Thus, the hymn was still there, and the wind was still there, but the battle had undergone a seismic shift.
The wind he controlled had been transmuted. This was the first time the Shepherd encountered such a situation in battle.
Generally, strong wind can only transmute weak wind.
The difference in the strength of the wind here lies in the strength of the person controlling it.
The earlier wind transmutation indicated that the Shepherd was at a disadvantage in the wind’s power contest.
This is very strange.
The Traveler opposite is a Space Apprentice, so to deal with the Wind’s Force, he would generally devour it or banish it to the void.
But he didn’t use the Power of Space and instead used the Wind’s Force to fight head-on?
And he actually won in the end? How did he do it?
...
The changes on the field were also noticed by the spectators.
"The wind was transmuted? Could it be that the Traveler cross-trained in the Wind’s Force?" Fen Mo asked with some doubt.
Neither the Evil Woman nor the Gray Merchant answered her question, as they were fully focused on the arena. Instead, the defeated Ghost Shadow beside her said, "Even if he cross-trained in the Wind’s Force, could he be stronger than the Shepherd who specializes in the wind?"
"Then if it’s not cross-training, what could it be?" Fen Mo also didn’t believe that the Traveler could defeat the Shepherd in a wind duel. Even among the wind apprentices, very few can defeat the Shepherd, who is, after all, a ’Rhythm Apprentice’ of the wind!
But it was difficult to falsify the duel on the arena; the Traveler indeed transmuted the Shepherd’s ’weak wind’ into a strong one, which means the Traveler is superior in the Wind’s Force!
Fen Mo speculated again: "Could it be that the Traveler has dual affinity?"
Dual affinity is not that rare, but generally speaking, during the apprenticeship, one wouldn’t divide their attention to train in multiple affinities due to limited longevity and time. When one becomes an Official Wizard and lifespan increases significantly, only then is there time for multi-affinity training.
Therefore, even though Fen Mo speculated that the Traveler has dual affinity, her words were still filled with doubt.
Ghost Shadow: "Even if it’s dual affinity, how strong do you think the Traveler’s Wind’s Force needs to be to transmute the Shepherd’s wind?"
Before Fen Mo could answer, Ghost Shadow provided an answer: "At least he would need to become a ’Sequence Apprentice’ to steadily transmute the Shepherd’s wind."
"And how many in the wind series can become Sequence Apprentices? Among them, none fit the Traveler’s traits."
Rhythm, Sequence, Metamorphosis, Leap Transition, Samsara, these are the extremes desired by Elemental Wizards in single affinity.
Though there are Rhythm Apprentices in various series, the true extremity at the apprentice stage is not the Rhythm of Wind but rather the Rhythm of Water.
In wind, the ultimate form is the Wind Sequence, and at the apprentice stage, this corresponds to what is known as a Sequence Apprentice.
Whether Rhythm Apprentices or Sequence Apprentices, it’s not that they have mastered rhythm and sequence; they’ve only begun to glimpse a hint of the true path.
To truly understand and embark on this path of extreme pursuit, one must at least become an Official Wizard.
Still, to glimpse even a hint of the true path at the apprentice stage is enough to indicate great potential.
In the Southern Domain Wizard World, apprentices who glimpse the true path are rarely unknown figures. Even if the apprentice is very low-key, Wizards capable of teaching such apprentices wouldn’t help conceal them, as this is a chance to prove their teaching prowess.
The existence of the Tea Party also makes it difficult for these potential apprentices to hide their identities.
Thus, even though Ghost Shadow mentioned a "Sequence Apprentice," he didn’t believe the Traveler was one.
Yet if he’s not a Sequence Apprentice, how did the Traveler achieve wind transmutation?
As Ghost Shadow and Fen Mo pondered, the Shepherd on the arena provided a new direction for speculation.
"Is it this?" the Shepherd pointed at the Alchemy Golem: "Can it transmute the wind?"
Kaier remained silent.
The Shepherd didn’t mind, chuckling, "Since you don’t want to answer, I’ll experiment myself."
At the end of his words, the Shepherd played his flute, not a simple tune but a crisp shepherd’s melody.
With a Yordle flavor, the melody finished, and four black-faced sheep emerged in neat left-right, left-right steps, walking out from behind the Shepherd.
It was as if a large door behind the Shepherd had summoned these adorable lambs from a lush prairie to the arena platform.
With the entrance of four black-faced sheep, the originally serious scene took an abrupt turn.
The four black-faced sheep ignored the Shepherd’s calls, bleating and circling him in unified steps, akin to tap dancing.
The Shepherd, usually serious, became awkward due to the four unruly black-faced sheep.
Most embarrassing of all was the Alchemy Golem opposite him, still with a "Joker face."
The arena, with the bleating and self-directed tap dancing of the black-faced sheep, seemed to transform into a circus performance.
"Black One, Black Two, Black Three, Baby, if you don’t stop, you won’t get to eat Windmill Grass for a month." The Shepherd’s calm demeanor was broken by the four black-faced sheep.
Fortunately, the four black-faced sheep seemed to care about their feed. When the Shepherd threatened with food, they immediately behaved obediently.
The Shepherd coughed and thanked Kaier for not attacking during his awkward moment.
Then, the battle began dramatically once more.
However, this time, the Shepherd did not play the flute but moved along with the rhythms of the black-faced sheep on the platform.
Meanwhile, with every tap from the black-faced sheep, a wisp of breeze was generated, swirling around them and ultimately forming a vortex-like presence.
The black-faced sheep turned into wind vortices, jumping and galloping on the arena, consuming every obstacle Kaier created by absorbing them into wind remnants.
Even the space rifts didn’t faze the black-faced sheep; they leaped through the fissures, losing only a little wind and no other damage, while the lost wind was replenished with successive taps.
They resembled perpetual machines, chasing... the Alchemy Golem.
Yes, the Alchemy Golem.
They completely ignored Kaier... perhaps as per the Shepherd’s command.
But Kaier wasn’t free from danger, as the black-faced sheep chased the Alchemy Golem, and the Shepherd began to attack him as he roamed the arena.