Wood Style And Sharingan

Boom!

Trapped within the illusion of the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Blood-Soaked Bat King lost all aggression and will to resist.

Smith grasped the bat's massive wings and began to slowly pull the spikes embedded in his body out.

The pain was excruciating.

Every inch the barbs slid free sent searing agony through his body. His breath trembled, his vision blurred, and it was all he could do not to scream.

Gritting his teeth, he endured the torment. Finally, with one final tug, he yanked the spikes from his ribs. The effort left him lightheaded and unsteady, and his body swayed before he collapsed backward.

But he didn't hit the ground.

Instead, he landed on something soft—Hong Feng had caught him in her arms.

"Blood Moon, you're going to be fine. I'll save you—I swear," she said, voice trembling and tears welling in her eyes. Her hands, glowing faintly with spiritual energy, began to channel healing power into his body.

"Sister Hong Feng... I'll be okay. Don't worry so much," Smith whispered weakly, while quietly activating his Muji Healing Technique.

With her help, his wounds began healing rapidly, the torn flesh knitting itself together at a speed visible to the naked eye.

That was the terrifying power of Muji Healing—as long as the user wasn't killed instantly, and had sufficient spiritual energy, they could recover from almost any injury in moments.

Without this ability, Smith would never have risked blocking the Blood-Soaked Bat King's attack with his body. But even with healing, the pain had been soul-crushing.

He silently promised himself that he'd never use such a reckless method again.

"It hurts so much..." he muttered under his breath.

"Are… are you really okay?" Hong Feng asked, still in shock as she watched his wounds close before her eyes.

She had never witnessed such a monstrous self-healing ability.

"I told you, it's not a big deal for me," Smith said with a faint smile. He slowly raised his hand and gently wiped a tear that had escaped from beneath her mask.

It was the first time anyone had cried for him.

At that moment, Smith lay in her arms, his head resting on the soft curves of her chest. He couldn't help but wonder why it felt so… comfortable.

But before he could say anything more, Hong Feng's face flushed beneath her mask. Realizing the awkward intimacy of their position, she quickly shoved him upright.

"Since you're fine, get up already!" she scolded, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Fortunately, both of them wore masks, concealing their expressions and sparing them further awkwardness.

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Hong Feng quickly changed the subject, her gaze shifting to the Blood-Soaked Bat King, which remained unmoving. "How did you stop it?"

The creature was clearly still alive, but frozen—motionless.

Smith straightened up, brushing the dirt from his torn clothes. "It's under the effect of an illusion."

"An illusion? But you're not an illusionist," Hong Feng said in surprise.

This guy could actually use illusions?

Was there anything he couldn't do?

"I'm not formally trained in illusion techniques," Smith admitted, "but I have some special methods. I'd rather not get into the details."

He wasn't ready to reveal that his Sharingan possessed powerful illusion abilities. That secret remained his.

Hong Feng looked at him in awe.

"As expected of Minister Jiang's son..."

She stepped forward, drawing her dagger. "Since it's immobilized, let's end it. We can't risk it breaking free."

Just as she raised her blade, Smith stopped her.

"Wait, Sister Hong Feng. Let me handle this."

He knelt beside the Blood-Soaked Bat King, took out a kunai and a summoning scroll, and carefully collected some of the bat's blood. Then, using his own blood, he marked the scroll, completing a summoning contract.

"A spiritual pet scroll?" Hong Feng's eyes widened in realization.

She had seen similar contracts used by the Beast Taming Department, designed to bind spirit beasts to their summoners. However, those were friendly contracts, requiring mutual trust and cooperation between the summoner and the beast.

If the beast refused to cooperate, the summoner could do nothing.

"There's no way this Blood-Soaked Bat King will obey you," she said bluntly.

She wasn't surprised that Smith had a contract scroll—what shocked her was that he thought the bat would actually follow him.

"I'm not taming it in the traditional way," Smith explained. "Let's just say… I'm using a different method. Don't worry. It won't cause trouble again."

With the contract signed and the illusion still active, Smith controlled the Blood-Soaked Bat King through the power of his Sharingan and ordered it to fly away.

A fourth-level monster like this was incredibly rare. To have it under his command as a summoned beast was a major win.

If he hadn't planned to tame it, he wouldn't have gone through the pain and risk. He could've simply incinerated it with Amaterasu from the start.

As for the question of whether the Blood-Soaked Bat King would obey his commands?

It didn't matter.

With the Sharingan's illusions binding it, obedience wasn't optional.

"…Okay," Hong Feng muttered. Though skeptical, she had no argument. The bat had flown away, under control.

Moments later, Mingyun, Lan Feng, and the others rushed onto the scene.

"Are you two alright?!" Mingyun asked as he scanned the area for signs of danger.

"We're fine," Smith replied. "There was a fight. But the Blood-Soaked Bat King is gone."

Mingyun frowned. "Gone? Just like that?"

Though Smith looked confident, he was clearly a mess. His clothes were in tatters, blood was still drying on his skin, and his aura was unstable.

"You call this 'fine'? You look like hell."

"Just a few minor injuries. Already healed."

Mingyun stared for a second longer, then nodded. "Alright. As long as you're okay."

Lan Feng stepped forward. "We've already cleared out the other bats. Since the Blood-Soaked Bat King escaped, that technically ends the mission."

The two teams had been collaborating, but now that the threat was gone, their roles were fulfilled.

Before parting ways, Lan Feng offered a gesture of thanks. From the dozen or so third-level bat corpses, his team dug out their demon cores—and gave half of them to Smith's group.

"We couldn't have done this without you," Lan Feng said sincerely. "If you ever need backup, just call us."

"Happy to help. Good teamwork," Mingyun replied.

After exchanging a few more polite words, the teams departed, returning to their respective bases.

---

On the ride back, the atmosphere relaxed.

"Smith," Mingyun asked, glancing at him from the driver's seat. "How did your first real field mission feel?"

Smith leaned back in the seat, exhausted but content.

"It was… exciting."

"Exciting, huh? Sounds like you've got the right mindset," Mingyun chuckled.

The others laughed too, the tension from earlier now fading.

Only Hong Feng remained quiet, her eyes beneath the mask watching Smith carefully.

She hadn't said a word about Smith's use of illusions, the Mangekyō Sharingan, or the self-healing ability. She knew that some powers were better left unspoken unless the person chose to share them.

But in her heart, she was no longer simply curious about Smith—she was quietly in awe.

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