Half a year passed without him even noticing.
That night, Fang Yu was practicing magic in front of his residence as usual.
However today was different. He was preparing to cast a Mid-Tier spell: Spatial Rhythm.
For the past six months, he had been training his control. Now, his cultivation was complete.
Compression was pure offense, crushing spatial pressure, unstoppable.
With overwhelming force and the weight of space itself, it suppressed the enemy.
Fang Yu stood quietly in the open field.
After a short while, the Star Paths linked together, and the magic took form.
In an instant a massive boulder ahead was suppressed by a vast and surging spatial force.
At the moment of suppression, it felt as though endless mountains were crashing down from the sky.
Boom!
A heavy sound rang out. At first glance, the open ground seemed unharmed.
But looking closer, one would notice the earth had sunk down by a section.
Immediately after, with a loud bang, the boulder shattered into countless fragments, then collapsed into the pit under the immense pressure.
A moment later, when Fang Yu withdrew the spatial magic and looked ahead. The ground had caved in, leaving a scene of devastation.
Yet he did not stop.
Star Paths reappeared, radiance shining once more.
This time, however, it was Ice magic.
Shortly after, a surge of frigid elemental energy emerged.
The entire area turned bitterly cold.
Suddenly, the ground split open. Two incomparably thick icy chains burst out from beneath the earth. They moved like dragons in flight, and whenever they collided, they produced metallic clashing sounds.
Clang! Clang!!!
The freezing chains intertwined continuously. Their long bodies were capable of wrapping around the massive ancient tree to the side several times over.
Before long, the ancient tree was completely bound by the chains, like a mummy sealed in ice. Frost energy poured in wildly!
Just like that, the enormous tree froze into an ice sculpture.
Meanwhile, the other ends of the chains slowly rose from the ground, suspended in midair, held in Fang Yu's firm grasp.
Snow flurried through the air, his hair drifting along with it. Controlling the powerful Ice Lock, Fang Yu's bearing appeared cold and aloof.
After a while. When the Ice Lock dissipated, Fang Yu looked at the scene and smiled.
Compression and Ice Lock combined both lethal power and control.
Their might was stronger than he had expected.
Right now, he had only one thing to say to those his age.
Who else?
But he couldn't get arrogant. He needed to steady his mind.
After tidying up the courtyard, Fang Yu fell into thought.
Now his Mid-Tier spells were initially mastered. Next, he needed to focus fully on earning money.
He aimed to gather enough funds within half a year to purchase an Ice Element Spirit Seed, raising his magic to another tier altogether.
And what was the fastest way to make money?
Without question, hunting demons.
Without Mid-Tier magic, dealing with demons would ultimately be extremely difficult.
But now, with his powerful Ice Lock freezing technique and his nearly unstoppable Gravity Compression, what demons or monsters wouldn't turn into cash flowing straight into his pocket?
Slay demons, eliminate monsters, cultivate while earning money. Why not?
Having made his decision, Fang Yu spent a little time and headed straight to the Hunters' Union in the Magic City.
The Hunters' Union was also located near the Oriental Pearl Tower. Several major forces had essentially claimed towering skyscrapers in the Lujiazui area of the Magic City, standing there like graceful women constantly competing for attention.
Upon arriving at the Hunters' Union building, Fang Yu took the elevator up to the fiftieth floor.
The Hunters' Union hall occupied nearly the entire floor. There were fifteen elevators leading up to it alone, and the flow of people was enormous.
The hall was surrounded by display screens showing scrolling text, presenting various bounties from all across the country to the hunter mages present.
It could be said that the Magic Capital's Hunters' Union Tower gathered the most comprehensive information nationwide. Even many overseas bounties were posted here, allowing hunter mages to find the commissions and assignments that best suited their abilities.
Ideally, the best scenario would have been hunting demons within the city.
However, because he did not meet the standards of an Elite Hunter, he was unable to join a city demon-hunting team.
The mission records he had submitted in Bo City were only enough to qualify him as an Intermediate Hunter. His contribution points were around five thousand, still far from the ten-thousand-point requirement for Elite Hunter status.
That path was a dead end.
As for joining a private hunting agency, he already had a target in mind, but now was not the right time.
So the only remaining option was the wilderness.
Fang Yu turned his gaze to the scrolling display screens, searching for a suitable mission.
Intermediate Mission: Eliminate Black Pattern Cats.
Description: Recently, an organized and large-scale group of Black Pattern Cats has appeared in the PD District, carrying out theft operations.
Standing before the mission board in the hall, Fang Yu was full of question marks.
Organized? These Black Pattern Cats were interesting.
Well, considering that some demons possessed fairly high intelligence, forming groups wasn't impossible.
What were they stealing? Seafood? Cat food, Never mind.
Intermediate Mission: Sparring Partner.
Description: Requires a Wind Element mage of at least Mid-Tier Level One as a designated sparring partner.
The reward for this one was decent… unfortunately, he didn't have the Wind Element. Pass.
Intermediate Mission: Wilderness Escort.
Intermediate Mission: Capture Live Capybara.
Intermediate Mission: Eliminate Earth Burrowing Rats…
Dozens of missions were densely listed. Fang Yu studied them carefully.
There were many tasks, but few seemed suitable for him.
Most of the missions here were posted by individuals seeking to hire mages as temporary labor at relatively low cost.
For example, the mission to capture live Capybara had been commissioned by a restaurant through the Hunters' Union.
Capybara were demons and also a popular delicacy on dining tables.
Compared to purchasing live Capybara directly from breeding farms, acquiring them through mission postings here was more economical.
The only downside was slower efficiency. However, this clearly wasn't a time-sensitive emergency mission; it relied on steady, long-term supply.
Capturing swimming Capybara was actually quite troublesome. These creatures were highly agile in water and extremely fast.
If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't swim, hadn't mastered the Water Element, and that Capybara typically dove to the riverbed, making the task difficult even with his Ice and Space Elements, Fang Yu might have chosen this mission.
"Actually, this Earth Burrowing Rat extermination mission could work…"
Since he couldn't swim, Fang Yu turned his attention to another task.
Earth Burrowing Rats were also bottom-tier creatures in the demon world. Their racial ability was Earth Escape, allowing them to flee underground. In terms of combat power, Servant-level Earth Burrowing Rats were extremely fragile, Basic-Tier Level One was enough to handle them.
However, what made them troublesome was their rapid reproduction, vast numbers, and agile movements. When encountering danger, they often cooperated as a group, so their threat level couldn't be judged solely by normal growth standards.
Fortunately, unless driven into a desperate situation, their first instinct when encountering other creatures was always to flee. Otherwise, the damage they caused would be far greater.
Even so, this species was classified as a pest disaster. They were highly active, undiscriminating eaters, and relentlessly searched for food.
Their harm wasn't limited to stealing grain or gnawing crops. Their Earth Escape ability could also cause structural damage to buildings.