Chapter 247 – Will Absolutely Not Admit It!

“Ah, this…”

Watching the mermaid girl in his arms who wore a sweet smile yet radiated an utterly terrifying Aura, Su Ming was completely stunned.

Having just defeated a formidable enemy—a Peak Five-Star Hunter only one step away from becoming a Six-Star Professional—Su Ming now sensed from Little Hai’er a threat even greater than that previous adversary.

Yes, it was a threat.

Su Ming genuinely felt a trace of menace emanating from Little Hai’er.

What did this mean?

It meant that Little Hai’er’s current strength likely even surpassed Su Ming’s own.

This left Su Ming utterly bewildered.

Although Su Ming had never personally battled a true high-level Phantom Demon, he couldn’t help but wonder if high-level Phantom Demons could match Little Hai’er’s current power.

According to Professional circles, Hazardous Species among high-level Phantom Demons could only be barely resisted by Four-Star Professionals, while Five-Star Professionals were required to truly attempt subjugation. Their power should generally fall between Four-Star and Five-Star levels, at most not exceeding Five-Star.

In other words, a Hazardous Species could at most rival a Five-Star Professional, possibly even being slightly weaker than some Five-Star Professionals, while being stronger than Four-Star Professionals—their strength lying between the two tiers.

The same logic applied to Nightmare Species. According to Professional circles, only Six-Star Professionals could barely resist them, while Seven-Star Professionals were needed for subjugation. Their strength should range between Six-Star and Seven-Star levels, at most equivalent to Seven-Star.

Thus, if one could obtain the Bloodline of a Nightmare Species, its potential could support a Hunter’s cultivation all the way to Seven-Star.

Because the Peak of a Nightmare Species Bloodline equated to a Seven-Star Professional, hence the saying that obtaining such a Bloodline was equivalent to gaining a pass to Seven-Star.

However, even within the same star level, disparities could sometimes be vast.

For example, Su Ming—could other Four-Star Professionals possibly compare to him?

Even without factoring in his abilities as a Dual Professional and only considering a single profession’s capabilities, Su Ming was undoubtedly far stronger than others of the same star level.

Similarly, among Five-Star Professionals, there were those who had just entered this star level and others like Mo Leng, who were merely a step away from Six-Star. While the gap between them couldn’t be called enormous, it certainly wasn’t small either.

And a Hazardous Species, at most equivalent to a Five-Star Professional, would likely be completely outmatched when facing a Peak Five-Star Professional like Mo Leng.

Unless this Hazardous Species had undergone evolution, failed, and thus become a mutant second only to Nightmare Species.

A Hazardous Species mutant would be far stronger than a Five-Star Professional, even rivaling a Six-Star Professional, and only top-tier existences among Six-Star Professionals like the ‘Ten Demons’ could firmly suppress them.

Under these circumstances, Little Hai’er gave Su Ming a greater sense of threat than Mo Leng, this Peak Five-Star Hunter. How could this not leave him utterly stunned?

Could it be that Little Hai’er’s evolution had failed, but she miraculously survived without exploding, becoming a Hazardous Species mutant? And because of the evolution, her Bloodline’s latent potential was fully unleashed, granting her the complete strength of a Hazardous Species mutant?

Su Ming couldn’t help but think this way.But Little Hai’er didn’t seem to have failed her evolution at all.

Whether it was the reaction of the Bloodline within him, the response of the gathered Phantom Demons, or even Little Hai’er herself nodding in confirmation—all indicated that her evolution was successful, right?

“She succeeded in evolving, and the potential of her Bloodline was awakened. Although it hasn’t reached the true strength of a Nightmare Species, the power comparable to that of her past parent has still been unleashed… right?”

In the end, Su Ming could only come to this conclusion.

In other words, not only did Little Hai’er successfully evolve, but she also gained power comparable to a Hazardous Species mutant, allowing her to leap directly into the realm of high-level Phantom Demons. She went from being only slightly stronger than a Three-Star Professional to surpassing even Five-Star Professionals and rivaling Six-Star ones.

This was a transformation as profound as being reborn, an improvement that left Su Ming utterly stunned.

Originally, Su Ming had thought his own rate and scale of improvement were exaggerated enough. Who would have thought that someone even more extraordinary would appear now?

Moreover, judging by Little Hai’er’s current state, she seemed to have begun stepping out of her juvenile phase and gradually entering adulthood.

Once Little Hai’er fully matured, developing from a juvenile into a complete form, the power of the Nightmare Species within her would be fully awakened.

By then, Little Hai’er would be a genuine Nightmare Species, a being capable of rivaling the Peak of humanity.

“A blessing in disguise…”

Su Ming finally accepted this reality and grinned foolishly.

Having survived this sudden evolution and turning the crisis of bodily explosion into an opportunity, Little Hai’er’s combat power had fully matured, and she even possessed limitless potential.

“All those precious red-veined stones I used on you weren’t wasted, little girl.”

