Main Story Volume Two, Chapter Eighty: You Are a Fairy!

But the reality was undeniable: the most obvious difference between magical beasts and monsters was that magical beasts could use spells, while monsters could only rely on their innate abilities to fight.

The wind drill forming on the little monkey’s finger was clearly some sort of magical skill.

As the wind drill appeared, the little monkey darted forward with lightning speed; in the blink of an eye, the wind drill was already at Mu’s face, forcing him to shield his eyes with his hands.

A cry escaped him as both his palms were pierced through.

Each wind drill was like a spinning auger, effortlessly boring through Mu’s skin.

In his pain, Mu noticed that the little monkey’s speed was slightly diminished this time—a clear sign that it had sacrificed speed to enhance its attack power.

At the instant Mu was beset, another shadow, swift as a phantom, appeared soundlessly.

“Yan Third!”

Mu rejoiced inwardly. He knew Yan Third’s abilities better than anyone. With Yan Third intervening, the little monkey was surely doomed.

In a flash, the sharp blade in Yan Third’s hand was already at the monkey’s eyes.

Yet, at the critical moment, a fierce gust of wind swept over, causing Yan Third to stagger. The blade grazed past the monkey, nearly striking Mu’s own face.

Though Yan Third himself was attuned to wind, he could not control such wild force, and thus failed once again.

This was Mu’s first close look at Yan Third’s weapon: a sword-stinger, narrow and sharp, with razor-thin edges on both sides—stealthy and lethal, its dark blade absorbed all light and was nearly invisible unless viewed up close.

At the same time, Mu discerned Yan Third’s true cultivation: mid-stage Golden Core!

The monkey, narrowly escaping death, startled and terrified, transformed into a whirlwind and vanished without a trace.

“Dodge!”

As the monkey’s shadow faded, Mu suddenly shouted, and threw himself forward, knocking Yan Third aside.

Blood sprayed from Mu’s chest in crimson arcs.

“Mu!”

“Brother Mu!”

Ye Yu and Yan Third cried out urgently.

Mu had no time to savor their concern, nor Yan Third’s shift in address. He shouted back, “I’m fine! You two, think of something!”

Even as he spoke, fresh jets of blood burst from his wounds. He had managed to minimize the damage with the body techniques learned from the capture gourd; otherwise, he would have fared even worse.

None of them had expected the little monkey to be so vicious, nearly killing them with a single blow and growing only more ferocious.

The monkey had pierced Mu’s body several times, yet failed to inflict critical harm. Frustrated, it abandoned Mu’s body and focused its attacks on his eyes.

Mu’s palms had yet to heal; the monkey’s claws were already at his face. Murmuring a spell, Mu summoned a bamboo hat before him. With a sharp crack, the monkey’s claws struck the hat.

The monkey let out a series of mournful cries, clearly wounded.

The hat then floated to rest atop Mu’s head, expanding to cover his entire skull. A continuous barrage of blows struck its surface.

The monkey, enraged, beat at the hat with all its might, yet could not harm Mu.

For reasons unknown, the monkey targeted only Mu, as if something about him attracted it. In a way, this was fortunate—if it had attacked Ye Yu, they would have struggled to defend her.

“The wind here is too strong, and the beast is shielded by wind magic. My poison can’t reach it. Yan Third can barely land a hit in these conditions. What do we do?” Ye Yu’s anxious voice carried on the wind.

“When could you poison it?” Mu swept his jadewood staff in defense, forming a wall of shadows to ward off the monkey’s relentless attacks from every direction.

The monkey, now frenzied, clawed at Mu with wild abandon, caring not whether the blows were fatal. In moments, Mu was a bloodied mess. If he didn’t act soon, he’d bleed out.

“If we could isolate the wind, or trap it in a confined space, I could poison it instantly.”

Mu thought quickly. “The conditions here won’t do. Run ahead and find an open area.”

“What about you?” For the first time, Ye Yu’s cold voice trembled.

“I’ll follow behind. Go!”

Without delay, the two summoned their flying artifacts and soared ahead. Mu guarded his vital spots and raced after them, letting the monkey attack the rest.

As he ran, Mu desperately activated the Rejuvenating Technique, converting the wood energy in his body into healing spiritual energy, patching his wounds.

The effect was miraculous: each new wound began to heal after a single spurt of blood. Without it, he would have collapsed.

But the technique consumed spiritual energy rapidly—he would not last much longer.

“There’s a clearing ahead!” Just as Mu’s energy was nearly exhausted, the awaited call finally came.

Mu looked up to see Ye Yu pointing at a spot ahead.

His spirits soared; he quickened his pace. Soon, the trees parted and he reached a cliff.

Jagged rocks lined the edge, forming a natural windbreak.

Mu burst from the forest, murmured a spell, and sent the bamboo hat soaring. It expanded to the size of a pavilion roof and slammed down.

The monkey, absorbed in attacking Mu, failed to notice the change. As it realized the danger, it tried to retreat to the forest.

Mu would not allow it.

With a roar, Mu transformed into a bear, lunging and rolling to pin the monkey beneath him.

The monkey was formidable—twisting and kicking, it slipped free of Mu’s grasp.

Mu was not concerned; he had anticipated that the monkey would not be subdued so easily. As the monkey broke free and tried to escape, the bamboo hat fell, trapping both it and Mu together.

Cornered, the monkey shrieked in fury and launched a barrage of attacks at Mu. He spun his staff into a flurry, not to defeat the monkey but to stall for time.

He could already hear Ye Yu and Yan Third landing outside.

Soon, the monkey’s strength waned; it no longer fought with its former vigor. Mu began to counterattack. In its confusion, the monkey suddenly saw a demon rushing at it, terrifying it to the point of soul flight. Mu seized the moment and struck its head with the staff.

With a crack, the monkey’s skull shattered, and a green crystal chip fell out.

“The fear spell works well! It’s truly effective at a moment like this.”

The demon the monkey saw was Mu’s own fear spell—a low-level ghostly technique, useful only in special circumstances.

Mu muttered to himself as he picked up the crystal chip from the monkey’s head.

Retrieving the bamboo hat and returning to human form, he found Ye Yu and Yan Third staring at him in shock.

“You’re a spirit!” Ye Yu’s almond eyes widened in astonishment.

“Oh, what an adorable bear!” Yan Third’s eyes sparkled with delight, utterly enamored.

Mu realized he was still in his bear form, quickly reverting to his human shape. “Yes, I am a spirit.”

Yan Third, having failed twice to kill Mu, had already guessed his true nature, but had not expected him to be such a cute animal.

For Ye Yu, this was the first time learning Mu was a spirit—let alone an adorable bear spirit.

She circled Mu, scrutinizing him. “Why don’t you have any spirit aura?”

Mu had no answer; he himself was puzzled.

The difference between humans and spirits was their aura. Some had a heavy aura, others light; the more powerful the spirit, the harder it was to detect. Yet some were born with a strong aura, like Meng Fang, and others with barely any.

But Mu had none at all.

Otherwise, after so many days together, even the lightest aura would have been sensed by Ye Yu.

Meng Fang had recognized him by “taste,” not by aura.

Because of this, he had deceived many people. Otherwise, Yan Third might have killed him already.

Mu did not wish to be treated as a curiosity. He coughed lightly and waved the object in his hand. “Is this a magic crystal?”