Chapter 22: A Peerless Powerhouse

"This..."

Xu Feng looked troubled. He knew his own situation all too well—during his transmigration, he must have gained some special ability, which was why he could easily master the language and writing of Hailanxing and heal the princess. But this ability was not yet under his control; it was hit or miss. If he agreed to treat the illness and it failed at a critical moment, what would he do?

Seeing Xu Feng's expression, Corona's face clearly fell: "You don't want to?"

"No."

Xu Feng thought wryly. His difficulties were inconvenient to explain, but how could he refuse? If he declined to treat Corona's teacher, forget about pursuing this beautiful mage—she would likely hate his guts. On the other hand, if he cured her teacher, she would surely think much more highly of him. Even if he couldn't win her over immediately, it would greatly improve his chances.

Damn it, for the sake of a beauty, he'd take the gamble. Maybe at the critical moment, his ability would automatically kick in again.

Thinking this, Xu Feng nodded: "Miss Corona, I'd be happy to help."

"Thank you, thank you!" Corona's face lit up with joy and gratitude. In her excitement, she on impulse took Xu Feng's hand, only to realize it was inappropriate and quietly withdrew it, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Xu Feng smiled slightly. *Her hand was so soft and smooth...* but outwardly, he kept up his gentlemanly act: "Miss Corona, may I ask who your teacher is..."

"My teacher is called Kelaibafei."

"What?" Xu Feng was stunned. Although he hadn't been on Hailanxing for long, the name Kelaibafei rang like thunder in his ears—one of the only two remaining Archmages among humans, a peerless powerhouse held in awe by all.

As everyone knew, on Hailanxing, whether warriors or mages, they were divided into three levels: "Low-tier, Mid-tier, High-tier," each further divided into "Upper, Middle, Lower" grades. In other words, warriors and mages could be finely categorized into nine levels, from Low-tier Lower-grade to High-tier Upper-grade.

Beyond that, however, advancement was next to impossible. If a warrior could break through the bottleneck and surpass the High-tier Upper-grade Knight, they would be honored as a Sword Saint, while a mage would be honored as an Archmage.

One must not underestimate this breakthrough—it was completely different from previous advancements. These were the so-called peerless powerhouses.

Even emperors had to show sufficient respect in the face of such peerless powerhouses.

Kelaibafei was actually Corona's teacher?

Xu Feng glanced at the beautiful woman before him. No wonder—a direct disciple of an Archmage. No wonder she possessed such formidable strength at such a young age and held an exceptional status in the imperial capital. After all... who would dare provoke the direct disciple of an Archmage?

The young man was still reeling when the girl's clear and melodious voice reached him: "Xu Feng, can we go now?"

"Go? Now?"

"Yes." A trace of worry lingered in Corona's expression: "The message said my teacher is very ill. Arriving earlier is always better."

Xu Feng nodded. As the saying goes, saving a life is like putting out a fire. Moreover, to earn her favor, he needed to put in some effort. He thought it over for a moment: "Alright, please wait a moment!"

He returned to the inner study, wrote a short letter explaining that he had urgent matters to attend to and would be away for a few days, then called a maid and asked her to deliver it to Yu Sha later. As for household affairs, he temporarily entrusted them to the loyal butler, Mortan.

Three days later, the Misty Forest.

This was one of the most dangerous places on Hailanxing, an area frequented by magical beasts. Within a hundred-mile radius, there was no trace of human habitation. Even adventurers were rare here because the Misty Forest was extremely perilous. As the name suggested, it was perpetually shrouded in thick fog, making it very easy to get lost. Add to that magical beasts, miasma, swamps...

Even the most rugged adventurers would hesitate.

"Miss Corona, does your teacher live here?"

"Yes, my teacher lives in the center of the forest."

"The center of the forest?" Xu Feng's expression turned somewhat stunned. He inwardly marveled—truly worthy of being a top-tier powerhouse on the continent, his choice of residence was indeed unique.

"Let's go!"

The two entered the forest. It was completely covered by towering ancient trees, lush and extremely dense. Many trees were so large that it would take several people to encircle them. The thick branches and leaves blocked the sunlight, and combined with the perennial fog, although it wasn't pitch black, visibility was indeed very low.

It felt eerie.

A thick layer of fallen leaves had accumulated underfoot. Stepping on them felt like walking on snow—soft and sinking deeply. Walking like this was truly inconvenient!

Corona smiled slightly, extended her delicate hand, and lightly flicked her jade-like fingers, casting a Wind-attribute Lightness Spell on both of them. Truly worthy of being a disciple of an Archmage, a High-tier Middle-grade Mage. It should be noted that while the Lightness Spell wasn't particularly difficult, being able to cast it so effortlessly and instantly was already quite remarkable.

With the magic enhancement, their journey became much easier. Corona then took out a gem from her storage space ring. It resembled the legendary night pearls but emitted a brighter light that could penetrate much farther and easily cut through the dense fog.

"What is this?" Xu Feng glanced curiously at the treasure in the girl's hand.

"A dragon's core."

"What?"

Corona turned her head and blinked playfully: "You heard right. This is a dragon's core, a birthday gift my teacher gave me when I was fourteen."

...

Xu Feng was speechless. As everyone knew, dragons were the most powerful creatures on Hailanxing. If not for their small numbers, how could humans, elves, and beastmen rule this planet? Dragons possessed formidable physical bodies and exceptional magical talent, making them incredibly powerful whether in long-range attacks or close-quarters combat.

An adult dragon could easily destroy a medium-sized city. The strength of dragons needed no elaboration. People revered dragon-slaying heroes, but across the world, how many could actually slay a dragon? The reality was that if someone didn't wet their pants upon seeing a dragon, they were already very brave.