Su Ming naturally reached out and patted the mermaid girl’s head.

And honestly, her wavy, water-blue waist-length hair was incredibly soft and silky, with a texture so exquisite it felt like touching high-quality silk.

“Meeling meeling!”

The mermaid girl rubbed against Su Ming’s hand without any resistance, showing an unusual level of closeness, completely devoid of her previous timidity and shyness.

Perhaps this kind of growth was also one of Little Hai’er’s gains from this journey.

The only question was, now that the 【Demon Binding】 Spell Formula had lost its effect, whether this Phantom Demon girl would still listen to him in the future.

Without a controlling Spell Formula like 【Demon Binding】, no one would feel at ease having a powerful Phantom Demon by their side.

Su Ming was no exception. Being someone who was cautious to the point of occasionally indulging in wild flights of fancy, he should, by all accounts, have grown wary and taken countermeasures now that the Phantom Demon he had been nurturing as a subordinate had suddenly become strong enough to threaten him and had broken free from her original restraints.

For instance, he could use the 【Demon Binding】 Spell Formula on Little Hai’er again to recapture her.

Under normal circumstances, Su Ming would definitely have done so.

For no other reason than to set his own mind at ease.For some unknown reason, that mysterious, profound feeling of being connected to Little Hai’er by blood made Su Ming completely let down his guard toward her. After some thought, he ultimately decided to abandon his original plan.

His intuition told him it was no longer necessary.

Between him and Little Hai’er, there seemed to be a connection even closer than before.

This bond was definitely not comparable to the forced enslavement effect of something like 【Demon Binding】.

After struggling with the decision for a long time, Su Ming finally chose to trust this mysterious feeling and decided not to use the 【Demon Binding】 spell formula on Little Hai’er.

…He would absolutely never admit that he couldn’t bring himself to do it because of Little Hai’er’s innocent, radiant smile!

…Nor would he ever acknowledge that the way the little girl nuzzled against him in his embrace made him so delighted that he softened and couldn’t make up his mind!

Whether others believed it or not, he certainly believed it himself!

“Alright, little girl, time to get up now.”

Su Ming patted Little Hai’er’s soft waist and back as he spoke.

“The President is still cleaning house, I wonder how she’s doing now. Let’s hurry over to her side.”

Hearing this, Little Hai’er nodded repeatedly.

“Mi-ling!”

The maiden’s melodic voice remained as heavenly and pleasant as ever, dissipating the hostility from this battlefield.

……

“Mi-ling!”

In the sky, the mermaid maiden swayed her fishtail, creating ripples of water waves as if swimming freely in the ocean. She glided through the air toward a mountain forest, leaving trails of ripples and waves in her wake.

Su Ming was also speeding along, though unlike Little Hai’er who moved with effortless grace, he couldn’t actually fly. He could only travel by leaping – sometimes landing on tree canopies, other times between hills. While it looked quite dashing, compared to Little Hai’er, it somehow carried a faint sense of pathos.

“Just my luck,” Su Ming thought with mixed emotions, even feeling a momentary impulse to use Demonization.

When entering the Demonization state, Su Ming would grow wings and gain the ability to fly.

But to use such a costly transformation with unresolved issues just for the sake of looking cool – Su Ming admitted he wasn’t that flamboyant.

What made Su Ming feel even more complicated was that he was actually having trouble keeping up with Little Hai’er’s speed.

The speed Little Hai’er displayed now was completely different from before, like heaven and earth. Ordinary people would only see a water trail streaking across the sky like a meteor, unable to even catch sight of Little Hai’er’s beautiful form.

This showed just how fast Little Hai’er had become.

“Can’t be helped, speed was never my strong suit anyway,” Su Ming could only comfort himself like this.

Compared to his exceptional strength, Su Ming’s speed was indeed only at the level of an average Four-Star Hunter, nowhere comparable to Little Hai’er who could now potentially rival Six-Star Professionals.

Su Ming gave up on competing with Little Hai’er in speed, directly retrieving his Dragon Gall Motorcycle from his backpack. Mounting his exclusive ride, he started the engine and began speeding along like the wind once more.

Thanks to this, Su Ming managed not to be left behind by Little Hai’er.

As for Little Hai’er, she repeatedly paused in mid-air, seemingly concerned that Su Ming might not keep up, leaving Su Ming uncertain whether to appreciate her thoughtfulness or not.

And so the two of them sped along, swiftly weaving their way through the mountain forest.Su Ming could roughly sense that a battle was taking place in this direction, so he was certain Xu Qianqian should be in this area.

After entering this area, the traces of combat along the way further confirmed that his judgment was correct.

However, the battle had abruptly ended at some unknown moment.

“Has the outcome been decided already?”

This thought flashed through Su Ming’s mind, and he immediately accelerated again, rushing toward Xu Qianqian’s location with Little Hai’er.

Before long, the scenery ahead suddenly opened up.

A figure appeared in Su Ming’s line of sight, causing him to halt.

7017k

(End of Chapter)