The Traveling Wizard of Worlds

"Is this your Mental World?"

Despite having left his physical body, the black shadow still looked scarred and terrifying.

"Let's see, where are you?" He laughed maliciously. August's body was now within his grasp.

Once he devoured August's soul, this body could be freely controlled under the secret art given to him by the Cabal, and what he had always yearned for could finally be realized.

The black shadow was not a Formal Mage, but neither was he an apprentice; he was at an intermediate level between the two, a situation that only occurred in a few rare cases.

Only apprentices with extremely bad luck encountered this situation during advancement. Normally, they failed a crucial step and couldn't return to the apprentice state, thus remaining trapped in an awkward limbo.

Becoming like this made promotion far more difficult than for an apprentice—almost impossible.

"Almost" meant that there were still some methods in the magical world that could forcibly allow mages who failed to advance to cross this boundary, such as a method mastered by *The Umbral Cabal.

That was to forcibly devour another person's soul, occupying their body like a cuckoo in a nest, taking all of that person's memories and body for himself.

This was an evil method, and only wicked organizations like The Umbral Cabal would research such techniques.

Of course, this method was only available to Formal Mages, usually as a last resort for mages unwilling to let their bodies age and who wanted to extend their lives.

Occupying another person's body was not simple. First, their soul could not be stronger than that of its original owner; otherwise, it would be counter-devoured, which would be akin to giving the other party a great gift of mental power.

Moreover, as an external soul, it would be suppressed in another person's body. Therefore, those who chose this method usually picked apprentices with superior talents.

Even attacking an apprentice was quite dangerous. Soul battles were extremely perilous. Without the protection of a physical body, the risk of soul dissipation increased significantly, and forcibly devouring another soul could lead to unstable conditions. At that point, even a small external force could cause terrifying consequences.

But the black shadow no longer cared. His peers, once experimental subjects in the same generation, had either long since died or successfully advanced.

Only he was trapped in such an awkward situation.

This body was already too broken. He had suffered countless injuries during experiments, and his internal organs were incomplete.

So he wanted a body swap—a young body with outstanding talent.

At that moment, his cult's intelligence personnel sent August's information, bringing August, an apprentice who was favored by a Formal Mage of the Mercury Serpent during his apprenticeship and possessed outstanding talent, before him.

As mortal enemies of the Mercury Serpent, they weren't entirely clear why their leader, who was still alive at the time, would suddenly come here and directly confront the Mercury Serpent.

However, the members of The Umbral Cabal were all lunatics; as long as death occurred, they didn't care who the opponent was or what grudges they held.

It wasn't until their leader died at the other party's hands that they temporarily retreated, but this didn't make them give up.

The Umbral Cabal was like a persistent worm, beginning to attack the Mercury Serpent's reserve forces or lay traps to lure and kill Formal Mages.

The black shadow had never had a good opportunity until he snatched the mission to assassinate August this time.

"So you're here..." He saw August behind the clouds, eyes peacefully closed and resting, seemingly unaware of the intruder's arrival.

He approached August, his sinister smile no longer concealable.

The black shadow began to deform, his mouth opening wide and continuously expanding, forming a terrifying, gaping grin. Swallowing August whole would definitely not be an issue.

"I'll eat you!" The black shadow was about to bite.

Just as it was about to touch August, as if sensing danger, August suddenly opened his eyes.

Pitch-black jaws enveloped him. The terrifying sensation immediately woke him: "What!"

In an instant, August's figure flickered and floated away from there.

The black shadow bit, finding that its mouth had bitten nothing. Its eyes widened in surprise, and then it saw August appear not far away.

"Awake now?" He looked at August sinisterly, his two bulging eyes wide open, "But it doesn't matter, you'll become part of me with that fearful expression!"

With that, the black shadow transformed into a cloud of black smoke, spreading into a large net to envelop August.

August had just woken up and suddenly saw something attempting to devour him. He instinctively dodged, and then he saw a spooky black shadow emitting wild screams and surrounding him.

"What's going on?" August immediately fled. He didn't know when an unwelcome guest had entered his spiritual world, but he knew this guy had ill intentions.

In his mental world, August moved freely and easily escaped the black shadow's encirclement.

But the black shadow still didn't give up, extending its body like a chain to bind August.

August instinctively waved his hand, wanting to cast a spell: "Magic Cut!"

A blue light abruptly appeared on the black shadow, cutting the black rope in half at the waist.

"Ah..." The black shadow let out a scream. The rope-like smoke concentrated to form a human figure, but the color of its waist was very faint, as if severely injured.

"It seems... he's not that scary after all..." August was stunned to see the black shadow repelled so easily. "Is this guy that easy to deal with?"

"Why! Why can you simulate spells in the spiritual space? Aren't you an apprentice?!" the black shadow shrieked, alarmed.

It was no wonder he was surprised; apprentices were incapable of simulating spells in the spiritual world—that was a Formal Mage's ability.

Simulating spells in the spiritual world was the most direct method Formal Mages used to defend against spiritual invasion, just like repelling enemies with spells in the real world, they defended against intrusion with spells in the spiritual world.

"Are you a mage?" The black shadow suspected August was a mage disguised as an apprentice, and that this was a trap designed to lure in assassins like himself.

"No, absolutely not!" He sensed August's soul strength and denied his own assumption.

August's soul strength was much weaker than his own; this wasn't how a mage should be: "What treasure do you have with you?"

The black shadow's gaze turned greedy. After confirming the damage August had just inflicted, he deduced that August was indeed an apprentice, and there must be some reason for him to do such a thing.

"I like you more and more; everything you have will soon be mine!" The black shadow became bolder after confirming this wasn't a trap.

August first heard him muttering to himself, feeling bewildered, then saw that the black shadow apparently thought of something, no longer caring about the previous attack.

August immediately cast his only offensive spell again, targeting the black shadow's waist, the same spot he had just attacked.

However, the black shadow laughed strangely, and its body automatically split, allowing the blue light sword to pass through the gap without any effect.

The previous incident was merely unexpected; with preparation, he wouldn't be hit by an apprentice's attack.

"Don't resist, you're dead!"

The black shadow was not a mage, nor could it break such restrictions; it could only directly attack August with its special soul form.

August was startled; he didn't expect the spell wouldn't make this enemy retreat suddenly, but instead made him more fanatical, as if certain of victory.

Seeing the black shadow transform into a black claw and grab at him, August first cast several light swords, while rapidly retreating.

August's attack had no effect. He looked back and saw the black shadow dodging every attack. He felt pity and continued to quickly leap through the clouds without stopping.

"Run! Run! Enjoy your last game of your life!" The black shadow seemed to treat August like a mouse, and he himself was the cat playing with its prey.

He seemed to be in no hurry to devour August, instead enjoying the thrill of chasing his prey.

August remained silent, but he already had a plan in mind. He wanted to lure this black shadow to a specific spot, where he would have the opportunity for a desperate counterattack.