaking.
"I'm asking you. Why are you here?" the woman in blue demanded loudly.
"Lan Jin, don't be so rude."
The man beside her reprimanded her lightly, then cupped his hands toward Fang Yu.
"My name is Fang Jin. We heard there was a demon lurking here and came to hunt it. Have you seen it?"
"It's inside." Fang Yu gestured ahead as he walked forward.
Fang Jin and the others stepped aside.
Leng Qing did not say a word and simply followed Fang Yu away.
"Let's go in and take a look."
Fang Jin entered the alley first. Even though he had Basic-Tier Level Three cultivation, he did not dare show the slightest carelessness in a place where a demon had been hiding.
But after entering, he froze on the spot.
"Fang Jin?" Lan Jin called out loudly from behind, making sure nothing was wrong.
"It's fine. You can come in," Fang Jin's voice came from within.
"What's going on?" Lan Jin asked curiously.
She and the other woman followed him inside.
When they stepped in, they were met with the sight of the Giant-Eyed Rat's corpse, severed and ruined.
Lan Jin stood there in shock, unable to believe it.
The woman in white lowered her gaze. "The Giant-Eyed Rat has been killed. The buildings are heavily damaged, and there are many traces of battle. Those two are not simple."
"Who did this?" Lan Jin looked at the other two and said,
"C-Could it have been that somewhat disheveled boy? At such a young age, he can already hunt a demon?"
"Don't speculate. No matter who it was, they did us a big favor."
Fang Jin stirred the Giant-Eyed Rat's corpse. After a moment, he spoke.
"There are no signs of it having devoured humans. It seems the crime wasn't committed by this Giant-Eyed Rat. You two check the surroundings. Hopefully Xiao Yun is still alive."
"Alright," the two women replied in unison.
Returning to his residence, Fang Yu let out a breath.
"Didn't you Awaken the Ice Element?" Leng Qing asked with a faint smile.
"Not only that. There's also the Space Element!" Fang Yu answered.
He had actually expected this outcome.
The mysterious woman had already made her suspicions. She herself was very mysterious.
Once the seed of doubt was planted, there would always come a day when it was uncovered.
Moreover when fighting a demon, the Ice Element alone was not enough to finish it off.
So he might as well reveal it boldly.
Seeing Fang Yu admit it, Leng Qing tossed the defensive Magic Tool to him, then vanished from the spot with satisfaction.
A voice drifted into Fang Yu's ears.
"Cultivate well. Next time we meet, I hope you can hunt alone."
"Again?"
Fang Yu was speechless. Looking at the horizon, he saw that dawn was about to break.
"Tomorrow I should go to the Mage Market."
He planned to sell off the items he had on him.
Then buy some resources beneficial to an Basic-Tier Mage.
Next, Fang Yu picked up the treasure in his hand, and his entire being brimmed with excitement.
This direct confrontation with a demon made Fang Yu realize one thing clearly, having only offensive ability was not enough. Any Mage who only knew how to attack would be instantly killed by a demon's single strike.
If he had a defensive Magic Tool, before learning defensive-type magic, it would truly be a lifesaving item!
The defensive Magic Tool was now resting in Fang Yu's palm…
The entire Magic Tool was only large enough to just cover his palm.
Such a palm-sized object could actually withstand a demon's attack, this was another method besides magic itself.
He knew how to use Magic Tools.
When a Mage extended their will into a Magic Tool, it would automatically link with the Mage's soul, leaving a Magic Tool imprint within the Mage's spiritual world.
Once the imprint was formed, the palm-sized shield would immediately fuse into the Mage's body.
When the Mage activated the imprint with their will, the Magic Tool would instantly appear before the user. At that moment, the shield would no longer be palm-sized, but instead become a shield wall nearly taller than a person. The claws of a Giant-Eyed Rat would not be able to harm him in the slightest!
"No wonder this thing is so valuable. If I'd had this Magic Tool when dealing with the Giant-Eyed Rat, I could have cast my spells safely." Fang Yu looked at the large rhombus-shaped bone shield with a sickle pattern before him, and a smile appeared on his face.
With this Magic Tool, he had even more capital to battle demons!
"Speaking of which, I have the Ice Element and the Space Element. Ice Spread and Telekinesis are useful, but when truly facing demons, I still don't have the strength for a head-on fight." Fang Yu could not help but reflect on this issue.
Being able to kill the Giant-Eyed Rat this time involved quite a bit of luck. If not for relying on the mysterious woman's Wind Track, he would have been severely injured instantly by the violent Giant-Eyed Rat. How could he have completed the hunt so smoothly?
After this battle, Fang Yu realized how important defensive and movement-type skills were.
At the Basic-Tier, the only element with defensive capability was the Water Element. Water Defense was the only defensive spell among the basic elemental spells. In school, everyone thought the Water Element was useless, but in real battles against demons, Water Mages were like reborn parents to their teammates.
"I already have a Magic Tool, which barely counts as having a defensive skill. So what I lack is a movement-type Magic Tool…"
"This needs to be put on the agenda."
After a short while,
Fang Yu stopped overthinking.
Returning to his room, he began to meditate, restoring the Magic Energy he had expended.
Although there was no immediate danger, he could not waste time. He still needed to improve his cultivation afterward!
As for his cultivation, it was currently very solid.
Especially after returning from killing the Giant-Eyed Rat.
For the rest of the holiday, Fang Yu continued maintaining his training.
After completing another demon-hunting mission with the mysterious woman, Fang Yu could be considered to have completely shed the rookie stage. When facing demons, he could now release his spells with greater composure.
With battle and cultivation advancing together, Fang Yu instead discovered that the growth speed of his Stardust was accelerating.