I Want to Go Back

Soon, Kaiaolen gathered a group of mages—most were guards employed within the territory, some were from the adventurers' guild, and others were simply passing through.

"To put it simply, there are monsters that can disguise themselves as humans. I will teach you a spell to identify whether people within the city are monsters or not," Ye Chuan announced.

"If you find any, notify the guards immediately so they can be dealt with."

"You're teaching us magic?" One middle-aged mage in the crowd eyed Ye Chuan skeptically, clearly unimpressed by his youth—after all, a mage's magical power grew stronger with time.

Even if a mage was exceptionally talented, without years of accumulation, they might not stand a chance against seasoned practitioners.

"I’m acting under the authority of Count Kangong. Do you want to challenge the lord directly?" Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow at the dissenter.

Hearing the count’s name, the mage merely asked, "Are you a registered mage of the Magic Tower?"

"The Magic Tower? Never heard of it." Ye Chuan’s response drew strange looks from the assembled mages. The Magic Tower was an organization founded by mages, present in every nation, and registration within it was considered the mark of a legitimate mage.

Moreover, gaining membership wasn’t easy—it required passing rigorous trials.

In short, Magic Tower mages looked down on those who walked the "wild path."

Ye Chuan’s dismissive remark made many of the mages sneer, except for those who had witnessed his power firsthand.

Mages were already a prideful bunch, and now their arrogance was on full display.

Some who had only come out of curiosity muttered, "I thought the lord’s summons meant something good, but it’s just this kid teaching magic? Might as well risk qi deviation."

"Yeah, probably using us as test subjects."

"Tch, he doesn’t even wear robes. What kind of mage is that?"

As the whispers grew, Ye Chuan suddenly spoke.

"Silence."

A few defiant mages opened their mouths to retort—only to freeze when they realized their voices had been sealed.

More and more mages noticed the same thing, their eyes widening in shock.

Their voices… gone?

All because of a single word from him?

"What’s wrong?" Ye Chuan said calmly. "Can’t speak? If anyone disagrees, feel free to cast a spell at me."

Yet none of the mages could resist him, no matter how hard they tried.

"Lord Xixi… how is this possible?" From a distance, Torres watched in astonishment.

A mass silencing spell?

"Silence magic? No, it’s more like…" Irena murmured, disbelieving. "He’s suppressing all of them with pure magical force, rendering even their vocal cords useless."

"Against so many mages? Is that even possible?" Torres was stunned.

Just how vast was his mana pool?

"..."

Meanwhile, Ye Chuan stood quietly, waiting. After a moment, he finally said, "Enough."

The mages immediately felt the pressure lift, their voices returning.

Faced with such overwhelming power, the once-disdainful mages now regarded Ye Chuan with reverence, not daring to speak out of turn again.

Strength was always the most convincing argument.

"Now, let’s begin the lesson." Ye Chuan conjured a magic circle.

Since detection spells were low-tier magic—even the variant in Lilith’s hands—they were simple to learn.

With just a minor adjustment, the spell could reveal its targets through colored light.

"Pair up and cast this on each other," Ye Chuan instructed. Without hesitation, the mages began casting the spell on their neighbors.

One by one, lights flickered to life—until a blinding red glow erupted.

"Red!"

The mage bathed in crimson light opened his mouth to protest—only for Ye Chuan’s blade to sever his head in the next instant.

No blood sprayed from the neck. Instead, writhing, worm-like tendrils spilled out, squirming grotesquely.

"A monster!"

Another slash from Ye Chuan, and the creature was obliterated.

Witnessing this, the mages finally understood the spell’s true value.

Apart from that one, no other monsters lurked among them.

"Lesson over. Teach this spell to anyone you know—mage or not, as long as they can cast it."

"As for the guards, start sweeping the city immediately."

Ye Chuan dismissed the mages, and soon, nearly everyone in the territory was subjected to the detection spell—even passing dogs weren’t spared, glowing under the magic’s scrutiny.

"Monster spotted!"

"Another one here!"

Without Kaiaolen needing to mobilize civilians, the mage teams had already uncovered dozens of monsters—all formidable.

Before long, over a hundred monsters were found in this small territory alone.

"So many… My land has been infiltrated to this extent?" Kaiaolen sat in his study, stunned into silence by the reports.

His territory was far from the royal capital.

Yet the corruption ran so deep.

Then what of the capital?

Could everyone there by day be monsters in disguise?

Kaiaolen shuddered at the thought. But now that they had a way to identify the creatures, he immediately began preparing his forces. Marching to the capital—possibly fighting their way there—required thorough preparation.

"Lord Xixi, will you accompany us to the capital?" Irena asked Ye Chuan.

"Of course. I’ll reclaim everything you’ve lost," Ye Chuan replied.

How else would he become the Equal King?

"Thank you…" Irena’s eyes shimmered with gratitude.

"What’s next?" Ye Chuan turned to Kaiaolen.

"After purging the disguised monsters, I’ll contact the other counts," Kaiaolen said, though he had no idea how deeply their territories had been compromised.

"But we must prepare our forces in the meantime."

"Fine. Then I’ll return to Yisu Town for now," Ye Chuan said.

"Eh? You’re leaving, Lord Xixi?" Irena blinked.

"You’re not ready yet, right? I might as well go back." Ye Chuan tilted his head up at a 45-degree angle, gazing solemnly at the sky.

"That place… still has many people who need my help."

"And I will help them."